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Mule Boy
An elegiac novel of men lost in a coal mining disaster and the boy who survives to tell the story
On New Year’s Day, 1929, Ondro Prach, the thirteen-year-old son of Slovak immigrants in Pennsylvania coal country, begins a new job as mule boy. He knows the danger—his father died in the mines—but he is proud of his position handling the animal that hauls cartloads of coal from shafts deep within the earth to the surface. After Ondro earns the trust of the miners and the mule in his charge, the room the men are working collapses and their fate is sealed.
From that moment onward, Ondro carries the hard memory of that day, a burden that leads to addiction and imprisonment, costing him his family. But, years later, when the miners’ loved ones come searching for answers, he finds the strength to share what the men spoke of and prayed for in the pitch black.
Told in incantatory prose set to the rhythm of human breath, this sublime novel turns the memento mori into a meditation not only on death but on what it takes to tunnel through darkness and live.
On New Year’s Day, 1929, Ondro Prach, the thirteen-year-old son of Slovak immigrants in Pennsylvania coal country, begins a new job as mule boy. He knows the danger—his father died in the mines—but he is proud of his position handling the animal that hauls cartloads of coal from shafts deep within the earth to the surface. After Ondro earns the trust of the miners and the mule in his charge, the room the men are working collapses and their fate is sealed.
From that moment onward, Ondro carries the hard memory of that day, a burden that leads to addiction and imprisonment, costing him his family. But, years later, when the miners’ loved ones come searching for answers, he finds the strength to share what the men spoke of and prayed for in the pitch black.
Told in incantatory prose set to the rhythm of human breath, this sublime novel turns the memento mori into a meditation not only on death but on what it takes to tunnel through darkness and live.
192 pages, Paperback
First published February 24, 2026
About the author
Andrew Krivak
10 books376 followersThe grandson of Slovak immigrants, Andrew Krivak grew up in Pennsylvania, has lived in London, and has taught at Harvard, Boston College, and the College of the Holy Cross. He lives with his wife and three children in Somerville, Massachusetts and Jaffrey, New Hampshire.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
June 15, 2026
Ondro, a 9 year old boy, started in the mines in 1929. He rose in rank quickly - due to an accident -and became a mule boy, guiding “Wicked” the mule. These were dark days. Men losing limbs and their lives - an occupational hazard. One day, down in the deep dark cavern, a collapse happens. He has survived but the others do not. But it isn’t a survival of joy. It’s a survival he has lived with for years; carrying the souls and spirits of those who perished. The burden, heavy. He, himself, trapped in his own darkness long after getting out.
Now, years later, the families of those who were lost, have found him. They are in search of the last words spoken to Ondro. Searching for closure. And this is the opportunity for Ondro to see lightness again; for healing to take place.
Krivak writes this as a prayer.
Much religious symbolism- prayers, his father’s beads, the beliefs.
An exceptional story of healing.
5⭐️
For those who like neat grammar, this may not work as sometimes there are pages with only commas…a distraction at the beginning but once you get into the rhythm of the story, it’s soon forgotten.
I should also add I've read all of Krivak's stories and have not been disappointed!
Now, years later, the families of those who were lost, have found him. They are in search of the last words spoken to Ondro. Searching for closure. And this is the opportunity for Ondro to see lightness again; for healing to take place.
Krivak writes this as a prayer.
Much religious symbolism- prayers, his father’s beads, the beliefs.
An exceptional story of healing.
5⭐️
For those who like neat grammar, this may not work as sometimes there are pages with only commas…a distraction at the beginning but once you get into the rhythm of the story, it’s soon forgotten.
I should also add I've read all of Krivak's stories and have not been disappointed!
August 16, 2025
The wooden rosary beads that belonged to his father, carved from a tree in his homeland before coming to America, the complete works of Shakespeare, the book of Jonah hand written in the Hebrew he learned from his friend Jacobson while in prison, the haunting memories, and the love he has carried in his heart all these years for the little girl Magda, who became the woman he loved. These are the things that Ondro Prach keeps close to him now that he’s an old man living out his last days in the forests of New Hampshire. He recounts his time as a mule boy in the coal mines of Pennsylvania in 1929 when he was 13 years old as he witnesses death when the mine collapses. He becomes the survivor imprisoned by his past throughout his life. We come to know the impact on him as he tells the events of his life.
He recounts the gruesome, grueling details of the miners’ deaths, their last words about their families they would never see again, how they guided Ondro to pick at the rock and move it, to find a place toward light and life for him, as they faced death. It’s gut wrenching to live in his thoughts and even more so as he meets with the surviving families. Almost like a pilgrimage, they come to him many years later to hear what Ondro has witnessed, to know what happened to their father, grandfather or great grandfather, to know their last words.
I first fell for Andrew Krivak’s writing when I read The Sojourn more than ten years ago. My admiration has continued with every novel of his that I’ve read since then. His prose is lyrical as always, but the structure of this one is different than his other novels . It’s an introspective, intense, beautiful and searing stream of consciousness. With the sorrow and grief, there are also moments of joy as Ondro falls in love, reaps great satisfaction from literature and the beauty of the land around him . I fell into the beautiful rhythm of this incredibly affecting story and cried at the beautiful ending.
I received a copy of this from Bellevue Literary Press through Edelweiss
He recounts the gruesome, grueling details of the miners’ deaths, their last words about their families they would never see again, how they guided Ondro to pick at the rock and move it, to find a place toward light and life for him, as they faced death. It’s gut wrenching to live in his thoughts and even more so as he meets with the surviving families. Almost like a pilgrimage, they come to him many years later to hear what Ondro has witnessed, to know what happened to their father, grandfather or great grandfather, to know their last words.
I first fell for Andrew Krivak’s writing when I read The Sojourn more than ten years ago. My admiration has continued with every novel of his that I’ve read since then. His prose is lyrical as always, but the structure of this one is different than his other novels . It’s an introspective, intense, beautiful and searing stream of consciousness. With the sorrow and grief, there are also moments of joy as Ondro falls in love, reaps great satisfaction from literature and the beauty of the land around him . I fell into the beautiful rhythm of this incredibly affecting story and cried at the beautiful ending.
I received a copy of this from Bellevue Literary Press through Edelweiss
April 16, 2026
This was a perfect novel!
It has been awhile since Krivak wrote a new book but this was worth the wait.
On New Years Day in 1929, thirteen year old Ondro worked his first day as the mule boy in the mines in Pennsylvania, along with four men who he became trapped with in a mining disaster.
After four days entrapped, he is the sole survivor.
This is a powerful, emotional, moving story..
told in a stream of consciousness by Ondro as an old man, as he remembers that day and the last moments of the men, and the rest of the life he has lived… and the hope of happiness that is in site.
I have loved all four of his novels that I have read.
Such an exceptional writer!
It has been awhile since Krivak wrote a new book but this was worth the wait.
On New Years Day in 1929, thirteen year old Ondro worked his first day as the mule boy in the mines in Pennsylvania, along with four men who he became trapped with in a mining disaster.
After four days entrapped, he is the sole survivor.
This is a powerful, emotional, moving story..
told in a stream of consciousness by Ondro as an old man, as he remembers that day and the last moments of the men, and the rest of the life he has lived… and the hope of happiness that is in site.
I have loved all four of his novels that I have read.
Such an exceptional writer!
February 25, 2026
[5+]
A mule boy is a child-laborer in the 1900s coal mines who carted the coal cars from chamber to chamber. Ondro Prach is the thirteen-year-old in Krivak’s masterpiece who rides Wicked, the mule, proudly doing his work with dignity in a Pennsylvania coal mine in 1929. He’s trying to help out his widowed mother—his father died in a mine accident—and his mother’s sewing work is barely getting them by. Poor Ondro was a child who never knew what it was like to be a child. As this tragic tale unfolds, Ondro is trapped in a mine accident with the brave and skilled miners that he’s always revered.
Now, as an old man, he continues to reflect and ponder on the mine collapse and the men he worked with every day. That pivotal and tragic day led to Ondro’s own collapse—of his spirit, his hopes, and his self-determination. Life became one long prison sentence to him, as he carried this burden of guilt and shame, so sure that he failed his fellow workers. Hope for his soul comes from the most unexpected places, including a gifted and scholarly prisoner who taught him Hebrew and the influence of Parmenides.
In his old age, Ondro is sought out by the families of the miners who didn’t survive. They ask him about the last days and hours of their loved ones’ lives. As Ondro recollects that traumatic event, I gasped at the breadth and scope of how Ondro relives it—an aperture that widens with every word. The magic of this book is in the telling, a reconstruction that stilled me, shook me, held me in the shape that Krivak’s gripping narrative takes. He made the act of self-forgiveness metaphysical.
Ondro’s heavy climb out of his self-made prison is stunning, astonishing in its depth and authenticity. I’m not exaggerating when I say I was sobbing as I turned the pages, first for the darkness of tragedy and then for the glimpse of the light. Despite the elegiac prose—one long sentence without a period (but, yes, there are commas), the pauses are natural. As it states on the book, the prose is set to the rhythm of human breath.
The narrative is magnetic, and you can read this short book in one sitting. However, I was so allured by its magical, mystical, and spiritual story that I took my time, I digested every word. This is an unforgettable tale that I recommend to every literature lover. A thousand thanks to Bellevue Press for sending me an ARC to review. I’d give 10 stars if I could!
“…death is not a destruction of being but a change of state…”
A mule boy is a child-laborer in the 1900s coal mines who carted the coal cars from chamber to chamber. Ondro Prach is the thirteen-year-old in Krivak’s masterpiece who rides Wicked, the mule, proudly doing his work with dignity in a Pennsylvania coal mine in 1929. He’s trying to help out his widowed mother—his father died in a mine accident—and his mother’s sewing work is barely getting them by. Poor Ondro was a child who never knew what it was like to be a child. As this tragic tale unfolds, Ondro is trapped in a mine accident with the brave and skilled miners that he’s always revered.
Now, as an old man, he continues to reflect and ponder on the mine collapse and the men he worked with every day. That pivotal and tragic day led to Ondro’s own collapse—of his spirit, his hopes, and his self-determination. Life became one long prison sentence to him, as he carried this burden of guilt and shame, so sure that he failed his fellow workers. Hope for his soul comes from the most unexpected places, including a gifted and scholarly prisoner who taught him Hebrew and the influence of Parmenides.
In his old age, Ondro is sought out by the families of the miners who didn’t survive. They ask him about the last days and hours of their loved ones’ lives. As Ondro recollects that traumatic event, I gasped at the breadth and scope of how Ondro relives it—an aperture that widens with every word. The magic of this book is in the telling, a reconstruction that stilled me, shook me, held me in the shape that Krivak’s gripping narrative takes. He made the act of self-forgiveness metaphysical.
Ondro’s heavy climb out of his self-made prison is stunning, astonishing in its depth and authenticity. I’m not exaggerating when I say I was sobbing as I turned the pages, first for the darkness of tragedy and then for the glimpse of the light. Despite the elegiac prose—one long sentence without a period (but, yes, there are commas), the pauses are natural. As it states on the book, the prose is set to the rhythm of human breath.
The narrative is magnetic, and you can read this short book in one sitting. However, I was so allured by its magical, mystical, and spiritual story that I took my time, I digested every word. This is an unforgettable tale that I recommend to every literature lover. A thousand thanks to Bellevue Press for sending me an ARC to review. I’d give 10 stars if I could!
“…death is not a destruction of being but a change of state…”
June 5, 2026
It's jarring to find a place you know when reading a book, especially one of such emotion. For a couple of years I lived in Eastern Pennsylvania, somewhat close to places mentioned within this story. At the time, it was the steel industry the land had been most noted for, and just like the coal industry some 100 years before, it had moved on. Buildings, people and the scarred land had been left behind in its wake. For generations it had been the place of the working class, though I don't recall hearing of the old coal mines. In 1929, the year Ondro of this book, walks ahead of his mule deep underground where it is pitch black dark, outside of the carbide lamp on a miner's hat. He is 13. Tunnels are slowly dug by the men, tracks are laid, and on them ride the coal cars moved by the mules with a boy by its side. The old wood supports cannot be left behind. And so one by one, the columns are pulled from its place of holding up a mountain.
Krivak's sentences connect continually, strung together by commas. No quotes, and few paragraphs. I'll admit it's an adjustment to the usual. After a spell, it's not hard to see the beauty of its differences. How words are written and then read becomes how you picture the characters. The two go hand in hand to me, and the style portrays like thoughts spoken directly from the character and therefore very real.
Krivak's sentences connect continually, strung together by commas. No quotes, and few paragraphs. I'll admit it's an adjustment to the usual. After a spell, it's not hard to see the beauty of its differences. How words are written and then read becomes how you picture the characters. The two go hand in hand to me, and the style portrays like thoughts spoken directly from the character and therefore very real.
April 13, 2025
What is it that I’ve just read? I daresay, it’s Andrew Krivak’s masterwork.
I rarely anoint a book with the tag “perfect.” But I can honestly not identify one word out of place or one scene that’s superfluous. This book IS perfection, and if I sound as if I’m over-the-top with my praise, it’s just that I’ve rarely read a book with the power to immerse and move me the way this one did. Much as I’ve liked all of Andrew Krivak’s past novels, this one is in a class by itself.
Set in the coal mines of Pennsylvania in the early 1900s, Ondro Prach, the 13-year-old son of a single mother and a father who died in the mines, begins a new job: leading a mule named Wicked (for good reason). The job is precarious – he and the mule are charged with hauling coal from shafts deep within the mine to the surface. Ondro, like most young teens, never wastes a second considering the danger. That is, until the mine collapses.
Plunged into darkness for several days as one by one, the miners and their butties uselessly struggle to live, Ondro emerges in a sort of permanent darkness. He is in a prison of his own making, as the images haunt and shape his life. As we learn from the beginning, as Ondro nears the end of his life, he will be visited by the families of the doomed miners, who will want to know what really happened in those last days. In allowing himself to remember, maybe he will make his own peace.
The prose is so elegiac and incantatory that I felt “twinned” with Ondro, feeling what he did, seeing what he did, unable to lift myself from the page. Although I am not a woman of faith, I know that Andrew Krivak, who wrote a spiritual memoir, has been on a lifelong journey to respond to the promptings of God and to surrender to His will. In creating a novel this remarkable, about tunneling through the worst of times and never giving up on what gives life meaning, I think he has accomplished his goal. I cannot thank Bellevue Literary Press enough for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review. This book will not be published until early 2026, and readers have a real treat in store for them.
I rarely anoint a book with the tag “perfect.” But I can honestly not identify one word out of place or one scene that’s superfluous. This book IS perfection, and if I sound as if I’m over-the-top with my praise, it’s just that I’ve rarely read a book with the power to immerse and move me the way this one did. Much as I’ve liked all of Andrew Krivak’s past novels, this one is in a class by itself.
Set in the coal mines of Pennsylvania in the early 1900s, Ondro Prach, the 13-year-old son of a single mother and a father who died in the mines, begins a new job: leading a mule named Wicked (for good reason). The job is precarious – he and the mule are charged with hauling coal from shafts deep within the mine to the surface. Ondro, like most young teens, never wastes a second considering the danger. That is, until the mine collapses.
Plunged into darkness for several days as one by one, the miners and their butties uselessly struggle to live, Ondro emerges in a sort of permanent darkness. He is in a prison of his own making, as the images haunt and shape his life. As we learn from the beginning, as Ondro nears the end of his life, he will be visited by the families of the doomed miners, who will want to know what really happened in those last days. In allowing himself to remember, maybe he will make his own peace.
The prose is so elegiac and incantatory that I felt “twinned” with Ondro, feeling what he did, seeing what he did, unable to lift myself from the page. Although I am not a woman of faith, I know that Andrew Krivak, who wrote a spiritual memoir, has been on a lifelong journey to respond to the promptings of God and to surrender to His will. In creating a novel this remarkable, about tunneling through the worst of times and never giving up on what gives life meaning, I think he has accomplished his goal. I cannot thank Bellevue Literary Press enough for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review. This book will not be published until early 2026, and readers have a real treat in store for them.
Review of advance copy
Ondro Prach is a 13-year-old Slovka American boy who works as a handler for his mule, Wicked, in a Pennsylvania coal mine in 1929 when the mine collapses and he alone survives. Ondro tells the story in haunting prose about the disaster and aftermath that shapes his life. In his seventies, Ondro is contacted by some of the relatives of the men who were buried underground for his last memories of the people who died. Ondro's life is filled with the horrors he witnessed and a survivor's guilt that colors this life. This is a very poignant novel about a child who witnessed horrors that defined his remaining years.
May 7, 2025
thank you to edelweiss for the drc! 20 pages in, i was like, ooh, this is kind of hard to read, I'm not sure if I like it. But by the end, I was literally in chills almost crying at work, so I feel like that stands by itself as a review.
On top of the crazy emotional journey this takes you on, the prose is also just so fantastic - and I had high expectations, because Krivak's The Bear has some of my favorite pieces of prose ever, but despite the completely different tone, this really, really makes you feel like you're stepping where the character steps, breathing the same air, hearing the same sounds, feeling the same feelings. I can't stress enough how different my life is from Ondro's (case in point: I had to google at least one word per page) but I felt so connected to him, especially the parts illustrating his life as an older man. There's just something about it, man. Sure, this was made for me in many ways - an intense character study, a funky style, an unflinching look at the Horrors - but I think there's so much to discover in this text, and I can't wait for other people with different perspectives to read this and tell me what they found.
While I wait a billion years (okay, less than one year) for this to pub, I'm going to work my way through Krivak's backlist. His writing really is singular, and I can't wait to see what else I discover!
On top of the crazy emotional journey this takes you on, the prose is also just so fantastic - and I had high expectations, because Krivak's The Bear has some of my favorite pieces of prose ever, but despite the completely different tone, this really, really makes you feel like you're stepping where the character steps, breathing the same air, hearing the same sounds, feeling the same feelings. I can't stress enough how different my life is from Ondro's (case in point: I had to google at least one word per page) but I felt so connected to him, especially the parts illustrating his life as an older man. There's just something about it, man. Sure, this was made for me in many ways - an intense character study, a funky style, an unflinching look at the Horrors - but I think there's so much to discover in this text, and I can't wait for other people with different perspectives to read this and tell me what they found.
While I wait a billion years (okay, less than one year) for this to pub, I'm going to work my way through Krivak's backlist. His writing really is singular, and I can't wait to see what else I discover!
July 1, 2026
This novel should come with a warning indicating that it will break your heart.
Really.
I almost couldn’t breathe!
🌺 Read what you love! 🌺
Really.
I almost couldn’t breathe!
🌺 Read what you love! 🌺
June 18, 2025
Attention fans of Andrew Krivak! Although it doesn’t come out until February 2026, “Mule Boy”, is an utterly beautiful, lyrical, heartbreaking, yet soul-lifting short novel! Pre-order it so you won’t miss it!
Ondro Prach, now an old man, is relaying the story of what happened when he was a thirteen-year-old “Mule Boy” in a Pennsylvanian coal mine collapse in 1929. His memories beautifully and vividly convey the darkness, the danger, the fear, the comradery, and the mysterious rules of the mines.
Krivak’s poetic prose will not only bring you into the dark confines of the mine, but it will also let you into Ondro’s life-long “prison of the mind” as the only survivor.
Krivak fans (and I am clearly one) will immediately notice that this novel is different than any of his others. Readers, allow yourself to surrender to the stream of Ondro’s storytelling and his memories and be assured that he will sweep you away. This is the type of novel that is easy to read in one sitting because you will not want to break the spell.
As an old man living in a remote forest by a pond, relatives of the other men who were in the mine with him begin to make pilgrimages to him in order to ask about their loved one’s deaths and last words. Make no mistake, this is a book about death, but the uplifting theme is that death is not “no more” it’s just a passing into another realm of being and “where you begin, there you will return again.”
I very rarely cry reading novels anymore, but Krivak ALWAYS manages to raise at least one lump to my throat in every novel…this one had several moments like that – including the last line of the “Acknowledgements”! That’s a first!
Many thanks to Bellevue Literary Press for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this treasure by the inimitable Andrew Krivak.
Ondro Prach, now an old man, is relaying the story of what happened when he was a thirteen-year-old “Mule Boy” in a Pennsylvanian coal mine collapse in 1929. His memories beautifully and vividly convey the darkness, the danger, the fear, the comradery, and the mysterious rules of the mines.
Krivak’s poetic prose will not only bring you into the dark confines of the mine, but it will also let you into Ondro’s life-long “prison of the mind” as the only survivor.
Krivak fans (and I am clearly one) will immediately notice that this novel is different than any of his others. Readers, allow yourself to surrender to the stream of Ondro’s storytelling and his memories and be assured that he will sweep you away. This is the type of novel that is easy to read in one sitting because you will not want to break the spell.
As an old man living in a remote forest by a pond, relatives of the other men who were in the mine with him begin to make pilgrimages to him in order to ask about their loved one’s deaths and last words. Make no mistake, this is a book about death, but the uplifting theme is that death is not “no more” it’s just a passing into another realm of being and “where you begin, there you will return again.”
I very rarely cry reading novels anymore, but Krivak ALWAYS manages to raise at least one lump to my throat in every novel…this one had several moments like that – including the last line of the “Acknowledgements”! That’s a first!
Many thanks to Bellevue Literary Press for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this treasure by the inimitable Andrew Krivak.
April 21, 2026
Exquisite, mesmerizing and emotionally shattering. I couldn’t put it down. I was profoundly moved and I felt like I was in a trance. Fantastic writing with beautiful references, and allusions that consider philosophical questions and make you stop to consider what you’ve read. I surrendered to the stream of Ondro’s storytelling and his memories and pain. This is truly a remarkable story of both triumph, failure, hope, love and forgiveness. I highly recommend this amazing novel.
March 22, 2026
I didn't know this author,now I want to read everything by him. Luminous writing,superb but infinitely sad story.
July 1, 2026
a character story of a humble life, lived not always especially well, always in the shadow of one of the most traumatic things a person could ever possibly experience, and trying to carve out (or through) that experience to find meaning and peace eventually. this was crafted so fucking well, every story beat and emotion cyclical, connected like the rosary beads gifted to ondro by his father- just like every human life is and every season of time, too. it is all one to me where i begin for i shall come back again there!!!!!!
mule boy had me tearing up on the bus towards the end and therefore i can't rate this anything less than 5 stars. whew!!!
mule boy had me tearing up on the bus towards the end and therefore i can't rate this anything less than 5 stars. whew!!!
March 6, 2026
This was entrancing. I love when a novel drops you into a specialized trade/subculture/etc. with so much jargon that isn't explained because we're as steeped in the world as the protagonist. It felt so immersive - I felt so tense and claustrophobic and yet I trusted the miners because I knew, through Ondro's deep respect for them, they knew what they were doing...I kept forgetting and then remembering that he would be the only survivor. I love how it balanced the different time periods and how much Ondro's entire life was impacted by those few days. Just dizzying. Thank you Sophie for singing this book's praises before it came out and getting it on my radar!
May 2, 2026
4.5 stars rounded to 5.
The text takes some getting used to because he doesn't use end-of-sentence punctuation; the story is very good.
The text takes some getting used to because he doesn't use end-of-sentence punctuation; the story is very good.
July 8, 2026
I read The Bear 5 years ago and it pierced my heart. Naturally, I was anxious to see what this book would do.
And I tried to snag a copy on netgalley before it released but my request was left on hold, so I ended up buying it in print and it was kind of lingering in my TBR stacks so when I saw it on Chirp for cheap, I bought it there, too and I'm glad I did because I listened to it much sooner than I ever would have gotten around to reading it.
And I love how he starts every chapter with "And".
And I love that it's set painfully close to my backyard - Scranton, Wilke-Barre, Hazleton - I know those places. I've been to those places, I've bought books from the Barnes and Noble's in those places, but obviously not back in the 20's when Ondro was living there.
And Ondro, he's the sole survivor of a horrific mine collapse. A young kid who quickly moved up the ranks to Mule Boy, working alongside the miners, loading up carts and dragging them away with Wicked, a mule who only ever listened to one other miner and it was because he, like Ondro, spoke Slovak to it.
Trapped for days with dead and dying men, Ondro carries the memories of thier last moments with him for the rest of life - through his marriage to one of the dead miner's daughters, through his refusal to serve in the war because he was done with dead bodies, up through his older years, when the sons and daughters of the other miners seek him out to hear the stories of their fathers who died, and to hear their final words.
Krivak's writing reminds me of Denis Johnson's Train Dreams and Paul Harding's Tinkers. This is a story that begs to be experienced. It's pain and isolation and punishment and guilt and... and... and...
And I tried to snag a copy on netgalley before it released but my request was left on hold, so I ended up buying it in print and it was kind of lingering in my TBR stacks so when I saw it on Chirp for cheap, I bought it there, too and I'm glad I did because I listened to it much sooner than I ever would have gotten around to reading it.
And I love how he starts every chapter with "And".
And I love that it's set painfully close to my backyard - Scranton, Wilke-Barre, Hazleton - I know those places. I've been to those places, I've bought books from the Barnes and Noble's in those places, but obviously not back in the 20's when Ondro was living there.
And Ondro, he's the sole survivor of a horrific mine collapse. A young kid who quickly moved up the ranks to Mule Boy, working alongside the miners, loading up carts and dragging them away with Wicked, a mule who only ever listened to one other miner and it was because he, like Ondro, spoke Slovak to it.
Trapped for days with dead and dying men, Ondro carries the memories of thier last moments with him for the rest of life - through his marriage to one of the dead miner's daughters, through his refusal to serve in the war because he was done with dead bodies, up through his older years, when the sons and daughters of the other miners seek him out to hear the stories of their fathers who died, and to hear their final words.
Krivak's writing reminds me of Denis Johnson's Train Dreams and Paul Harding's Tinkers. This is a story that begs to be experienced. It's pain and isolation and punishment and guilt and... and... and...
May 7, 2026
3.5 stars for me... I would love to say that I loved this book, but unfortunately, I did not. I found the writing very disconcerting, and I found myself anxious to finish it...
May 27, 2026
This was the fictional story of a coal mine collapse in a Pennsylvania in 1929. Bleak, but beautifully written.
May 13, 2026
Beautiful. Touching.
April 15, 2026
A compelling story. Some readers may be put off by the non-standard formatting and minimal punctuation, but I found it quite easy to read.
Review of advance copy
interview with andrew krivak coming soon to npr's weekend edition
March 20, 2026
I didn't expect this to be so emotionally draining, nor so beautifully written, but it was surely both of those and much more. Some have griped about the style - punctuation, paragraphing - but I found it suited the telling perfectly. There is a sense that Ondro, our titular character, must get this tragedy out of him, somehow purge it, but only if it is asked of him by those most affected. The shifts in time are so gradual as to almost be invisible, which I found magical. Ondro suffers greatly for surviving the mine disaster, and the way he narrates his life, his highs and lows, and the acceptance of the life he has lead is powerfully described. We get glimpses of his family, his fellow mine workers, his friend Jacobsen, and mostly of his great love, Magda. I loved every word of this book, the prose felt almost like an epic poem in its musicality and grand understatement. A masterpiece that left me a bit broken, to be honest.
March 4, 2026
4.5 Stars - a quiet novel that asks the reader to slow down. The lack of periods and quotation marks takes effort, and I often had to reread to figure out what was happening, but the rhythm eventually settles in. This book is more about how it feels to be in the story than about moving through plot. It reminded me of The Road and Seascraper in that way. It took some patience, but I’m glad I read it.
April 16, 2026
Generally I don’t like books that are single sentences, but this is an exception. It’s easier to see the logic behind why Krivak does it.
On New Year’s Day in 1929, 13 year old Ondro Prach, of Serbian descent, starts a new job in the Pennsylvania coal mine where his late father worked. He has worked in the mine since he was 8, progressing ‘up the ladder’.. Ondro is in charge of the mule that pulls wagons filled with coal through the mine. On his first day, an anccident occurs, from which Ondro escapes, but it has a massive effect on the rest of his life as he tries to understand his survival.
Krivak is a poet, which doesn’t come as a surprise after reading just a few pages of his deep and moving prose. He manages not just to avoid the ‘full stop’, but almost any punctuation at all.
The themes of the book are fate and chance and they are examined with a guileful and exhilarating energy.
It’s one of those books for which the potential reader should not look too deeply at reviews, as several do spoil it.
On New Year’s Day in 1929, 13 year old Ondro Prach, of Serbian descent, starts a new job in the Pennsylvania coal mine where his late father worked. He has worked in the mine since he was 8, progressing ‘up the ladder’.. Ondro is in charge of the mule that pulls wagons filled with coal through the mine. On his first day, an anccident occurs, from which Ondro escapes, but it has a massive effect on the rest of his life as he tries to understand his survival.
Krivak is a poet, which doesn’t come as a surprise after reading just a few pages of his deep and moving prose. He manages not just to avoid the ‘full stop’, but almost any punctuation at all.
The themes of the book are fate and chance and they are examined with a guileful and exhilarating energy.
It’s one of those books for which the potential reader should not look too deeply at reviews, as several do spoil it.
March 19, 2026
I really enjoyed Mule Boy.
Unless you grew up or are currently living in an area where coal mining was prevalent, this might not be the best read. But, I think this book does an unbelievable job at explaining what life in a mining patch was like. However, my biggest takeaway is that it is impossible for anyone to understand it unless you or someone in your family has lived it.
Ondro’s matter of fact narration is an example of this, as he talks about his experiences in the mines and how they shaped his life as simply an events in one’s life. Yet the book has an inescapable sadness to it that I would think mirrors that of the mines.
This book gave me an unbelievable appreciation and immense respect for miners and their families, and the cultures around mining that are still seen in Appalachia.
I would highly recommend to anyone in historical mining towns, especially of Eastern European decent.
Unless you grew up or are currently living in an area where coal mining was prevalent, this might not be the best read. But, I think this book does an unbelievable job at explaining what life in a mining patch was like. However, my biggest takeaway is that it is impossible for anyone to understand it unless you or someone in your family has lived it.
Ondro’s matter of fact narration is an example of this, as he talks about his experiences in the mines and how they shaped his life as simply an events in one’s life. Yet the book has an inescapable sadness to it that I would think mirrors that of the mines.
This book gave me an unbelievable appreciation and immense respect for miners and their families, and the cultures around mining that are still seen in Appalachia.
I would highly recommend to anyone in historical mining towns, especially of Eastern European decent.
June 17, 2026
A short “inner” book told through by an older man looking back on his life and the trauma the at defined it: surviving a mine collapse where he was the sole survivor at the age of 13. The narrator relates the impact of the event on his relationships and life’s journey through a stream of consciousness. He ends up becoming a prisoner both in his own mind as well as in actual life and slowly learns to process the events of the fateful day of the mine collapse.
The book has no real story plot and reads almost as a diary or autobiography told near the end of life. The writing style can be a bit tough in places as there is a void of punctuation throughout and there is not a lot of dialogue. If I knew more about the story of Jonah and the whale I probably would have appreciated some of the symbolism a little more.
So, what we have here is a sparse, mournful, and, in many ways, a life of an aesthetic who may have lived a different life with some good mental health therapy. It am upgrading the book to 4-stars from 3.5 due to writing quality.
The book has no real story plot and reads almost as a diary or autobiography told near the end of life. The writing style can be a bit tough in places as there is a void of punctuation throughout and there is not a lot of dialogue. If I knew more about the story of Jonah and the whale I probably would have appreciated some of the symbolism a little more.
So, what we have here is a sparse, mournful, and, in many ways, a life of an aesthetic who may have lived a different life with some good mental health therapy. It am upgrading the book to 4-stars from 3.5 due to writing quality.
May 11, 2026
A great story told by the 13 year old survivor of a 1929 coal mine collapse in Pennsylvania. After his father dies in the mine, he gets a job in the same mine to provide for he and his mother. As he moves up the job ladder to ‘Mule Boy’, he learns to work with the cantankerous mule named, Wicked. He thinks he has won him over with providing the mule carrots. He thinks he might like the mine and his choice to work with the old mule. Then a day comes when a terrible mistake occurs. How will he make it out of the mine to tell the story and follow his dreams?
May 28, 2026
This book has so much depth and is so well written, unusual format and all. Ondro won my heart in many ways and I honestly did not want to see the last page come up. Thanks to my friend, Janet, for recommending it.
March 16, 2026
Ondro Prach, the thirteen-year-old son of Slovak immigrants, has been given a job in the anthracite mines in Pennsylvania: he is to guide the mule pulling cars with excavated coal back up to the surface. (This is what a mule boy is assigned to do.) On his first day of work, however, Ondro -- whose father died in a mine collapse some years before -- finds himself trapped in a shaft cave-in with two miners and two assistants (known as butties,), and his life is changed forever. -- This is a relatively straightforward narrative which loops back on itself as Ondro reflects on his experience or needs to describe it for one or more kin of the miners/butties. The cumulative effect of the detail (strong sense of place, vivid characters) is deeply moving. Highly recommended!
March 28, 2026
Beautifully written. The prose is incantatory and the lack of punctuation (as we’re used to it) feels exactly right. I was reminded despite the distinctly different styles of the novella -not the movie- Train Dreams, in the nobility inherent in its characters, its respect for the working men and women of our country. Highly recommended.
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