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The Grace That Keeps This World
On the edge of the Adirondack wilderness, survival is a way of life for the Hazen family. Gary Hazen is a respected forester and hunter, known for his good instincts and meticulous planning. He and his wife, Susan, have raised their sons to appreciate the satisfaction of this difficult but honest life. In spite of this, the boys, men now, are slipping away. His older son, Gary David, is secretly dating a woman of whom his father would not approve even as Kevin, the younger boy, struggles against the limits of his family’s hardscrabble lifestyle, wanting something more. On the first day of hunting season the Hazen men enter the woods, unaware that the trip they are embarking on will force them to come to terms with their differences and will forever change their lives.
In The Grace That Keeps This World , Tom Bailey gives us an emotional page-turner, infused with a deep sense of foreboding. Alternately narrated by the Hazens and their neighbors in Lost Lake, the story perfectly captures the enduring rhythms of life in a rural town.
The Grace That Keeps This World is an October, 2005 Book Sense pick.
In The Grace That Keeps This World , Tom Bailey gives us an emotional page-turner, infused with a deep sense of foreboding. Alternately narrated by the Hazens and their neighbors in Lost Lake, the story perfectly captures the enduring rhythms of life in a rural town.
The Grace That Keeps This World is an October, 2005 Book Sense pick.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1991
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514 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews
July 8, 2012
If it weren't for my bookclub, I probably would never have even heard of this book. But it was chosen, and so I read it. I finished it in less than a day, so it's compelling enough, I'm just not sure I can say exactly why.
This is just the story of a family, the Hazens, trying to make it season by season, year after year, living close to and off of the land, and with faith. They don't work 9 to 5 jobs so that they can go down to the Super Wal-Mart to pick up the things they need. Instead, Susan grows their vegetables, Gary and their sons hunt or fish for their meat, they barter for goods, etc. That's not to say that they are completely cut off from modernity - Gary does odd jobs for money to buy generators and freezers and such, and surely to pay taxes, though that wasn't mentioned specifically, but they try to live by an ideal of respect for the land and simplicity.
The two boys, Gary David (24) and Kevin (19) were raised to this life... but Kevin is itching to get out of it. He's the first in their family, ever, to go to college, and hates that he feels trapped by obligation to live a life he's no longer sure he wants. He's got a liberal vegetarian girlfriend who doesn't believe in killing animals for any reason, including meat, and she tries to get Kevin to refuse to hunt in the upcoming season.
Gary David is more accepting of the lifestyle they choose to live and responsible, a role he sees as being necessary as the first born, but in his own way he's rebelling too, by choosing a life with someone not North Country born, and in a position of authority over the Hazens - an Environmental Conservation Officer, investigating the Hazens for a reported hunting violation.
The story begins with a prologue from Susan's perspective, recounting the early morning departure of the three men on hunting season opening morning, and leaves us with a sort of aimless sense of foreboding. The remainder of the book takes us through the weeks leading up to that day, and we get to see how the Hazens live and interact with each other and their community.
Gary and Kevin are drifting apart. They both want life on their own terms, but their terms are completely opposite, and so they butt heads and each resent the other for making things difficult and not understanding the other's perspective. Gary's lifestyle is a tradition based on necessity that's no longer truly necessary in this society of modernity. He doesn't understand how life could be fulfilling in any other way. His lifestyle gives him purpose and a sense of accomplishment, as well as an ingrained respect for the nature around him. Kevin just sees it as a ball and chain holding him back from his own chosen path.
To tell the truth, not very much happens in this book. There's not very much conflict, aside from the familial type I mentioned above. There are a lot of beautiful descriptions of the Adirondacks and the community in which the Hazens live, but for much of the book, what I've written above just about covers it. It's definitely a slowly building story, which makes the end and the resolution feel like it was on super fast-forward, unfortunately.
This book's told in quite a lot of different perspective chapters, all in 1st person narrative except for Kevin's chapters, which are in 3rd person. I honestly do not have any idea why Kevin was singled out for a different narrative style. It really doesn't make sense to me. The only thing I can figure is that we're supposed to associate the difference in narrative with the foreboding from the prologue, and it's supposed to generate some suspense and worry about what will happen to Kevin. And I guess, in a way, there was that, because obviously it came to mind, but mainly it just stood out like a sore thumb. And even now, after finishing the story, I still have no idea why the choice was made to change the narrative for Kevin. His perspective could easily have been written to match the others, and in my opinion, would have worked better that way. Third person created a distance from him that I didn't want. I wanted to know him as I knew everyone else in the story. Why should I get to hear the innermost thoughts of a waitress that is only in the story for a few pages here and there, but be kept distant from one of the main, pivotal characters? Frustrating.
Coming back to the ending, I have to admit it was a bit of a let-down. There was all this build-up, all this manufactured suspense, and then the main event is completely skipped, and we only see the outcome, with an explanation of what apparently happened from those who weren't there. And then the epilogue is just a pat, too conveniently perfect resolution, one that doesn't fit what I know of the characters. Honestly, I wish that the epilogue had been left off. I think the ending would have been better that way, even if it was problematic.
One other note about the writing. Some of the phrasing and sentence structure was a bit awkward, and I'd have to read a line 2 or 3 times to get what was being said. It felt like it was trying too hard to be beautiful prose, and it didn't need to try at all. In fact, considering the stark way of life they chose, less would have been more.
Overall though, I can't say that I disliked the book. I read it in less than a day, and something about it kept me turning the pages. I don't know what that was, but it was there.
This is just the story of a family, the Hazens, trying to make it season by season, year after year, living close to and off of the land, and with faith. They don't work 9 to 5 jobs so that they can go down to the Super Wal-Mart to pick up the things they need. Instead, Susan grows their vegetables, Gary and their sons hunt or fish for their meat, they barter for goods, etc. That's not to say that they are completely cut off from modernity - Gary does odd jobs for money to buy generators and freezers and such, and surely to pay taxes, though that wasn't mentioned specifically, but they try to live by an ideal of respect for the land and simplicity.
The two boys, Gary David (24) and Kevin (19) were raised to this life... but Kevin is itching to get out of it. He's the first in their family, ever, to go to college, and hates that he feels trapped by obligation to live a life he's no longer sure he wants. He's got a liberal vegetarian girlfriend who doesn't believe in killing animals for any reason, including meat, and she tries to get Kevin to refuse to hunt in the upcoming season.
Gary David is more accepting of the lifestyle they choose to live and responsible, a role he sees as being necessary as the first born, but in his own way he's rebelling too, by choosing a life with someone not North Country born, and in a position of authority over the Hazens - an Environmental Conservation Officer, investigating the Hazens for a reported hunting violation.
The story begins with a prologue from Susan's perspective, recounting the early morning departure of the three men on hunting season opening morning, and leaves us with a sort of aimless sense of foreboding. The remainder of the book takes us through the weeks leading up to that day, and we get to see how the Hazens live and interact with each other and their community.
Gary and Kevin are drifting apart. They both want life on their own terms, but their terms are completely opposite, and so they butt heads and each resent the other for making things difficult and not understanding the other's perspective. Gary's lifestyle is a tradition based on necessity that's no longer truly necessary in this society of modernity. He doesn't understand how life could be fulfilling in any other way. His lifestyle gives him purpose and a sense of accomplishment, as well as an ingrained respect for the nature around him. Kevin just sees it as a ball and chain holding him back from his own chosen path.
To tell the truth, not very much happens in this book. There's not very much conflict, aside from the familial type I mentioned above. There are a lot of beautiful descriptions of the Adirondacks and the community in which the Hazens live, but for much of the book, what I've written above just about covers it. It's definitely a slowly building story, which makes the end and the resolution feel like it was on super fast-forward, unfortunately.
This book's told in quite a lot of different perspective chapters, all in 1st person narrative except for Kevin's chapters, which are in 3rd person. I honestly do not have any idea why Kevin was singled out for a different narrative style. It really doesn't make sense to me. The only thing I can figure is that we're supposed to associate the difference in narrative with the foreboding from the prologue, and it's supposed to generate some suspense and worry about what will happen to Kevin. And I guess, in a way, there was that, because obviously it came to mind, but mainly it just stood out like a sore thumb. And even now, after finishing the story, I still have no idea why the choice was made to change the narrative for Kevin. His perspective could easily have been written to match the others, and in my opinion, would have worked better that way. Third person created a distance from him that I didn't want. I wanted to know him as I knew everyone else in the story. Why should I get to hear the innermost thoughts of a waitress that is only in the story for a few pages here and there, but be kept distant from one of the main, pivotal characters? Frustrating.
Coming back to the ending, I have to admit it was a bit of a let-down. There was all this build-up, all this manufactured suspense, and then the main event is completely skipped, and we only see the outcome, with an explanation of what apparently happened from those who weren't there. And then the epilogue is just a pat, too conveniently perfect resolution, one that doesn't fit what I know of the characters. Honestly, I wish that the epilogue had been left off. I think the ending would have been better that way, even if it was problematic.
One other note about the writing. Some of the phrasing and sentence structure was a bit awkward, and I'd have to read a line 2 or 3 times to get what was being said. It felt like it was trying too hard to be beautiful prose, and it didn't need to try at all. In fact, considering the stark way of life they chose, less would have been more.
Overall though, I can't say that I disliked the book. I read it in less than a day, and something about it kept me turning the pages. I don't know what that was, but it was there.
July 19, 2013
OK, I'm friends with the author, but truly, this book is magnificent. What extraordinary voices. What sensitive characterizations. Descriptions of the Adirondack landscape and the "silvering lakes" that make you want to stay in the world of the book forever. Bailey invents some interesting double-barreled verbs: it's a stylistic quirk of his I find intriguing and appealing.
May 23, 2008
(listened to the audiobook version) This book didn't quite work for me. I think my sister read it a couple of years ago, and I don't know if she said that a hunting accident takes place, or if I read it in a review, but I kept waiting for this tragedy to happen, and it didn't come until almost the end. I thought the book was going to follow this family in the aftermath of the event, but instead it tells the story leading up to it. (Obviously, it's not the author's fault that I misunderstood!) The big event occurs, though, without any explanation of why or how it happened. Ok, it's supposed to be an accident. Sure. I just don't buy it. We learn that this family relies on deer meat to survive. They are very serious about hunting and getting meat; it's not just sport to them. I know enough about hunting to know that you don't pull the trigger unless you know what you're shooting at, and that you make sure you have a 'good shot' before you take it. So why on earth did someone in this hunting party get shot? The author offers no insight whatsoever. None. To me that is a major failing. I think there's no explanation because it's so implausible to begin with. I know that 'accidents happen', but they wouldn't happen to these people if everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing, and the reader is not given any information that sheds light on the situation.
I liked reading about the father/son relationships because that's something I'll never experience. The writing was kind of spare, which I don't mind. The book would have been better for me if there had been some kind of believable reason for the accidental shooting. I feel like I was led down a path to nowhere with this book.
I liked reading about the father/son relationships because that's something I'll never experience. The writing was kind of spare, which I don't mind. The book would have been better for me if there had been some kind of believable reason for the accidental shooting. I feel like I was led down a path to nowhere with this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2021
I found this book in Target years ago, completely by chance. I liked the cover. But I liked the story so much more. With themes of family, community, and forgiveness, this book never looks away from how hard losing and living can be. But, redemption without platitudes arrives unannounced. Thank you for a beautiful book, Mr. BAILEY
November 29, 2008
Bailey has a beautiful writing style. Some parts were a little slow but the background was needed to tie it all together in the end.
May 18, 2021
This is a tragic story of a family living in a community located in a remote section of the Adirondacks. It's no spoiler to say that something terrible looms, as that is alluded to in the opening pages of the story. The chapters alternate between different narrators as the tension mounts to what becomes a life-changing series of events. All of the characters and family dynamics are richly drawn, including a hard-headed father, an accommodating (but with a mind of her own) mother, one compliant son and one determined to forge his own path. It's a bit of a slow burn, but reads fairly quickly.
May 1, 2009
Exquisite! This books kept me up nights reading and I'd wake up in the morning wondering whether I'd been hallucinating (especially the part about Lazarus) - when I finished I went out and bought the books for all my family members. It has a tragedy (this becomes apparent early on) so you spend much of the book dreading it but the ending is more satisfying and beautiful than any book I've ever read.
June 23, 2011
I found many aspects of the book appealing, from the story's unfolding through the different voices to rustic life in the Adirondack to the complexity of the father son relationship,especially when one plans a different path in life. I found myself thinking about the characters and their relationships for a few days after I finished reading the book.
October 29, 2016
This book painstakingly paints its story stroke by seemingly trivial stroke. But, at the conclusion, when the reader stands back and sees every heartbreaking detail of the bigger picture, every single stroke, every single word, mattered.
May 25, 2021
I chose this book because the story was taking place
In the Adirondacks of NY which is not that far from me. Gary David is the father of 3 boys , Kevin and Gary David and the husband to Susan. They rely on their land to get them through winters. Susan has a garden and she cans food to store for winter and her husband and sons chop wood off the land for heat and they hunt for deer for the meat to get them through the winter. Gary David the son takes after his dad, works hard and is dedicated to his family and what is required of him. Kevin doesn’t want to live his life as his dad and mother do he attends college and wants to be a teacher and hates the manual labor of hunting and chopping wood. Kevin and his dad butt heads often over his choices. The opening day of deer season also starts with a blizzard and a horrifying accident. I felt this story wandered a little and rambled at times about unimportant issues such as the different kinds of trees there are and the cycle of the trees. Gets off topic a few times and I struggled through those parts.
In the Adirondacks of NY which is not that far from me. Gary David is the father of 3 boys , Kevin and Gary David and the husband to Susan. They rely on their land to get them through winters. Susan has a garden and she cans food to store for winter and her husband and sons chop wood off the land for heat and they hunt for deer for the meat to get them through the winter. Gary David the son takes after his dad, works hard and is dedicated to his family and what is required of him. Kevin doesn’t want to live his life as his dad and mother do he attends college and wants to be a teacher and hates the manual labor of hunting and chopping wood. Kevin and his dad butt heads often over his choices. The opening day of deer season also starts with a blizzard and a horrifying accident. I felt this story wandered a little and rambled at times about unimportant issues such as the different kinds of trees there are and the cycle of the trees. Gets off topic a few times and I struggled through those parts.
January 26, 2020
Well written, but...
Something is missing.
The Grace That Keeps This World tells a good story of what it's like to live the life of a woodsman.
It has a lot of killing of animals which is off putting. It is what the plot revolves around, so it is hard to escape the gory details.
The parts that involve the movie star, Blaze, making a documentary was silly. When the geese are killed and kept coming back to life needing to be killed over and over is redundant.
Also, with all the lakes in the setting, this outdoor sporting community sure isn't interested in fishing. They will kill and eat anything else they encounter, but seem to ignore the food in the lakes that are written so much about. That's odd.
An emotional part of this book is missing concerning the subject matter. One would think it would be a lot more moving considering the horrific death scene at the end which didn't even have anything to do with killing animals.
Life goes on.
Something is missing.
The Grace That Keeps This World tells a good story of what it's like to live the life of a woodsman.
It has a lot of killing of animals which is off putting. It is what the plot revolves around, so it is hard to escape the gory details.
The parts that involve the movie star, Blaze, making a documentary was silly. When the geese are killed and kept coming back to life needing to be killed over and over is redundant.
Also, with all the lakes in the setting, this outdoor sporting community sure isn't interested in fishing. They will kill and eat anything else they encounter, but seem to ignore the food in the lakes that are written so much about. That's odd.
An emotional part of this book is missing concerning the subject matter. One would think it would be a lot more moving considering the horrific death scene at the end which didn't even have anything to do with killing animals.
Life goes on.
January 8, 2019
I enjoyed this book (it is definitely more of a slow burn than a thriller) but agree with other reviewers here that it felt extremely rushed at the end. The first 3/4s of the book is a slow buildup to some kind of disastrous confrontation, which is mentioned in the prologue but not revealed. Then said confrontation occurs off-screen, and we get maybe two short chapters and an epilogue dealing with the aftermath? It feels like a very unsatisfying payoff. Thankfully it can be finished in two or three sittings so you don't feel like you wasted a week reading this book.
I think you will enjoy it more if you're from a rural area. Otherwise many idiosyncrasies and character archetypes may not make as much sense to you.
I think you will enjoy it more if you're from a rural area. Otherwise many idiosyncrasies and character archetypes may not make as much sense to you.
April 28, 2020
Relationships in a small Adirondack community...Gary Hazen (hunter) and his sons Gary David (following his father’s footsteps but also dating the warden who wants to get the father in trouble) and Kevin (wanting a little space from dad and getting pressure from his girlfriend Jeannie not to hunt), Gary’s wife Susan, Officer Roy, Father Anthony, and others (even including a couple that retired and moved to Florida) all share their perspectives. Although different, each character was so relatable and interesting. I really liked these people. Along the way, I don’t think I would have thought I’d give this book all five stars but in retrospect it was thoughtfully crafted and relatable.
September 3, 2017
Wow! Tom Bailey's prose is a harmony, weaving between his characters like a smooth, dark river. The complexities of familial relationships, the small town with its throwback to bygone days, the hardscrabble life borne from the climate in which they live make this book an unexpected treat - especially considering it is his first novel. You know from the first chapter tragedy will occur. What you don't know is how sympathetic you are to each of the characters and how you can place yourself into each of their mindsets. Brilliant and heartbreaking.
March 20, 2018
Not what I expected, not a storyline I thought I’d be so hooked on. I was not surprised by the ending however, I suspected from the beginning this would be the ending. I was surprised by how drawn in I was to the characters. I typically don’t like the format of each chapter being a different characters point of view, but it worked for this book and there were several different characters that had a voice. Even with the amount of characters voices it still worked. The internal dialogue is so well done to develop these characters, you feel their emotions throughout. Well written.
September 30, 2019
An entertaining read by a PA author- I found this novel pleasantly intriguing; the author starts in the present and then flashes back to finish the plot's lingering questions. A story of family love- spousal, parental, fraternal, and the stressors that accompany that love. The main focus is on the father, Gary, and his two very different sons, Gary David and Kevin. What happens when a father expects too much? What happens when "life" forces change? Can love survive even the worst tragedy? A good read, quick, gripping, and satisfying to the end.
October 19, 2017
Emotion packed story. This was a gut wrenching tale of a father and his sons who felt deeply but could not seem to put it in words. Their story was well written, but some of the side stories seemed to be scrounged together to fill pages. The whole shooting a movie about Canada geese was a bit weird and didn't seem fitting with the deep emotion of the main story. The descriptions of the forests and North Country people were interesting and well done.
May 27, 2018
I loved this book! I loved the story line, especially liked his writing style.
Very easy to read & follow the story.
If you have grown up in an area where hunting is King, you will understand the mindset behind the father's obsession with needing his boys to follow in his footstep & hunt.
Or if you have a strong willed father, you can identify with the struggles of the sons not wanting to go against their father.
Very easy to read & follow the story.
If you have grown up in an area where hunting is King, you will understand the mindset behind the father's obsession with needing his boys to follow in his footstep & hunt.
Or if you have a strong willed father, you can identify with the struggles of the sons not wanting to go against their father.
May 6, 2024
This book was pretty amazing. The author did an excellent job of character building. I will admit that the story was a little slow in the first third of the book, but it quickly sped up. I did not see the ending coming. It was more of a coming into adulthood story. The parents did their best to raise their children adequately. In the end, life happens, and accidents do too, but we must care on. Definitely a heart-wrenching story that gets you completely invested.
November 20, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the author's beautiful writing style. I lived in the Adirondacks from 1968 to 1972 as a young adult from New York City, and this book elicited so many memories from that time. Although it is set app. 20 years after I lived there, the descriptions of the harsh yet beautiful environment was so accurate. It was a world apart then and still is.
June 2, 2024
This is one that was hard for me to give a star rating. I did like the writing style a good bit, and the story was mostly compelling though it felt like it left loose ends. I would consider reading something else by Tom Bailey if the topic was of interest.
Content considerations: gets medium spicy in a couple chapters; some language
Content considerations: gets medium spicy in a couple chapters; some language
June 4, 2017
When I began this book, I didn't think it would be that interesting. But as I persevered, I began to get caught up in the story. The characters, the Hazens, are so believable! This book haunted me for several days after I finished reading it. I'd recommend it highly.
June 18, 2018
This may go against popular opinion, but I couldn't even finish this book, and that is RARE! I couldn't keep the storyline straight with the constant switching of characters and perspectives. Not compelling enough to keep struggling through.
February 19, 2020
Not my normal genre, I typically prefer historical fiction or mysteries. I picked this up only because the author is local, and I knew he had sold the movie rights to the book, so it should be good.
I was not disappointed. The story is sad, and haunting, but oh so very well done.
I was not disappointed. The story is sad, and haunting, but oh so very well done.
October 15, 2022
A somewhat disjointed story about a family in a remote part of the Adirondack Mountains that all comes together in the last 50 pages. I suspect the author lost most readers in the first half.
It is too bad, because it the story has a point about families and raising young adults.
It is too bad, because it the story has a point about families and raising young adults.
April 15, 2023
So good!!!! I found it relatable even though it's largely from the perspective of a male lumberjack living a vastly different life from my own. I've been giving it away as gifts and cannot recommend it enough. Be sure to read the epilogue afterwards.
February 15, 2024
This book caught me up in the story from the start, the writing is excellent, but i kept waiting for the plot, for the purpose of getting involved in this family's life, when it happens very close to the end, i was dumbfounded and wanted to know why? How?
December 17, 2024
The winter vibes were ok (admittedly why I picked up the book…I enjoy books that detail the rustic survival in winter and dependence on the land) but overshadowed by the inner thoughts and confusing perspective shifts between characters. The book didn’t seem long enough to justify so many character perspectives.
The writing is very poetic, at times beautiful, but lost somewhere in the long, meandering sentences.
Characters needed to be fleshed out a bit more. Much detail is provided and yet, not enough.
The most important scene in the book feels rushed through, void of details. The climax falls off the other side of the cliff rather than giving itself over to a gentle dénouement.
There is a good twist at the end and it was enjoyable at times. It seems the book is meant to say something, but I don’t think it was mature enough yet to say it effectively. Words didn’t quite come together. Could have a used a few more drafts, added detail and shift in structure.
The writing is very poetic, at times beautiful, but lost somewhere in the long, meandering sentences.
Characters needed to be fleshed out a bit more. Much detail is provided and yet, not enough.
The most important scene in the book feels rushed through, void of details. The climax falls off the other side of the cliff rather than giving itself over to a gentle dénouement.
There is a good twist at the end and it was enjoyable at times. It seems the book is meant to say something, but I don’t think it was mature enough yet to say it effectively. Words didn’t quite come together. Could have a used a few more drafts, added detail and shift in structure.
May 2, 2018
Beautifully written and tragic tale set in the Adirondacks.
January 19, 2019
REALLY good. Touching and very true to life relationships. I feel as if I know each of these people. This was a very moving story. Can’t wait wait to read another book by this author.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews