Benediction

From the beloved and best-selling author comes a story of life and death, family and community, once again set out on the high plains in Holt, Colorado.

When Dad Lewis is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he and his wife must work together, along with their daughter, to make his final days as comfortable as possible, despite the bitter absence of their estranged son. Next door, a young girl moves in with her grandmother and contends with the memories that Dad's condition stirs up of her own mother's death. A newly arrived preacher attempts to mend his strained relationships with his wife and son, and soon faces the disdain of his congregation when he offers more than they are used to getting on Sunday mornings. And throughout, an elderly widow and her middle-aged daughter do all they can to ease the pain of their friends and neighbors. Here Haruf gives us his most indelible portrait yet of this small town, one that highlights the compassion, the suffering, and, above all, the humanity of its inhabitants.


Genre: Literary Fiction