Ordinary Grace

If there is a chief way that the New Bremen community is decoupled, it’s through those that are white, working-class, and devout, and those who are not. The Drums are certainly an example of the former: the father is the town minister, and the family is far from well-off. So is the case for the residents of the Flats, that non-affluent portion of New Bremen that comprises its moral majority, and figuratively legislates the town’s unwritten moral code, the foundation of which is xenophobia. The fear of otherness is a thread running through the fabric of the novel, and anyone who is other winds up in one of two roles: victim or suspect. Bobby Cole is developmentally-disabled, and therefore other, and the novel’s first victim. The book’s second victim, the Skipper, is an itinerant who presumably sleeps rough on the bank of the river, and also not part of the community. Ariel Drum is a member of the moral majority until she becomes pregnant out of wedlock, which challenges her majority status postmortem; further, her impending move to Juilliard and the possibilities her time at the school will afford her move her toward outlier status. Karl Brandt, the summer’s last death, is both wealthy and gay, and therefore also an outlier.

The same can be said for those accused of Ariel’s murder at various times over the course of the book. Redstone is made other through being Dakota Sioux. Karl Brandt, as described above, is made into outlier by first his wealth and then his sexuality. Morris Engdahl, in his role as perpetual outcast and town tough, certainly lies outside majority status. Emil Brandt, who states he is non-religious, is made other by his sight impairment, disfigurement, musical abilities, and wealth. Lise Brandt, Ariel’s actual killer, is deaf, and, as such, cannot participate in New Bremen society.

All of these victims and/or suspects have direct or indirect ties to nature. Bobby Cole is killed outdoors, on the trestle, presumably while staring off at the river. The Skipper uses nature and natural resources in order to survive. Ariel Drum’s corpse is found in the river, and Karl Brandt kills himself by driving his roadster into a tree. Redstone is most commonly shown on the bank of the river, Engdahl’s most important scene happens at a swimming hole, and Lise Brandt—and, by extension, Emil—live in a house that is virtually overgrown with beds of flowers. While it’s true that one “majority” character, Gus, would seem to have some ties to the land, through his work as a gravedigger and his connection to Ginger French, the woman who owns the horse ranch, the act of grave digging still lies in service of religion, and the horse ranch itself is outside New Bremen city limits, and therefore not literally or figuratively tied to the town’s rules. Further, barring Ariel Drum, none of the above characters have any ties to organized religion that the reader is made aware of: Cole, Redstone, Engdahl and the Brandts never appear in church, save for Emil’s brief appearance for Ariel’s funeral (he does not stay long or talk to anyone). Krueger, then, uses whiteness, Christianity and being middle class as markers for normalcy in New Bremen; those who do not possess such traits are consistently cast out or cast off. Indeed, even Ruth Drum, once she questions both her faith and her marriage, effectively disappears from the narrative for short while, returning only after Jake’s speech impedimentmiraculously vanishes while saying grace in church, at his sister’s funeral service.