Benediction completed Kent Haruf's trilogy set in his fictional town of Holt, Colorado. It revolves around the impending death from cancer of the owner of the local hardware store, "Dad" Lewis. Dad's devoted wife cares for him, aided by their daughter, who returns from Denver. Ghosts, including his estranged gay son, pop up in Dad's imagination.
Holt being a small town where everyone knows everyone, Haruf is able to weave in subplots. An elderly neighbor of the Lewises takes in her seven-year-old granddaughter. She receives support from a retired schoolteacher, once shamed for an affair with a married man, and her mother. A preacher angers his congregation with a challenging sermon. His teenage son is alienated and disturbed.
As in Plainsong and Eventide, Haruf manages to convey profound insights about humanity through plain writing, unsophisticated characters, and ordinary events.
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