Benediction is defined by Merriam-Webster as a blessing, from the Latin benedicere, to praise or speak well. In its formal exercise it takes place in a church setting, as an official part of the service.

What is the blessing that is spoken in Kent Haruf’s most recent fictional foray into the happenings of the town of Holt, on the Colorado plains, the setting of all of Haruf’s writings?

There are many, and they all revolve around the irascible Dad Lewis, the longtime proprietor of Holt’s hardware store, who at 77, is dying of lung cancer.

We move back and forth in time as Dad recalls several events, which occurred many years before, one involving a former employee at the hardware store, and the other his son Frank. The tragic outcome of these episodes, buried deep within his psyche, reemerge as he moves in and out of consciousness during his last days.

In some of the most powerful scenes of the novel he twice encounters these fateful actors as psychic ghosts all gathered together in his room, his personal inquisition to commence. But mercy lies at the heart of Haruf’s writing, even in the most pathetic and dire circumstances, even from these inquisitors from the past. It is this essence of forgiveness that appeals and draws one into his stories.

A subplot woven throughout is the tragi-comic story of middle aged Rev. Lyle and his family. An idealist, he challenges his flock to apply the Christian call to love one’s enemies even in a time of terrorist threats. But Lyle experiences their rejection, many walking out of the service. This parallels a kind of repudiation from his wife and son, leading to a crisis of identity and meaning, but ultimately the blessing of clarity.

Another thread of blessing is the gentle kindness of the women that Dad and his wife Mary have known throughout the years. There is neighbor Berta May who has taken in her young granddaughter Alice, after the death of her mother.

One of the most moving scenes in the book is the disappearance of Alice late one afternoon, which deftly illustrates the glue that binds all these people together.

The elderly widow, Willa, and her love-crossed daughter, Alene, move in and out of the story quietly comforting and supporting those in need. And Dad’s daughter, Lorraine, has returned home to be with him and her mother, leading to her own illuminations along the way.

Once again, Haruf has crafted a story of honesty and realism that doesn’t flinch from life’s ongoing and even final challenges, and that finally succeeds in opening up in the reader the blessing of the “precious ordinary.”