Kent Haruf’s ‘Benediction’ Review: An Utterance of a Blessing
When the majority of us close our eyes and imagine Colorado, we see snow-capped mountains, skiers on the slopes and the mile-high city of Denver. But there is another, less-known image of the 38th state — the flat plains to the east of the capital. With a minimum number of pen strokes, Kent Haruf quickly paints a deft picture of this unique location, which sets the tone, time and place of his novel “Benediction” within its first pages.
Benediction by Kent Haruf
Haruf’s novel opens in the fictional town of Holt, which is loosely based on the author’s hometown of Salida, Colorado. The reader is immediately introduced to Dad Lewis, and we learn at the outset that he has been diagnosed with cancer and the prognosis is poor. Dad is a realist, and during the drive back to Holt from the hospital in Denver, he stares out the window pondering the countryside. He says to his wife and mother of his two children, “I just want to look out at this country. I won’t be coming here again.”
Dad knows the truth. It is spring, and he’ll be dead before the end of the summer.
“Benediction” is one of those few rare-case novels where you know from the get-go where the story will end. The pages in between make Haruf’s novel worth the investment in time. Although a fictional portrayal of a man’s end-of-life experience, it is very true and spot on.
Exploration of End-of-Life Caregiving
When a family receives the news of a terminal diagnosis, it can be devastating. Some members rise to the occasion, and some fall short. Caregivers bear the brunt of how taxing it can be on them physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Dad’s family circle is small, and the burden of his care falls to his wife, Mary.
Shortly after the couple returns to their homestead packed with the bleak news, Mary collapses and is rushed to the hospital. Fortunately, Dad’s neighbors help him in the short term until Mary returns. But the couple knows they need assistance and fast. Thus, calls are made to hospice and their daughter, Lorraine.
The ever-practical Dad quickly begins to tidy up the loose ends of his life, which require decisions that are deeply introspective. The Colorado native needs to figure out what he’ll do with the hardware store he has owned and run for the last 40-plus years. Would Lorraine be willing to leave her life in Denver and permanently move to Holt? Or should he just call it a day and sell the store? And yet, like many families, there was another option. Dad Lewis could theoretically patch up the rift with his son, Frank, who left town shortly after his high school graduation.
Family Dynamics
As the chapters unfold, slowly we understand why the family — more accurately Dad — was at odds with Frank. The conversation between Dad and Lorraine highlights just how impossible the solution of Frank’s involvement with the store would be as a choice.
Lorraine: But if I took over, what about Frank?
Dad: What do you mean? Frank wouldn’t be coming back.
Lorraine: But what about him? How is he mentioned in the will?
Dad: He’s not mentioned.
Lorraine: Why isn’t he?
Dad: Because he left.
Lorraine: So did I.
Dad: But not like he did.
The Lewis’ minister tries to step in to help broker the tear to the familial tapestry. Reverend Rob Lyle does not want Dad to leave the world without making amends with Frank. But it is to no avail. Dad’s mind is made up: The relationship is beyond repair.
At the End
As Dad’s time on earth draws near, Haruf shares quite an accurate description of a visit by a hospice nurse. She takes his vital signs, questions Dad about how he is feeling and asks him to describe his pain level. Dad answers that he could live with the pain, and again she tells him he doesn’t have to live with it but could have relief. At the end of the visit, Dad thanks the nurse for coming as he looks at his wife and daughter standing at the foot of the bed watching and listening. Lastly, “The nurse leaned forward and took his hand and pressed it warmly and said she’d be back, to call her if he needed anything, anytime day or night, and then packed up and left.”
Out of earshot, Mary and Lorraine have a conversation with the nurse and ask the burning question, “How long do you think now?” The nurse responds honestly a couple of weeks but sometimes patients surprise us. As she leaves the nurse imparts these words of wisdom, “He’s lucky to have such good care. A lot of people don’t. But you need to be sure to take care of yourselves too.”
At Chapters Health System and its affiliates—Good Shepherd Hospice, HPH Hospice and LifePath Hospice, every day is devoted to educating our patients and keeping them in the place they call home. We are dedicated to ensuring that patients, young and old alike, and their families are able to make educated decisions about important healthcare matters. For more information, please call our helpful Chapters Health team at 1.866.204.8611 or send an email to info@chaptershealth.org.
About Phoebe Ochman
Phoebe Ochman, Director of Corporate Communications for Chapters Health System, manages all content and communications for the not-for-profit organization.
The Ins and Outs of Book Awards
During the course of his writing career, Kent Haruf won a number of literary awards. What were the awards and what criteria did he need to meet?
In 1986, Haruf won the Whitling Award for fiction. Since 1985, this award is presented annually to 10 up-and-coming writers in a number of different categories: fiction, nonfiction and poetry. The winners are chosen by a committee of writers, scholars and editors, which are selected every year by the Whiting Foundation.
In 1999, Haruf’s novel “Plainsong” was a finalist for the National Book Award. Established in 1936 by the American Booksellers Association, this honor is bestowed on one winner and five finalists in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young people’s literature each November. Additionally each year, there are two lifetime achievement awards: Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community.
In 2005, the author was recognized twice for his novel “Eventide” — the Colorado Book Award and as a finalist for the Book Sense Award. The first award is presented to Colorado authors in a number of categories, ranging from fiction to biography to creative nonfiction. The Book Sense Award winners were chosen from 2000 to 2008. In 2009, the recognition was renamed the Indies Choice Book Award to commemorate the importance of independent booksellers to American literary history.
In 2009, Haruf received the Dos Passos Prize for Literature now known as the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature. This award is bestowed on recipients because they have the distinction of being under recognized and in the middle of their career.
Haruf’s “Benediction” was shortlisted in 2014 for the Folio Prize. This award is given to authors based on a literary work in which the subject explored achieves perfect expression.
The author died in November 2014 of interstitial lung disease.