Mule Boy

In one long, musical sentence, Krivak (The Bear) unspools the luminous story of Ondro, a son of Slovak immigrants and the only survivor of a 1929 Pennsylvania coal mine disaster. The narrative traces how the deaths of miners John Chibala and Stefan Bozak and their buddies Matty and Emil affect Ondro throughout his life. While in prison during WWII as a conscientious objector, a fellow inmate teaches him to “believe there is no not being,” and that like those lost in the mine, “I will be of the earth one day.” His wistful memories of working underground yield vivid images (“it was a thing of beauty... the sounds and shadows of the men inside that room like a play”). Over the years, Ondro is visited by the son, grandson, and great-grandson of Emil; he’s able to tell them about Emil’s harrowing last moments and to relay Emil’s last words, telling his descendants “how much he loved your mother and thanked God for her because she was so beautiful.” Ondro credits John with saving him, and John’s daughter, Magda, becomes the love of his life. In the final pages, crucial details of how Ondro escaped come out during a fireside chat with Magda. The slow drip of information builds suspense, ensuring that readers don’t tire of the breathless format. Along the way, Krivak brilliantly succeeds at plumbing the depths of the human spirit and showing how the dead live on in memory. This is flawless. (Feb.)