Groundskeeping

Cole’s debut novel follows Owen Callahan, a struggling writer who moves back to Kentucky to live with his Trump-supporting grandfather and uncle in the run-up to the 2016 election. As the new groundskeeper at Ashby College, he enrolls in a creative writing workshop where he meets Alma Hazdic, a writer in residence and the daughter of successful Muslim Bosnian immigrants. They begin to date in secret over the course of the school year, each searching for understanding and connection. Cole’s novel captures the complicated feelings we sometimes have about the place we call home. I enjoyed the many references to Kentucky and Louisville, especially the interlude where the protagonist embarks on a walk from the Highlands to Clifton, stopping into many real businesses and encountering real people along the way.