Life, and Death, and Giants

A memorable reading experience, I'd describe this as a "good yarn" with a feel similar to a William Kent Krueger standalone. It's a tall tale about a man named Gabriel, born to a young mother who fled her Amish community because she was unmarried and wouldn't name the father of her baby. Her baby is remarkable in that he is huge, so big that she dies in childbirth, and Gabriel is subsequently raised by his older brother in rural Wisconsin. Gabriel grows to be a gentle giant—8 feet tall, size 35 shoes—whose unusual size makes for an unusual life, and one marked by tragedy. Though just published in August, with a contemporary setting, the book has an old-fashioned feel to it—partly because of the storytelling style and partly because Gabriel's family is Amish, shunning many of the trappings of modern life. The story follows Gabriel from birth through young adulthood, as told by four distinct narrators (all wonderful on audio): the local vet who delivers Gabriel, Gabriel's Emily Dickinson-loving Amish grandmother, the local bar owner who nurtures Gabriel's love of sports from a young age, and the disgraced college football coach who changes Gabriel's life when he recruits him for the high school team he now leads. I have big feelings regarding some of the reveals, particularly those pertaining to questions of identity and family secrets; this would be a wonderful book to unpack with a group of readers in a book club setting. There's so much to talk about!