Groundskeeping

A novel

By: Lee Cole

Narrated by: Michael Crouch

A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK • An indelible love story about two very different people navigating the entanglements of class and identity and coming of age in an America coming apart at the seams—this is "an extraordinary debut about the ties that bind families together and tear them apart across generations" (Ann Patchett, best-selling author of The Dutch House).

In the run-up to the 2016 election, Owen Callahan, an aspiring writer, moves back to Kentucky to live with his Trump-supporting uncle and grandfather. Eager to clean up his act after wasting time and potential in his early twenties, he takes a job as a groundskeeper at a small local college, in exchange for which he is permitted to take a writing course.

Here he meets Alma Hazdic, a writer in residence who seems to have everything that Owen lacks—a prestigious position, an Ivy League education, success as a writer. They begin a secret relationship, and as they grow closer, Alma—who comes from a liberal family of Bosnian immigrants—struggles to understand Owen’s fraught relationship with family and home.

Exquisitely written; expertly crafted; dazzling in its precision, restraint, and depth of feeling, Groundskeeping is a novel of haunting power and grace from a prodigiously gifted young writer.

©2022 Lee Cole (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK

“Groundskeeping is very fine work indeed from an exciting new voice . . . Given a novel so satisfyingly rich in themes and details, a review can only touch briefly on some of its many virtues . . . Groundskeeping is not only the story of a young man finding his vocation as a writer but also a wrenching examination of class differences, that third-rail topic in American literature, and of our current political polarization, which the narrator addresses with an unusual amount of empathy for the side he opposes. These elements supplement Cole’s nuanced depiction of a love affair between two people with more in common than they initially realize . . . Owen is entirely believable as a developing writer, jotting down his recollections and observations as the building blocks of his project to become an artist and a better human being. Alma is depicted with equal subtlety and generosity; their relationship drives the plot and brings the novel to a fitting conclusion.”—Wendy Smith, The Washington Post

“A sterling novel that presages a major career, Groundskeeping puts a fresh spin on the divided self adrift in a divided nation . . . Cole paints in airy watercolors rather than bright acrylics; his touch is light, restrained, but always authoritative and precise. As with Helen Frankenthaler’s canvases, Groundskeeping achieves poise and uplift. But beneath the languid tale of young campus love, he’s playing a shell game: The novel’s not only a forensic examination of our toxic politics, it’s also a sly sendup of literary culture, a conveyor belt of M.F.A. programs and prizes and teaching gigs . . . It’s a thrill—a relief—to read a writer who approaches his male characters with generosity and intuition, steering blessedly free of caricature . . . [An] exacting, beautifully textured debut novel.”—Hamilton Cain, The New York Times Book Review

“Scrupulously perceptive . . . Groundskeeping is filled with close observation, detailed shading. It is an absorbing love story, but it is also an examination of class in America, and it captures with sharp insight a moment in recent history.” —Colm Tóibín, author of Brooklyn

Unusual setting & story

Written with sensitivity and good character development. A bit too drawn out but leaves the reader wondering at the conclusion.

Brilliant, bittersweet Southern campus novel

Michael Crouch narrates this audiobook masterfully. I feel like I've made a new friend. Finishing a new favorite book is such sweet sorrow!

"Groundskeeping" is about a writer named Owen and the year he spends at Ashby College in Kentucky. Owen's hardscrabble early twenties were spent struggling with drug abuse and homelessness. The story begins when Owen returns to Kentucky, moving into his Grandpa's basement in hopes of getting his life back together. He finds a job as a groundskeeper at the local college and signs up for a creative writing class.

"Groundskeeping" pivots between Owen's experiences at college, his work life as an arborist, and the family drama with his Grandpa and Trump-supporting uncle that ensues upon his arrival. It's also a love story. At his first college party, Owen meets Alma, a writer in residence working on a soon-to-be-published project. Owen and Alma spark up a romantic friendship and the two young writers eventually become characters in Owen's own "fictional" writing project.

The members of Owen's Southern family are so vividly drawn, I feel like I know them. His kind-hearted grandpa, "Pops," welcomes Owen back home without judgment. They watch old VHS tapes of John Wayne movies and share KFC together for dinner. On a road trip to visit his parents, Owen takes Alma to a Cracker Barrel. It's a stunningly perfect scene. I could smell the maple syrup on the table. And then there's Rando, Owen's coffee-swigging co-worker. He's a good old-fashioned Southern hoot! The entire cast is memorable.

Lee Cole effortlessly captures the peaks and valleys of Owen's year in Kentucky. It's a beautifully bittersweet campus novel for the ages! "Groundskeeping" is deeply moving, must-read fiction.

Loved it!

I loved the brutal honesty in the story and I loved the narrator. Such a nice voice.

A book about a place that never was!

Lee Cole’s first 2 sentences of the book, drew me in right away. “When I’m home, in Kentucky, all I want to do is leave. When I’m away, I’m homesick for a place that never was.
That is how I have felt since leaving Paducah, KY in 2012. I never knew how to describe it, but Lee describes perfectly.

It is a bittersweet love story of two very different young people finding their way. Owen’s struggles with his conservative, small town upbringing has him searching for himself.
During his search he works as a groundskeeper, lives with his grandfather, and meets a girl, Alma that becomes a very important relationship.

I enjoyed the book and Lee’s writing style. Being from the same area he is describing and having been to some of the places he named by name, I had to remind myself this was fiction.

The ending left you not knowing, yet in your heart you know what Owen is going to do.

A very good read!!!❤️

Beautifully written

Great characters; compelling story. Lee Cole is a fabulous new author with a unique perspective on the South.

Boring

'I added this to my list based on CNN Jake Tapper's book list. This is not a bad book, but it did not work for me at all. The writing is OK, but when writing teachers say write what you know, they don't intend you to write about writing. This is a debut novel and seems both tentative and uneven. There were a few wonderful lines, but far from enough to carry the book. This is basically a coming of age story, but the protagonist is 28 and not particularly likable. Nothing much happens and I can't recall having any aha moments or any emotional reaction at all. When the book came to the uneventful end I wondered why it had been written.

The narration was excellent and enhanced the story.

Great audible book.

I listened to the last ten hours of the book in one day! Very descriptive of a portion of one’s life. ❤️

Story was blah!

Struggled to finish the story. The story was boring and somewhat depressing. would not recommend it.

interesting coming-of-age story

I listened to Lee Cole’s “Groundskeeping” narrated by Michael Crouch. Crouch did a fine job voicing the pensive protagonist, Owen Callahan.

The story takes place in rural Kentucky, right before the 2016 presidential election. Owen is in his early 20’s and aspires to be a writer. We learn early that this is one of those “coming-of-age” stories in which the protagonist is trying to become a productive adult; Owen has sowed his oats and wants to stop horsing around. His parents are evangelical Christians, which is fodder for observations. For example, Owen notes that his stepmother, of “Evangelical Hair” and father have little in common with Owen. I’ve never seen that description before, but I had a clear vision.

Owen attains a job as a groundskeeper at a small local college. He will stay with his Trump supporting grandfather in his basement. His “pop” is sweet; his uncle Cort, though, also a Trump supporter, has some issues and still lives with his father at the age of 52. Cort is not a fan of Owen’s.

Owen can take courses free as a groundskeeper at Ashby College. He enrolls in a creative writing workshop. He meets the writer-in-residence, Alma Hadzic, who is a Bosniak Muslim and has immigrated from Serbia. She is Princeton educated, has published a novel, lived in an affluent suburb, and is younger than Owen. Owen explaining Kentucky and politics to Alma is interesting. Owen’s own ruminations are both funny and thought-provoking.

Alma and Owen enter into a relationship that is fraught with complexities given their differing backgrounds. This is a snapshot of our culture leading up to the 2016 election. It’s a story of young love and launching lives. I’ve read comparisons to Sally Rooney’s type of literature, and I agree. It’s funnier than Rooney, but angsty nonetheless! Growing up is hard to do!

Sad sack Owen

It’s well written, with a sharp eye for detail, but the main character is whiny, self-absorbed, judgmental, self-pitying, and indecisive. I guess it takes both courage and skill to write a first person novel where the reader wants to kick the protagonist in the ass the whole time. That ending. Sheesh. I would have preferred a book, rather than Owen’s so-called life.