A review by nordstina
Groundskeeping by Lee Cole

4.0

In Groundskeeping, we meet Owen Callahan, who aspires to be a published writer. He returns to his hometown in Kentucky and takes a position as a groundskeeper at a local college, which allows him to take a course for free. He meets and begins a relationship with a visiting author from Serbia. The book takes place in 2016, so overlays the challenging environment that the country, especially in a college town in the South during that time period. Owen finds himself with some cognitive dissonance where he likes to think he is better than others in the town and smarter, while also strongly defending his family and others when pushed back on. His girlfriend Alma, while coming from an immigrant family, has attained success in the literary field after attending an Ivy League school and she struggles to fit in to the town. This novel provides some interesting nuance to character's backgrounds and political beliefs. It can be thought provoking at times, even though I struggled with the main character somewhat.