Mule Boy
In Andrew Krivak’s transfixing novel Mule Boy, the survivor of a tragic coalmine accident is haunted by painful memories and repressed trauma.
In 1929, thirteen-year-old Ondro has considerable experience working in the local mines. He and his mother live in a tight-knit Pennsylvania Slovakian community; his father was killed in a mining accident years earlier. Though Ondro’s mother knows that her son could also die in the hellish coal canyons, the money she earns as a seamstress is minimal. Ondro’s recent promotion comes with a higher salary: he guides his mule, Wicked, hauling cars filled with coal up from the depths and carrying his late father’s rosary for spiritual protection. All the while, the mule moves along with stubborn surety, pressing his “warm muzzle” against Ondro’s back.
When Ondro’s section of the mine collapses, Wicked is killed, as are the miners’ helpers. Trapped beneath the rubble for days, Ondro witnesses the gradual deaths of wounded miners John and Štefan. With John’s final guidance, Ondro is able to claw his way to freedom. Though his escape is miraculous, he is later troubled by his traumatic experiences and feelings of survivor’s guilt.
Flawed yet compelling, Ondro narrates with a confessional cadence, recounting surges of memories heightened by impressionistic and evocative details. Though his later marriage is undermined by alcoholism, and though he is imprisoned for refusing to fight in World War II, his quiet arc of redemption leads him to the forestry service in New England. There, he finds an eventual sense of place and peace, offering healing to the descendants of those killed in the mining tragedy.
A harrowing and immersive novel, Mule Boy fathoms the depths of personal anguish and emergence.
Reviewed by
Meg Nola
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
