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A Novel
by Ron Rindo
Book Reviewed by:A remarkable child transforms a small, rural community―and soon the world.
A young, unmarried Amish woman, attended by the country veterinarian, delivers an enormous baby, and no one in Lakota, Wisconsin, knows what to make of the boy. Raised by his brother on a struggling farm, Gabriel Fisher walks at eight months, communicates with animals, and possesses extraordinary athletic abilities. When his brother dies, Gabriel is taken in by devout Amish grandparents, and for a time, he disappears into the anonymity of Amish life. But at age seventeen, and nearly eight feet tall, Gabriel is spotted working in a hay field by the local football coach, and his life changes.
In Life, and Death, and Giants, Gabriel's remarkable story is told by those whose lives are transformed by him: Thomas Kennedy, the veterinarian who delivers him and becomes his mentor; Hannah Fisher, Gabriel's Amish grandmother, who is troubled by deep gaps in her faith; Billy Walton, the salty bar owner and bridge between the Amish and English communities in Lakota; and Trey Beathard, the football coach, who tries to counsel Gabriel as his fame explodes―with consequences that no-one can predict.
Threaded through with the poems of Emily Dickinson, Life, and Death, and Giants weaves together an unforgettable story of faith, family, buried secrets, and everyday miracles.
1
Hannah Fisher
My Rachel was an easy birth, the easiest. Her brother Caleb, no. All nine months I carried him, I felt too sick to eat. Some days I managed only a few spoons of warm oats and honey. In my final month, the fire shooting down my legs was so intense I could not sleep. When my waters broke, Caleb gave me pain I didn't know a woman could bear, a thirty-hour labor through one sleepless night into the next, each contraction exquisite agony. In my feeble efforts to endure it, I thought of Jacob Hutter and Dirk Willems, Amish martyrs who had been burned at the stake; I pictured our dear Lord on the cross, nails through His hands and feet, my own pain so meager compared to theirs! In the frightened, tear-stained faces of the women at my bedside—my mother; my closest friend, Abiah; my sister, Meg—I could see I might die and take Caleb with me. I was but a girl of eighteen, married to Josiah, my Godly husband, for less than one year.
I prayed to endure the Lord's ...
Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award 2026
Here is an interesting award recognizing distinguished fiction that tells American stories in a uniquely American voice, one that reflects Mark Twain's incisive curiosity and humanity. Celebrating its tenth year. Longlist 2026 Are You Happy?: Stories — Lori Ostlund Atavists: Stories — Lydia Mille...
-Anne_Glasgow
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (11/6/2025)
I read Dominion by Addie Citchens :star: :star: :star: :star: :star: . What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown :star: :star: :star: :star: DNF'd Life, and Death and Giants Ron Rindo The Witch's Orchard Archur Sullivan
-Michele_P
While the story probes deeper questions of love and loyalty, it also provides big entertainment. Gabriel's sheer size upends life in Lakota, bringing excitement to this otherwise quiet town. His ability to draw in and calm animals never ceases to amaze, and his easygoing nature brings joy to all he meets. Gabriel has gracefully accepted his uniqueness and knows the world is waiting for him. By putting Gabriel in the larger arena of life, Rindo highlights how it's often in our differences that we are drawn together. Exciting play-by-plays of Gabriel's physical prowess are true crowd pleasers and drive the story forward. There are plenty of opportunities to cheer his triumphs, mourn his losses, and enjoy the ride, as well as delightful and moving passages involving art, literature, and the poetry of Emily Dickinson...continued
Full Review
(891 words)
(Reviewed by Megan Shaffer).
Larry Watson, author of Montana 1948
With Life, and Death, and Giants, Ron Rindo has performed literary magic. This is a remarkable, profoundly moving novel.
In Life, and Death, and Giants, the Amish rite of Rumspringa is a cause of great angst for Gabriel's grandmother Hannah Fisher. Rumspringa refers to a period of adolescence when young people are given more personal freedom. Gabriel was born into the "English" (or modern-day secular) world of Lakota, Wisconsin. As a young boy he returned to the traditional home of his grandparents and the simplicity of Amish life. Gabriel's past experiences with the ease and convenience of modern living leaves Hannah fearful that he will be permanently pulled into the ungrounded world of the English and that she will lose him forever. It's also at this time that Hannah realizes the tender years of Gabriel's childhood are over, and the uncertain times of ...
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