I'm reading The General Danced at Dawn by George MacDonald Fraser. It's a collection of semi-autobiographical short stories about life in a Scottish regiment in the years following World War II. Very entertaining.

I just finished reading The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George (with thanks to Sherwood38 for recommending it). I was drawn right into it, so much so that I missed the first half of a tv show I had intended to watch this evening. No matter, there are always reruns, it was worth missing the show. LOL

rouan-glad you enjoyed it-I hope she writes fast-I eagerly await book 2!

I finished Dead Man's Grip by Peter James last night-love the series.

I am now reading Wool-Part 8 on my kindle, a great sci-fi series IMO by Hugh Howey.

Pat

I read the first Wool some time ago. Too bleak for me.

Siobhan, I was the one who recommended the audio version of "The Book of Ebenezer Le Page". I strongly recommend listening to this one on audio. Roy Dotrice, the narrator, is from Guernsey and does an awesome job of the narration. Here is how I reviewed it on Audible,
"If you sample this book first, don't be put off by the "codger" voice. I have never listened to a more astonishingly beautiful narration. Roy Dotrice, who incidentally is from Guernsey, has performed an amazing feat in his narration this book and in "becoming" the main character of the story.
As Ebenezer talks about his family history and his life on the island of Guernsey, he draws you in to his story little by little. This is a book that continues to get better as it goes on until you start fretting about what you will do when it is over. Myself, I started it over immediately to clear up some information I didn't get clear in the beginning, when perhaps I wasn't listening as carefully as I could. I had no idea how much I would hang on every word as the book progressed. This book is warm and quite funny (many laugh out loud moments) and sometimes sad. This is a book that I full-heartedly recommend. Don't miss it by having preconceived notions." If you liked this book, I also recommend "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry", also on audio.

This month, I have enjoyed several books and can recommend them. My favorite is a sci-fi book, written in Polish and translated, by Stanislaw Lem. It is called "The Futurological Congress--From the Memours of Ijon Tichy". It is possibly the funniest little book I have ever read. At times, I had to close the Kindle and just let the waves of laughter take over. You would never suspect a foreign author or a translation. If you like funny books, you certainly don't need to be a sci-fi fan to enjoy this one.

I also read "Blood Safari", by Deon Meyer. It is a mystery that takes place in South Africa. It's main character, Lemmer, is wonderfully well-developed and believable. I really enjoyed this book.

A really fun, very recent listen was "You are Not so Smart" by David McRaney. Listen to this book and you will laugh out loud at times but come away from it thoroughly and happily convinced you are an idiot. Who knew?

I did listen to Ann Patchett's "Sense of Wonder" and was mildly disappointed and would not recommend it unless you are a big Patchett fan. It has a weak and unsatisfying ending.

Currently, I have taken on listening to "Winds of War" by Herman Wouk and am greatly enjoying it. I think it would be great as a paper/Kindle read, too, that is, if you are interested in this subject (life leading up to WW2.)

Got to go. Lots more to read before I sleep.

I've started Anna, the first of a trilogy by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles with which I was not familiar. (I adore her Morland Dynasty books and the Bill Slider mysteries.) This one is set during the Napoleonic Wars and seems to take place mostly in Russia where our English heroine is governess to a Russian family.

I am half way thru, and loving "Merivel A Man Of His Time" by Rose Tremain, I have read most of her novels and always enjoyed them.

june, I must join the long waiting list at the library for Merivel as I enjoyed Restoration some years ago, which told the story of the young Merivel and always admire Tremain's works.

veer,
I know that you will enjoy "Merivel" lot's of humor running thru it and of course the great historical era. She is so versatile with her writings, from 17th Century with all of the in between to present day such as "The Road Home" and "Trespass" all of them sooo very special for me. There are many of these writings that have not won awards.
A wonderful writer.
I must Google to see if she what her latest is.

I ended up partially reading and then skimming my book club selection Digging Miami. It is about archeology in southern Florida, a subject which would normally facinate me but I think I had too much going on to really concentrate. It is back in the TBR pile for a more thorough read at another time. I need to switch back to fiction for a while.

I think (OK, I know) I am getting old. When I feel a book is getting too wordy, as though the author wrote to a word count rather than making each sentence count, I start skimming until I get to something that in my opinion is better written and continue from there. I always used to plow through, regardless.

After reading yoyobon's thread asking for help with 'British-isms' (or English as it is known over here) I read The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice and found the best part of the book was the title. I hope no-one here thinks English females were/are as stupid as the ones in the story. OK I expect there are many, but I hated these girls who giggle on every page of the book and seem to lead totally empty lives.
Yoyo mentioned the inaccuracies (After Eight Mints not 'invented' in 1954 for eg) and I noticed that Rice mentions the Sunday Telegraph which was not in circulation until the 1960's, or their favourite radio programme during WWII having been 'Listen With Mother' which didn't begin 'til several years later and the many references to 'Rocky' the US hero film producer flying back and forth to the States at the drop of a hat, when it would have been a long complicated journey via Prestwick and Gander in those far off days.
Obviously Ms Rice's publishers have sub-editors of such youthfulness they were unable to pick up on these mistakes . . . or maybe it is because I am just an old grouch? Surely not. :-(

Anyway as a complete change of pace and literary style I am reading My Early Life by Winston Churchill. Talk about chalk and cheese.

I just finished Anna by Cynthia H-E and as a consequence had reheated soup for supper instead of cooking since somehow it had become too late to start preparing a meal. This was just as good to me as the Morland saga, and it is set in Russia which normally doesn't have much appeal for me.

Vee, re giggling, in Scarlett, the Alexandra Ripley supposed sequel to Gone With the Wind, she has Scarlett giggling in more than one place. NOT the Scarlett I knew!

I finished the newest Flavia de Luce, Speaking From Among the Bones and thoroughly enjoyed it. She is one of my very favorite characters, and the book ended with quite a bombshell (no spoilers). I am already looking forward to the next one.

I am another Downton Abbey fan. I came to it very late, finally ordered the DVDs last month and have binge-watched all three seasons over the past three weeks. I am completely smitten. I loved Upstairs Downstairs as a teen, so I guess it all still resonates. I even ordered The World of Downton Abbey this morning before logging into RP.

Next up is The Girl in the Green Glass Mirror by Elizabeth McGregor, which is due back at the library far too soon, and then a re-read of the wonderful Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern for my upcoming book group meeting.

I am currently reading works of non-fiction. "God's Jury: the Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World" by Cullen Murphy. Also: "The Last Witch of Langenburg: Murder in a German Village" by Thomas Robisheaux.

For a Valentine's Day present, I was just given "The Fall of the House of Dixie: the Civil War and the Social Revolution that Transformed the South" by Bruce Levine.

Just returned from a weekend traveling which meant lots of reading time. Bliss. (One of the best extra bits about travel nowadays.)

So - finished up Mary Barton - by Elizabeth Gaskell. A good solid Victorian sensation/Gothic/murder-mystery novel. I think if you have enjoyed other Gaskell (or perhaps E. M. Braddon), then you would like this. I really enjoyed it.

For something different and to work on my TBR pile a bit, I pulled Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood from the shelf. A dystopian/spec fiction read which will probably turn out to be one of the best reads of the year by the time December arrives. Atwood has done a spectacular job of developing this future world on almost every level, and the story is completely unpredictable (which was a plus). Can't imagine why I haven't read this before apart from the concern that it was going to be like A Clockwork Orange (which it wasn't). I think this is part one of a trilogy (the third not yet written/pub?) so will be adding part two to the pile. Atwood hits a home run again.

And then read an 1869 publication of The American Woman's Home by Catharine Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe (of Uncle Tom's Cabin fame). Extremely detailed with instructions on how to run a domestic domicile during mid-Victorian times in the U.S. - everything from how wide the kitchen shelves should be to how to not lose your temper as a housekeeper.

"There is nothing which has a more abiding influence on the happiness of a family than the preservation of equable and cheerful temper and tones in the housekeeper..."

Also notable for the exhortation of husbands should honor the wishes and happiness of their wives as equal to their own... Big stuff for back then. If you like social history, you'd enjoy this book. More of a skim read than anything, but fascinating all the same.

Tom is reading the latest Flavia De Luce and says it is very good. I get it after he is done.

I am reading Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy (Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin and Assassin's Quest) and am now on the final volume. Fortunately she wrote a second trilogy using the same characters so my pleasure can continue. Funny, I tried one of her Liveship stories and could not get into it. These however have well-developed characters with interesting problems and I am really enjoying them.

I should be out working in the garden rather than reading, but I have a heavy cold that is taking all my energy. Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Rosefolly

I'm reading Standing in Another Man's Grave, new from Ian Rankin. He has brought Rebus back working in a civilian capacity on police cold cases. He has mellowed a bit but is still going his own way and is just as good as ever.

Last night I finished The Rosie Project by Australian Graeme Simsion. It is the story of a man with Asperger's (although this is never actually stated, there are other references) who decides he needs a wife and sets out in the most logical way to find one. It is laugh out loud funny in places, and also touching. I can recommend it for a feel good read.

I fell asleep on three different occasions trying to read A Quiet Life by Beryl Bainbridge and decided to throw in the towel midway through the book.
I loved Harriet Said..., but I guess even good authors occasionally write "off" books.

Now rereading The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer and then I plan to make an effort to finish Lolita.

I recently finished Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante. It's about a former orthopedic surgeon who retired due to the onset of Alzheimer's disease. When her good friend a few doors down the street is murdered and has surgical cuts on her body, the surgeon is suspected. She herself cannot remember whether she was there or what happened. Very interesting.

I'm currently in the middle of The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Fascinating, but it's now kind of dragging and seems overly long.

Kathy

I had a long list of books that I had requested from the library and they have come through with 4 today - so you know what I will be doing this weekend! I am currently reading The Forgotten by David Baldacci, not sure which one sitting here I will read next-all have great reviews.

Pat

Happened to read an enthusiastic review of a 1597 essay called "Of Studies" by Sir Francis Bacon. it's very short and pretty readable and I think almost any book-fan would enjoy it overall. Don't be put off because of the 16th century thingy - it's not impenetrable and it's good. Most will recognize some pithy sayings in it...

"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention..."

Warning: he wasn't very big on paragraphs...

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Bacon essay

I am reading some Campion mysteries by Allingham and have the DVD series to watch. Nothing much that I fancy watching on TV atm.

My latest is "The Air We Breathe" by Andrea Barrett, very interesting, it opens 1916 in a T.B. Sanatorium on Lake Tamarack.

Last night I started Kamouraska by the late Quebecois novelist Anne Hebert. This novel, set in 19th century Quebec, is based on a real murder case. It tells the story of an illicit love affair which culminates in murder. I read this book when I was barely a teenager, a wildly inappropriate choice for a young person.

The novel opens in an unseasonably hot July (about 1860) in Montreal. All the best families have fled to the country to avoid the heat. All except Madame Rolland, of course, who tends to her dying husband. On the surface, she is a respectable wife and mother. Yet her dying husband watches her every ministration from his deathbed with suspicion and fear. When she leaves her home, she feels watched and whispered about by insolent members of the lower orders who seem to know her secret. Every night sound terrifies her, and brings back terrible memories of how, as young woman, she was arrested and tried for murder.

Another aspect of this book which I enjoy is how it is a very much a "winter" book. The isolation and danger enforced by a pitiless winter in rural Quebec adds so much to the drama of the story. If you love snow storms, sleigh rides, and shadowy firesides, you will find them in this book.

Kamouraska itself still exists in the form of a beautiful, historic town on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The book was turned into a movie in the early 1970s starring a very young and beautiful Genevieve Bujold.

Junek - "The Air We Breathe" was our community one-read book a couple of years ago. According to the presentations and discussions I attended, supposedly Andrea Barrett's description of NYC immigrants being forcibly sent to upstate sanitoriums for long periods is historically accurate, as are her descriptions of the private cure cottages vs. the state-run sanitorium. I thought it was quite interesting.

Wow, my interest is piqued by several of the books posted about recently, thanks to you all. I am negligent about contributing to this thread, mostly because I figure the books I read are of limited interest. But you really never know what will appeal, so I may throw in a few comments more often about my recent reading.

Timallan, your description of Kamouraska is alluring, especially the winter details. I tend to like novels based on historical crimes. Also, I am always on the lookout for factual accounts of these cases. Do you happen to know if there's a good nonfiction book about it? Are the names of the novel's characters and the real-life people the same?

June and Kathy T, you've made want to read The Air We Breathe. I've liked a couple of Andrea Barrett's other books.

Lemonhead, I'm not put off by a non-paragrapher. :-) Sir Francis has intrigued me for ages.

Hi Friedag,

Unfortunately, the actual crime which inspired Kamouraska is not identified, though I bet I could find it with a bit of research. Hebert's fictional account was published in 1970. I remember the book having a somewhat racy reputation, but it is tame by today's standards.

We here in Southern Ontario had a lot of snow over the past day or so, and it was kind of thrilling to look out my window to see a snow storm while actually reading about a snow storm (in 1840).

I confess that I too am intrigued by books about historical crime. I recently ordered a copy of Anne Somerset's The Affair of the Poisons since I enjoyed her Unnatural Murder (about the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury and the ensuing scandal which rocked the court of James I). Do you have any recommendations of this kind of book? Also, my reading this year has a distinctly French flavor, so the Poisons should be a good read.

I would like to read a well-researched account of the Pendle Witch Trials since I just learned about that terrible event.

Tim, tell us more about the Pendle Witch Trials. Did they take place in Canada? (I'm currently enrolled in a history class on Witchcraft in early Modern Europe. It's a fascinating topic).

Mary, the Pendle Witches and their trials took place in Lancashire
(NW England) in the early sixteen hundreds. Rather like your Salem witches the population seemed to have become hysterical and there must have been total miscarriage of justice.
Of course this was a very remote and rather desolate part of the country.
Lots of stuff if you 'google'. The site below is just for starters!

Here is a link that might be useful: Pendle Hill and Witches

I just finished Bonnie Blodgett's Remembering Smell. Blodgett is a garden writer here in MN. She lost her sense of smell due to use of a now-banned nasal spray and writes compellingly about her search for a cure, how the medical community ignores the loss of smell (versus sight or hearing), the consequences of not having a sense of smell. It is a human story with fairly "light" but serious science as well--a winning combination. I gained new appreciation for my sense of smell!

Woodnymph,

I only discovered the Pendle Witch Story recently, pretty much by accident on YouTube. There are several fascinating videos on the subject, including one which features a descendant of one of the alleged witches who were executed. There was a political aspect to the tragedy, as the area in question was known to be holdout for people who were secretly practicing Catholicism.

My copy of The Affair of the Poisons arrived today. I can't wait to read it, but I may have to wait until next month.

Timallan, several years ago I went through a phase of reading a lot of historical crime accounts. However, I really don't remember many of them well enough to say whether they are well written, so-so, or barely worth reading. It's the crimes themselves that I recall being fascinated by. Some have been covered by several different writers.

Here's a few of the crimes with some of the books I read that I remember reasonably well:

The Delorme case in Montreal, 1922
The Cassock and the Crown by Jean Monet
You may have recommended this one to me, but I'm not sure.

The 'Minister and the Choir Singer' case, New Jersey 1922
The Hall-Mills Murder Case by William Kunstler

The Florence Bravo case,1876
Death at the Priory: Love, Lust, and Murder in Victorian England by James Ruddick
I recall this one quite well because of Jane Cox, Florence Bravo's personal maid/companion. She was very intelligent, while her mistress wasn't nearly so much.

The Constance Kent case, England 1860
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale
I find this case more frustrating than practically every other. Summerscale does all right with the material she had to work with, but I'm not sure anyone will ever write a completely satisfying account.

I also read Somerset's Unnatural Death and thought it was good, so I look forward to hearing what you think of The Affair of the Poisons.

I actually more enjoy some of the books on obscure cases than on well-known ones. But the less-well-known crimes usually have only a single book devoted to them and no way to get a synoptic view unless you're willing to delve into primary sources and follow scattered reportage.

The Pendle Witch events interest me too. But I got burned when I read Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts. I do NOT recommend, although I think the Pendle witches were mentioned in it...I've read some about them before and it's the most likely book I've read fairly recently that could've had something to say about them.

Kate Summerscale has another book out Mrs Robinson's Disgrace: the Private Diary of a Victorian Lady. I have 'heard' it read on the BBC. Apparently Mrs R, married to a nasty controlling man who already had a mistress and children, had the hots for a young Dr and they got rather too close for comfort . . .though evidence at the subsequent trial as to what actually went on was rather sketchy. The silly woman made the BIG mistake of writing everything down in her diary which was read by the husband who took her to Court. In those days one rule for the husband and quite another for the wife!
Another book along 'Victorian' lines (railway lines in this case) is Mr Briggs' Hat by Kate Colquhoun. About the first murder on the new railway system of Great Britain.

And another popular gruesome tale is that of the 'Rugeley Poisoner' Dr William Palmer, who in the mid 1850's was hanged for the murder of a friend and appears to have been responsible for several other cases of poisoning including his wife, his M-in-L, several of his children . . . . the list goes on.
While checking him out just now I was interested to see that well-known writer, Robert Graves wrote They Hanged My Saintly Billy about the case and seemed to think WP was innocent of the final crime for which he was tried.

Here is a link that might be useful: Palmer the Poisoner

I finished The Sea Captain's Wife by Beth Powning. In 1860s Bay of Fundy, Azuba is the wife of a merchant sea captain. She always dreamed of marrying a sea captain and accompanying him on his ship. How she gets to do that, and what happens to them makes the book an interesting read. The author does not varnish what it meant to be a woman on a ship, even the captain's wife, and the 'place' and expectations of women in general during this time.

Thanks for posting the info. on the Pendle Hill Witches. My own maternal ancestors came from that part of England. From my readings for my class, the witch trials in England were nothing as compared to what went on in Scotland and in Germany, as to numbers killed.

There is still a "Witchduck" Road in Virginia Beach, VA , where Grace Sherwood, a said "witch" was ducked in the 1600's. She survived, and later her name was cleared and there is now a statue erected of her, by way of a belated apology. It was not only in Salem, that excesses reigned....

I still haven't found the right mood for finishing Lolita. Instead I read Mauve: How One Man Invented a Colour That Changed the World by Simon Garfield. It's a mixture of history and the biography of William Henry Perkin, who invented the first aniline dye. Very interesting and well-written.

Now between books, but expect I will continue reading Madhur Jaffrey's biography. For those of you unfamiliar with her, she is an Indian actress and cook-book author.

Here is a link that might be useful: Madhur Jaffrey on Wikipedia

Haven't posted for awhile. After finishing The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, which was a truly wonderful experience, I have been reading magazines and bits and bobs that I find lying around. If you saw my house you would understand!

I was in the mood for a re-read of LoTR a short time ago and have just finished the Fellowship of the Ring. Next up is The Two Towers. I also have Dragondrums by Anne McCaffrey as a bedside book (my copy of TTT is too big and heavy for ease in reading in bed) and The Queen of Attolia on my kindle for when neither of the other books suit my mood.

Still working on America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates and Heroines by Gail Collins. (Very good very detailed history of women's rights and social history in US going back to the Civil War and beyond.) Fascinating, but taking rather a long time to read. (Lots of dense info and I've been taking notes as I am a full-time nerd.)

Did a quick read of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, and now almost done with an old Booth Tarkington (Seventeen) which has been fun. In 1921, he was voted the "most significant contemporary American author" by Publisher's Weekly, but he doesn't seem to be mentioned much now. His stuff is good though.

And reading what is billed as a "Canadian classic" called For Me and my House by Sinclair Ross which reminds me rather of Cather, Lewis and that group of Prairie writers (although I recognize that group was American). Good so far.

I am reading and throughly enjoying The Dead Lie Down by Sophie Hannah. This is the 4th in her series starting with Little Face. She has become one of my favorite authors with her clever & intriguing plot with twists & turns.

Pat

I'm reading The Typewriter Girl that I mentioned earlier. The author is the niece of a good friend from home. The book is pretty good, set in England in the 1890s about a feisty girl making her way in a man's world. Considering the period, I'm a bit surprised at the bad language she uses, not to mention her sex life.

Today I received from Amazon the new Deborah Crombie and Charles Todd books. I also have eight library books and two of my daughter's she knows I will like lined up on my TBR shelf. So what am I doing playing on the computer?

I am well into "Whiter Than Snow" by Sandra Dallas, great historical fiction.

Stayed up all night finishing Kamouraska. I will be under its spell for the several days at least. I read it decades ago, and enjoyed it. If anything, I liked it more the second time. It reminded me of My Cousin Rachel, in the sense that the reader must view a tragic story through the eyes of a guilt-ridden, yet somewhat sinister, narrator.

Lemonhead, there is something unique about Canadian literature set in prairies. I would recommend you read "The Painted Door", an unforgettable short story also by Sinclair Ross. I would also recommend W. O. Mitchell's novel Who Has Seen the Wind, perhaps the most famous novel set on the Canadian prairies. Margaret Laurence's novels, which concern interconnected female characters from the fictional Manitoba town of Manawaka, are other examples of this genre.

Having lived (briefly) in Saskatchewan, I can attest to the stunning beauty of the prairies, yet also to the sense of isolation, and being at the mercy of pitiless weather. I remember attending a Halloween party in the midst of a snow storm.

Not sure what to read next, though I have already invested time in reading the first few chapters of Antonia Fraser's biography of Mary, Queen of Scots.

I wanted to start a new thread but RP wouldn't let me sign in. I'm seeing if I can sneak in through this thread.

BTW -- I'm rereading the final Harry Potter book. Also, for book club #1 I'm reading "Heft" by Liz Moore. For book club #2 I'm reading "Defending Jacob" by William Landay.

Tim - I have really enjoyed Margaret Laurence's works so far, and do enjoy this Prairie type of writing. I live on the South Plains - wide open spaces, few trees, big sky... Love it. Some call it barren, but I think it's gorgeous and it's tough to leave for big cities sometimes (claustrophobic with all the high buildings and not enough sky)... :-)

Finished up a fun read about U.S. women's history called "America's Women" by Gail Collins. Collins is a big wig at the NYT so is a great writer. A nice extra was that she has a great sense of humor which is slipped in every now and then.... Hilarious at times.

Now reading something by Madeleine Wickham, a UK writer who wrotes the kind of domestic dramas as Joanna Trollope et al. Nothing mind-blowing, but just a nice read. Plus it keeps referencing all sorts of very English words which I rarely hear here nowadays. (Perhaps they're not said any more in UK, but they bring back memories to me):

dotty, stroppy, grotty, ring road, indicate (as in turning signal on car) etc...

AND - big news: we had a blizzard yesterday here in Texas and we had a SNOW DAY. Unheard of, and very enjoyable. Most of the snow is gone now though. It was a bit weird: we were in the park on Sunday afternoon in t-shirts (70's); 24 hours, we're in 70 mph winds and snow; 24 hours later, we're back in the 50's and bright sunshine. We only had about 3 inches in snow (which is not bad for here), but Amarillo (just north of us 120 mi) had 19 inches of snow. Wow.... (Again - these totals may not be that impressive to those in the northern states. But it's a lot here and caused city-wide closing of almost everything official yesterday... Yeah! Free day off!)

My library got in a copy of Susanna Kearsley's Mariana, one of her older books but one I hadn't read. This is only the third one of her books that they have. I read it through in two days, took it back, and picked up a copy of Watching the Dark by Peter Robinson. Have just barely started it, but the dead body turned up on page 2.

Tim, having never lived on the Prairie, but having traveled through "waving seas of grass", I too, remain fascinated by that specific landscape. Have you read the work of Willa Cather? I think her "My Antonia" captures the feel of the land in a superb manner. But most of all, for a true feeling of the emotions evoked by the prairie landscape, I recommend O.E. Rolvaag's "Giants in the Earth", about Norwegian immigrants settling into that harsh venue, combatting unique adversity of winter blizards, and psychological angst of the solitude of vast spaces.

Woodnymph, I admire Cather's prairie novels. It has been several decades since I read My Antonia, but it was an unforgettable experience. I purchased a nice hardcover copy so that I would always have it on my own book shelves. (I find a lot of Cather's later works to be a bit of letdown, frankly. But she did produce a handful of books which are true modern American classics.)

Many years ago I had a contract position in Saskatchewan. Because I did not know anyone in the city, I spent a lot of time walking around by myself. After supper, I would walk literally to the edge of town and look out into the prairies. Prairie skies are spectacular. Watching the sun set over the prairies is a genuinely profound experience.

Thank you for the Rolvaag recommendation, and I will look out for his books. The Canadian "prairie novel" is really about how a vast, inhospitable landscape effects the people living it. These novels and stories are usually set in small towns, where the majority of residents are gossipy, petty, and small-minded. Of course there are a lot of American writers who have written "small town" books too.

Tim, your post reminded me of another American classic, set in the Midwest, in one of the small towns you depicted: "Main Street" by Sinclair Lewis. To my mind, it captures both the bleak landscape and the mindset.