This book is a collection of short stories set in Kingdom County, Vermont. The stories feature members of the extended Kinneson family that included farmers, bootleggers, abolitionists, judges and newspaper editors. They are filled with a love of family and nature and show how the people face the changes in their county. The book is not just untempered nostalgia for country life. The author wasn't blind to the dark side of life in a small town. "Why hadn't Currier and Ives commissioned a scene in which Mary Mae, having dragged their drunken father home from the Common Hotel on a hand-drawn sledge, came upon the hired man about to have his way with eleven-year-old Madge and brained him with a bed warmer?"

The stories are at different times in the history of the county and are not arranged in chronological order so it got a little confusing. For example, in one story a character is 27 and in the next he is 70. But I can understand that the order is jumbled like memories and I managed to cope. As with all short story collections, I liked some more than others but they were all beautifully written. I'm sorry that this is the author's last book, but since I've read only one of his previous books at least I have more to look forward to.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.