A Small Harvest of Pretty Days Review

By Larry Kimport

Reading this book was like sitting next to an elderly aunt as she recounted some pirotal event from her "early days." The story wanders a bit and flashbacks to side events that pop up because if you don't have the information, the story won't make sense. There aren't a lot of descriptions as a rule, countryside is "real pretty or real rough" people are "fine looking or hard or upstanding." The specifics come only at particular moments: "Chinese lanterns on the lawn, that flairing red dress with all the pleats," for example.

None the less the author is able to paint a fairly good picture of the characters, just enough so that the reader can fill in the details for themself. This works well because this is the events of the story that matter most, and by writing the book this way the author focuses the reader's attention most firmly.

One aspect I particularly like was the use of famous fictional characters, any product of the American school system will know who they are, and incorporating them into the story as real people. Kind of a, "Where are they now?" that provides a satisfying follow-up you didn't realize you needed until you had it in front of you.

The plot is a murder mystry with threads coming in from many different places. Early on, it seems as though the author has gotten lost in the story and has to use wild concidence and it stands out in a "funny how things turn out" way but is completely reasonable. Shit happens.

I enjoyed reading the book a great deal and I think it would adapt well as a good, "Historical murder" TV movie. Very well done!

I rate this book 4 and a half stars!