"Early in the summer of 1946, an infantry sergeant returned from the war and ruined my life by forcing me to move from our comfortable basement apartment in Wistola, Montana, out to a farm in the middle of nowhere."
This fine first novel had me guffawing in the back porch this summer and wondering if anyone was watching me and thinking I had finally lost it. But, I could not stop myself. Too funny in so many places, this is the story of a family adjusting to the return of the patriarch who has been away fighting in the Second World War. Soon after the Sergeant arrives back home, he pulls up stakes and moves the family from urban to rural ‘bliss’. The farm has no electricity, no running water and definitely lacks worthy-of-knowing young neighbors. It does boast hard work, an always-increasing herd of animals that need feeding, milking and constant care, and a decided lack of human company for two brothers. Nonetheless, it does not lack excitement, adventure and a wealth of humor. What a great read aloud!
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