This is a collection of inter-related short stories about a 19th century Ohio town told primarily through the eyes of a narrator who is a reporter for the local paper (George Willard). The book shows up on lists of great American novels, supposedly was considered quite ground-breaking for the manner in which it illuminated small-town life in a direct, simple, honest manner.I just didn't like this book very much. I thought the characters were too flat (in general, I don't seem to enjoy short stories, much prefer longer vehicles where the author has a chance to develop characters, story lines, etc.). And the overall tone felt too negative - it's not a great discovery to recognize that people have faults, and in this short story setting there wasn't room to present a more balanced picture of the various characters.
Anyway, perhaps this was a great book and I missed the point, but so be it.
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