Books Reviewed in 1999
Here are the Book of the Month Selections
reviewed to-date in 1999. Interested in previous Book of the Month Selections? See our index by year since we started in 1997 or search on your own.
November 1999: Country
Towns of Vermont: Charming Small Towns and Villages to Explore by Stillman D. Rogers and Barbara Radcliffe
Rogers
 "The villages and hamlets of Vermont are renowned for their soaring
church spires, clapboard town halls, grassy commons, well-stocked general stores, and
saltbox houses. Travel writers Barbara and Stillman Rogers explore a dozen of the Green
Mountain State's most delightful little towns. In Dorest you'll step into Peltier's Market
and enjoy the aroma of cheddar cheese, freshly baked apple pie, and coffee. In Windsor,
you'll walk across the longest covered bridge in America. In Pawlet, you'll settle down to
a delicious game supper. Other featured towns include: Island Pond, Woodstock,
Middletown Springs, Chester, Brandon, Waitsfield, Putney and Vergennes."
"Discover the quaint shops, tasty home cooking, and
refreshing atmosphere of these historic Vermont towns, which make great day trips or
weekend excursions for native Vermonters and out-of-state visitors alike. Key phone
contacts for lodging, restaurants, and attractions are included."
--Dr. J
If you are interested in ordering this
book, it is available in our Country
Bookstore. Click on the link below to view more
descriptive information, pricing and/or order Country Towns of Vermont: Charming Small Towns and Villages to Explore from the Amazon.com
catalog.
August 1999: Field
Guide to New England Barns and Farm Buildings by Thomas Durant Visser
 We felt right at home with this month's
selection since our farmhouse at Mile Square Farm, which nestles on the side of Saltash
Mountain, is a 1790 timber frame cow barn we are (sloooowly) converting to a home. Thomas
D.Visser's guide is an excellent reference book, which is chock full of very detailed
information on historic barn preservation as well as a handy field guide.Visser, Associate
Professor and Interim Director of the Historic Preservation Program at University of
Vermont, recognizes the importance of barns and other outbuildings beyond mere picturesque
elements of the rural landscape.
"A recognized authority on historic barn preservation,
Visser has combed the six-state region for representative barns and outbuildings, and over
250 of his photographs are reproduced here. The text, which includes accounts from
eighteenth- and nineteenth-century observers, describes key architectural characteristics,
historic uses, and geographic distribution as well as specific features like timbers and
frames, sheathings, doors, and cupolas. From English barns to bank barns, from ice houses
to outhouses, these irreplaceable assets, Visser writes, 'linger as vulnerable survivors
of the past. Yet before these buildings vanish, each has a story to tell.' Travelers,
residents and scholars alike will find Visser's text invaluable in uncovering,
understanding, and appreciating the stories inherent in these dwindling cultural
artifacts."
--Dr. J
If you are interested in ordering this
book, it is available in our Country
Bookstore. Click on the link below to view more
descriptive information, pricing and/or order Field Guide to New England Barns and Farm Buildings from the Amazon.com
catalog.
June 1999: Judgment
Hill: A Novel by Castle Freeman,
Jr.
 This month's selection is the first novel written by Castle Freeman, Jr.,
who is best known as the author of "Farmer's Calendar" and other short pieces in
Yankee, Atlantic Monthly, Country Journal, and literary quarterlies. With Judgment Hill,
Freeman states: "I find I haven't quite written the book
I expected to write. You never do, I think. That's why you write them in the first place.
That's why you read them." He does a particularly
skillful job of drawing the landscape and small town life of Vermont and New England.
The book jacket describes the novel: "Garrett
Benteen, self-created baron of a Vermont village, will not abide destruction of the land
around him. The buzz of the chainsaw, the felling of trees, the raising of flimsy spec
houses warrant more than mere headshaking -- to Benteen they are calls to battle. Using
his wealth and the sheer force of his personality, he manipulates friends and neighbors to
sustain his vision of what the town has been and what he believes it must continue to be.
Even at his most magnanimous, as when dispensing money for college educations, employing
those in need of work, or providing wood for an elderly invalid, Benteen is intent on
control and arrogant in his conviction that he knows best. His beneficiaries seethe with
resentment, and it is this interplay, the tension between this man of wealth and power and
those he would control, that shapes this first novel by seasoned writer Castle Freeman,
Jr."
--Dr. J
If you are interested in ordering this
book, it is available in our Country
Bookstore. Click on the link below to view more
descriptive information, pricing and/or order Judgment Hill: A
Novel from
the Amazon.com catalog.
May 1999: Lost
Daughters by Laurie Alberts 
 Lost Daughters, is the most recent novel
written by Vermont author, Laurie Alberts.
A reader wrote: "Lost Daughters
chronicles the inner lives of a 'birth' mother (Allie) and her daughter (Lila) in the days
leading up to the daughter's twenty first birthday, when she can legally have access to
her adoption files. The novel is less about adoption, per se, than a meditation on the
powerful issues of belonging within a family, and coming to terms with the kinds of
choices in one's life that really do become forks in the road and thus shape -- often
unintentionally--the path ahead. There are unexpected twists in the plot, but the heart of
the novel is really about the emotional terrain that such losses entail."
The book has a distinctly New England feel, since a portion of
the story is set in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Laurie Alberts allows the reader
to "get inside" the characters and experience the emotional turmoil. While we
found this to be a well written book, the shocking and disturbing conclusion left us
feeling slightly cheated. An intimate and poignant portrayal of powerful issues of family,
we recommend this book.
--Dr. J
If you are interested in ordering this
book, it is available in our Country
Bookstore. Click on the link below to view more descriptive information, pricing
and/or order Lost Daughters from the Amazon.com catalog.
April 1999: Sweet
Maple: Life, Lore and Recipes from the Sugarbush by James M. Lawrence and Rux Martin
with photographs by Paul O. Boisvert
 Sweet Maple:
Life, Lore and Recipes from the Sugarbush, was
written by James M. Lawrence and Rux Martin with photographs
by Paul O. Boisvert.
A reader wrote: "Informative
and well-written, with many excellent photographs. Includes an interesting review of the
history and current practices of maple syrup production, and do-it-yourself instructions
for anyone interested in making small batches of syrup as a "backyard" activity.
Extensive and accurate listing of equipment manufacturers and suppliers, many of whom
offer catalogs and take direct orders."
We absolutely agree with the above description of this excellent
book. The photographs by Paul Boisvert, a native Vermonter, are enough to draw you to
Vermont. They have included a collection of historical and contemporary photos to
complement the contents of the book. Terrific reference book, right down to the numerous
maple syrup recipes! Highly recommended.
--Dr. J
If you are interested in ordering this
book, it is available in our Country
Bookstore: Sugaring. Click on the link below to view more descriptive information,
pricing and/or order Sweet Maple from the Amazon.com catalog.
March 1999: The Price of Land
in Shelby: A Novel by Laurie Alberts
 Our Book of the Month is The Price of Land in
Shelby: A Novel by Laurie Alberts. Albert's third novel
contrasts the beauty of Vermont and the harsh existence of the Chartrain family in the
years 1965 through 1994. This is not light reading as she accurately and expressively
captures the essence of this gritty family in search of a better life.
A reader wrote: "Albert's third
novel . . . tells of an alcoholic father, a mother dying of cancer, and the effects that
ripple out into the lives of their children. These five grow up in the course of the
novel. The only boy, regularly beaten by his dad, cannot hold a job as an adult. The girls
seek either self-destruction or immersion in marriages similar to that of their
parents."
The story is narrated in turn by each of the five Chartrain
children. It strips away all traces of sentimentality of the pastoral Vermont setting. I
found the book perplexing and troubling, because it so accurately portrays life on the
edge. A cycle of poverty and abuse repeated over and over again. At the same time, I
couldn't put the book down. Recommended.
--Dr. J
Click on the link below to view more
descriptive information, pricing and/or order The Price of Land in Shelby: A Novel from the Amazon.com catalog.
January 1999: Midwives: A Novel
by Chris Bohjalian
 This
month we reviewed a book promoted by Oprah's Book Club,
Midwives: A Novel by Chris Bohjalian. I found this book quite
captivating and was fascinated by Mr. Bohjalian's ability to accurately and expressively
portray women characters and issues.
A reader wrote: "On a violent,
stormy winter night, a home birth goes disastrously wrong. The phone lines are down, the
roads slick with ice.The midwife, unable to get her patient to a hospital, works
frantically to save both mother and child while her inexperienced assistant and the
woman's terrified husband look on. The mother dies but the baby is saved thanks to an
emergency C-section. And then the nightmare begins. What happens when a person discovers
that she may have accidentally killed someone? Regardless of the legal consequences, how
does one make sense of--or peace with--a fatal mistake?"
The story is narrated by Connie, the fourteen year old daughter
of the midwife. It effectively captures the essence of life in Vermont in the early
1980's. The book is suspenseful, educational and perplexing. Highly recommended.
--Dr. J
Click on the link below to view more
descriptive information, pricing and/or order Midwives: A Novel from the Amazon.com catalog.
If you would
like to review a Vermont book for us, send us email.
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