"A Country Called Home"

This novel by Kim Barnes was a Kansas City Star Best Book of the Year, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year, and an Oregonian Top Ten Northwest Book of the Year. It's set in the 60's -- about the time I was a young bride myself -- and it brought back a lot of memories about what it was like to be a wife, mother, and woman in those times. Dr. Thomas Deracotte, a young doctor, brings his bride, Helen, to Idaho where he plans to start a practice. He was attracted to Helen because she was a free spirit but he doesn't know how to be a husband to her. He purchases a rundown farm and hires Manny, a local boy living on his own, as his hired hand. Manny knows more than the doctor about what it takes to be a farmer. Thomas would be content to fish all day and believes Helen should be content in her roles as his wife and a mother. He doesn't understand her need for adult companionship outside the house. This is a novel about complicated relationships, friendships, growing up, and loss. It is so true to the time it is written in that it is easy to become engrossed in this Idaho town and Thomas and Helen's world -- as if you were there -- and as if it were real.

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