Goyen's fifth novel is a fable of sexuality, Texas country life in the first half of the twentieth century, religious revivalism, and the money madness and ecological destruction caused by the oil boom. The narrative is composed of the brief linked episodes and tales that are Goyen's trademark, and is written with an ear for the rhythms of regional speech that was his particular gift.

A rural child discovers the sights, sounds, colors, and special feeling of spring.

Penny Burkholder makes a living on the sheepdog trial circuit with her dog, Hope, while she puts her life back together, but the national finals bring a confrontation with her father.

We all remember the dusty uphill road that leads to the green church common. We remember the white spire pointing upward against a background of blue sky and feathery elms. We remember the sound of the bell that falls on the Sabbath morning stillness, calling us across the daisy-sprinkled meadows of June, the golden hayfields of July, or the dazzling whiteness and deep snowdrifts of December days. The little cabinet-organ that plays the doxology,...

Young Bo spends the summer with his grandfather in the country and has a wonderful time.

At the age of 60, a Kentucky man decides to find out why half a century earlier his favorite uncle was shot, a crime for which the killer spent only two years in jail. The man was nine years old when the incident occurred and nobody would give him a reason.

Follows the seasons of the year as reflected in the growth, life, and death of the garden of a large rural family.