The Meadow

Rating:
Summary: There was not a coherent storyline to this book.
Review: This book was rambling and difficult to follow. I couldn't get past page 93.

Rating:
Summary: A story of harsh extremities and stark beauty
Review: This is a book to savor. Its chapters fall somewhere between vignettes and prose poems, and reading the book is like leafing through an album of old photographs. The storyline is made up of the threads of connections to be made between each of the word-pictures. The book itself seems to be neither fiction nor nonfiction. Galvin refers to himself and his family in some of the chapters, but the person at the center of the book is a neighbor, Lyle Van Waning, who has spent most of his life living near the meadow of the book's title, in the high elevations between Laramie, Wyoming, and Ft. Collins, Colorado.

By today's standards of urban comforts and conveniences (many of which have found their way into lives of people who live far from the city), Lyle lives a kind of pioneer existence, isolated much of the year by deep snow, living by his skills as a carpenter and builder, and the proceeds of hay harvested from his meadow, and spending the time when he can do neither of these in his shop making machinery parts, carved wooden boxes, firearms, and whatever else captures his fascination. He is an immensely private and self-sufficient man, who never marries and seems to hold in his heart the strongest connection with a dead sister who committed suicide. (A painting by Clara Van Waning appears on the cover of the book.) Galvin captures in Lyle the kind of fiercely independent spirit that made survivors of those who first settled and thrived in the American wilderness.

There are other men and women associated with the meadow. And their stories are also told, including App Worster and his son Ray, whose family owns the meadow before the Van Wanings, and who lose it during the Depression. We also learn something of a neighboring rancher Frank Lilley, who is dying of cancer, and whose family continues to keep his ranch going. There's also Ferris, who tries the frontier patience of his neighbors to the breaking point by dumping truckloads of old appliances on his property and denuding his small pasture with over-grazing.

"The Meadow" is told with wonderful precision, a photographic attention to details, and a deep feeling for a kind of life that survives in spite of isolation and often hostile elements. While Galvin does not romanticize the lives of his characters, he does celebrate them. There's a deep attachment in this book to the region that is his home, the landscape and changing seasons, and the people who have put down roots there. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the West and the lives of those who have adapted to its harsh extremities and cherished its stark beauty. As a companion, I would recommend Mark Spragg's "Where Rivers Change Direction," an account of growing up in northwest Wyoming.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful evocation of rural America
Review: This is lovely book which is in many ways the story of America. Anyone at all familar with rural American will recognize the characters, the desire for independence and the pressures of encroaching modern America. Ultimately, the main character is the Meadow and its story. The language is to be treasured. I have passed this book on to many people who in turn have passed it on to others. I suspect it will have a long, quiet life, much like its main character the Meadow.

Rating:
Summary: Yes, thank you
Review: This is what all the hoopla about "lyrical essays" can produce: beautiful, musical, thoughtful, deeply felt prose that could only be written by a poet. Mr. Galvin, you are a genius!

Rating:
Summary: Yes, thank you
Review: This is what all the hoopla about "lyrical essays" can produce: beautiful, musical, thoughtful, deeply felt prose that could only be written by a poet. Mr. Galvin, you are a genius!

Rating:
Summary: Not a picture of the American West.
Review: Very dissapointed with this book. From other reviews I would have thought that this was going to be a great story of the American west. Not at all. It was very confusing & dificult to follow. The charachters, while modestly intriguing, were very very depressing and pathetic. I could not wait for it to end. I kept thinking I would find something to draw me in but it never happened. I would never suggest this as a read.

Rating:
Summary: It is a good book and provides an interesting perspective
Review: When I first looked into the book I was a little put off. It seemed to be just another dreamy book about a romantic period. I was interested, however since I had lived in Laramie for a couple of years while teaching at the University. The thing that struk me was that while I knew about the ranchers living in the "greater Laramie" area, there was little contact between the people in Laramie and them. Now I have a better sense of why that is. They are two complete, but largely parallel cultures that rarely meet.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite book about the West
Review: While other readers from New York City don't seem to get this beautful story of the land and the people who live on it, time and again I am transported west with this literary gem. It's hard work with a non-linear format, but that's part of the fun. Enjoy!!