Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

I think this book was what I had wanted The Grapes of Wrath to be. It is the story of a man's life in rural Kentucky, through the years of the depression and into the changes of the 20th century. He is a simple man of observation, yet, married to a woman, in his mind, who is married to someone else. He is a man of routine and strange faith. He sees his world keenly and feels the rhythms of the biology. He is a searcher, a sloth, a barber, a loner at the center of his society. This book begged to be read a chapter at a time, not poured through at all. But, have no fears in handing this to your kids, or putting beside your own bed. It will make you see your world more clearly, and perhaps define your own desires for simplicity. Wendell Berry is also a poet, and this book is in a way a medatative poem for the quiet soul.