Driftless

I listened to Driftless by David Rhodes on compact discs.  I loved it.  It has been awhile since I loved a book this much.  The author is incisive, thought provoking, engaging, and he must know a lot about nature.  He writes about morel mushroom hunting, warblers, cougars, tamarack and the change of seasons.  The story is set in Wisconsin, in the driftless southwestern area of the state.  Driftless means it wasn't scoured flat by glaciers.  Areas of Minnesota that are also driftless include the river bluffs down by Winona and south down to the Iowa border.  I personally love those hilly areas and wouldn't mind settling there someday.  Each chapter tells the stories of different characters in a small town.  The characters include farmers, engine repairers, retired people, a pastor, a felon, a cheese factory worker, and a person with a disability.  One chapter was particularly thrilling.  The chapter focuses on a character named July Montgomery.  I started listening to the chapter as I pulled into the parking lot at the fitness club.  I had a bad feeling, I worried about July.  I swam for an hour and kept thinking about the book.  I knew something bad was going to happen.  I don't know how I knew.  I had an hour to think about it and I could never put my finger on how I knew.  But I knew.  I couldn't wait to get back in the car.  I was right, something terrible did happen.  You know it's a good book when you can't hardly wait to get back to it.