The Walk Down Main Street

by Ruth Moore

Published in 1960, The Walk Down Main Street explores what happens when a river town in Maine goes mad over its school basketball team. Ruth Moore covers basketball thrills, coming of age, and the reality of small town inhabitants along with her usual razor-sharp wit and honest depictions of daily life. Readers will be able to recognize their own neighbors, coaches, parents, and friends in this tale.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Sports

381 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Ruth Moore (1903–1989) was an important Maine author of the twentieth century. She is best known for her honest portrayals of Maine people and evocative descriptions of the state. Now primarily thought of as a regional writer, Moore was a significant literary figure on the national stage during her career. Her second novel Spoonhandle spent fourteen weeks on the New York Times bestseller list in the company of George Orwell, W. Somerset Maugham and Robert Penn Warren. In her time, Moore was hailed as "New England's only answer to Faulkner".

In 1940 Ruth met Eleanor Mayo, an aspiring writer also from Maine, and the two soon became a couple. They returned to New York where Ruth got a job with The Readers Digest while writing her first novel, The Weir, which was published in 1943.

Reviews

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of the characters are well developed and fascinating in their biases, beliefs and idiosyncrasies.

[Ann McLellan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Real people that you like and dislike. Believable. Author knows what people are like.

[Richard Frantz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughly enjoyed. Took me back.

[Jennifer Fitzpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maine sense of place fiction at its best! Love Ruth Moore .

[Terese Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yikes, things like this still happen here!