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A Stranger in the Kingdom
Howard Frank Mosher has earned both critical acclaim and a wide readership for his vivid historical portraits of northern New England residents in his fictional Kingdom County, Vermont. A Stranger in the Kingdom tells the unforgettable story of a brutal murder in a small town and the devastating events that follow. The town's new preacher, a black man, finds himself on trial more for who he is than for what he might have done in this powerful drama of passion, prejudice, and innocence suddenly lost . . . and perhaps found again.
421 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
240 people are currently reading
1825 people want to read
About the author
Howard Frank Mosher
22 books162 followers Howard Frank Mosher was an American author. Over the course of his career, Mr. Mosher published 12 novels, two memoirs and countless essays and book reviews. In addition, his last work of fiction, points North will be published by St. Martin's press in the winter of 2018.
Mosher was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1979. A Stranger In the Kingdom won the New England Book Award for Fiction in 1991, and was later filmed by director Jay Craven. In 2006, Mosher received the Vermont Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. In 2011 he was awarded the New England Independent Booksellers Association's President's Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Mosher was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1979. A Stranger In the Kingdom won the New England Book Award for Fiction in 1991, and was later filmed by director Jay Craven. In 2006, Mosher received the Vermont Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. In 2011 he was awarded the New England Independent Booksellers Association's President's Award for Lifetime Achievement.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews
June 27, 2011
I picked this up to read for an upcoming book group discussion and was blown away. It's more than 20 years old but this book is an absolute classic. I don't give many 5 star ratings but Mosher's book was fabulous. I'd never read anything by him and just loved his voice; it felt like I was sitting down with a favorite uncle or grandfather who was relaying the story. The story takes place in the early 1950s in northern Vermont. A small town community hires a preacher after interviewing him by phone only to find he's a "negro" when he arrives in town with his young son. Small town secrets, racial tensions and a murder lead to a trial that is so well-written, I literally could not put the book down until I finished it.
I've been told that some of Mosher's other books feature the same characters as Stranger in the Kingdom. You can bet I'll be reading them. The writing, the topic...everything about this book should make it a classic on every high school reading list. Yes...it's that good.
I've been told that some of Mosher's other books feature the same characters as Stranger in the Kingdom. You can bet I'll be reading them. The writing, the topic...everything about this book should make it a classic on every high school reading list. Yes...it's that good.
April 19, 2011
This was the 1st book I've read by this author and I will definitely read more of his books. He is really a superb writer. I feel like his characters were actually people I've known or met in my life. You can tell that he's no "stranger" to Vermont because he describes it in ways you couldn't unless you had an up-close and personal relationship. The story is based on a "stranger" arriving in Kingdom County, Vt. in 1952 ----- a new minister, who is black, in a very "white" small town near the Canadian border. The story is narrated by Jim Kinneson, a 13 year old boy whose family has deep roots in the community.
The Kingdom's peacefulness is shattered shortly after the minister's arrival by the murder of a young girl who arrived from Canada in search of a better life. Jim's brother, who is a local lawyer, takes on the defense of the minister. The book culminates with the trial. Prejudice, religion, family ties and ignorance all play major parts in the story and trial. By the time the final verdict is reached, the "Kingdom" is forever changed.
The Kingdom's peacefulness is shattered shortly after the minister's arrival by the murder of a young girl who arrived from Canada in search of a better life. Jim's brother, who is a local lawyer, takes on the defense of the minister. The book culminates with the trial. Prejudice, religion, family ties and ignorance all play major parts in the story and trial. By the time the final verdict is reached, the "Kingdom" is forever changed.
March 21, 2011
Kingdom County, Vermont, 1952, is its own world. Jim Kinneson is just turning 13 and big changes come to his life when a black minister and his son come to town. They are the only black people to live in the Kingdom in decades and they are treated with racism by some but generally accepted. However, when a troubled young girl who had been staying with the minister is found murdered, the minister is arrested and charged. Jim's brother, Charlie, takes the case of defending the minister but has a rough time finding who else might have killed her. This novel is filled with interesting characters and historical stories. It starts slow as you get to know Jim, his family, the people of Kingdom, and the beautiful land but the story is engrossing.
April 3, 2012
My book club read this moving story by Howard Mosher and everyone agreed (which never happens) that we loved his writing and enjoyed the pace of the book: Mosher allows the reader to live in the Kingdom awhile before the real trouble starts. While the events of the fateful summer of 1952 are viewed through the eyes of a young boy, Mosher's first-person narrator tells the story as a grown man, with the benefit of thirty-five years in which to process the events. This device is also used, to great effect, in "To Kill a Mockingbird," one of my other favorite books. Mosher hit a home run with "Stranger in the Kingdom."
September 22, 2012
A perennial re-read for me--this time because the 9th graders are reading it this fall. Mosher is one of my favorite authors, and this is one of my favorites of his novels. Similar themes as To Kill a Mockingbird. He catches for me the diversity of country life that is just below the surface of things, not just in Vermont where it takes place, but in rural life all over America. This novel--about family and about race and about prejudices of all sorts,and about what is right-- really echos for me.
October 1, 2010
Being a Vermonter, I picked this book up simply because it was by a Vermont author and the story takes place in Vermont. Although it's set in the 1950's, I found it interesting (and sad) how little things have changed in the last 60 years in some towns here in Vermont. A good story with some mystery mixed in and overall a good read.
September 27, 2019
Imagine 'To Kill A Mockingbird' but in St. J. Vermont in 1952 (but, actually, a fictional place...which is definitely St. J.). That's basically the plot.
I'll admit that I was swayed to read this book because I lived about 10 miles from St. J. for a few years, but I found that I really didn't care much for it. The locals were accurate to a fault, and also quite stereotypical. The Canadian Minister was polite; the French-Canadian immigrants worked low wage jobs, were poor and poorly educated, and racist toward one-another; the judge had faith in the goodness of his community; everyone was related (or practically so); the town had an incompetent sheriff and even less competent prosecutor and there was a perpetual fight over the somehow loveable and harmless - but not really, not to rational people - hick cousin.
The ignorance of Scout - who's named Jim in this version - was not really endearing. And, frankly, I felt that there was too much reliance on a telling of the events of the Summer of '52 rather than a better focus on the events at issue. The first two-thirds of the book describes (in order of length): the history of everyone's family (or nearly so) in a one-church rural Vermont town, life in a one-church rural Vermont town, the weird Ray Bradbury-esque Something Wicked This Way Comes circus, the suprise and dislike of the locals when the black, Canadian Minister comes to town, and the Minister's interactions with the locals. The last third is focused on the trial and the fallout. I felt that the first two thirds could have easily been cut-in-half without losing any impact during the trial.
As far as the trial goes, I'm spoiled by my profession but, even so, there were just such egregious errors that it befuddles the mind. For example, during the picking of the jury, the defense lawyer asks one potential juror if he served with any black men in the military. The response is racist. The potential juror is dismissed. A second potential juror comes up. The defense lawyer asks the same thing. The prosecutor objects, saying the question was already asked! Egregiously, the judge agrees!
Then, the judge gives a lecture to the potential jurors to not be racist. Excuse me, but what? If I ask Bob if he had cereal for breakfast, then I ask Jim if he had cereal for breakfast, I didn't already ask the question. I'm asking two DIFFERENT people the question and the answer to one has no impact whatsoever on the other. The rest of the "logic" in the trial is basically the same. As with modern TV shows, you won't believe the twist!...unless you've seen A Few Good Men. In that case, the defense attorney is a less competent version of Tom Cruise.
It seemed as though this novel wanted to explore the undercurrent of racism in a very rural corner of Vermont, but the author (or, perhaps the fictional character writing his memoir) doesn't have the fundamental understanding of racism to bring the novel to a successful conclusion. Instead, it veers off to comment on the blindness of small towns to religious extremism in their midst. I suppose that there's some crossover there, but there's no analysis, no soul searching on the racism front. It's more of a one off - his way of life was being challenged so he lashed out violently - and, sure, that's pretty applicable to a number of situations, but there's not analysis or thought given to how those who didn't have those beliefs could have intervened or been on guard or done anything other that continue to be wilfully blind to the coming crisis.
I'll admit that I was swayed to read this book because I lived about 10 miles from St. J. for a few years, but I found that I really didn't care much for it. The locals were accurate to a fault, and also quite stereotypical. The Canadian Minister was polite; the French-Canadian immigrants worked low wage jobs, were poor and poorly educated, and racist toward one-another; the judge had faith in the goodness of his community; everyone was related (or practically so); the town had an incompetent sheriff and even less competent prosecutor and there was a perpetual fight over the somehow loveable and harmless - but not really, not to rational people - hick cousin.
The ignorance of Scout - who's named Jim in this version - was not really endearing. And, frankly, I felt that there was too much reliance on a telling of the events of the Summer of '52 rather than a better focus on the events at issue. The first two-thirds of the book describes (in order of length): the history of everyone's family (or nearly so) in a one-church rural Vermont town, life in a one-church rural Vermont town, the weird Ray Bradbury-esque Something Wicked This Way Comes circus, the suprise and dislike of the locals when the black, Canadian Minister comes to town, and the Minister's interactions with the locals. The last third is focused on the trial and the fallout. I felt that the first two thirds could have easily been cut-in-half without losing any impact during the trial.
As far as the trial goes, I'm spoiled by my profession but, even so, there were just such egregious errors that it befuddles the mind. For example, during the picking of the jury, the defense lawyer asks one potential juror if he served with any black men in the military. The response is racist. The potential juror is dismissed. A second potential juror comes up. The defense lawyer asks the same thing. The prosecutor objects, saying the question was already asked! Egregiously, the judge agrees!
Then, the judge gives a lecture to the potential jurors to not be racist. Excuse me, but what? If I ask Bob if he had cereal for breakfast, then I ask Jim if he had cereal for breakfast, I didn't already ask the question. I'm asking two DIFFERENT people the question and the answer to one has no impact whatsoever on the other. The rest of the "logic" in the trial is basically the same. As with modern TV shows, you won't believe the twist!...unless you've seen A Few Good Men. In that case, the defense attorney is a less competent version of Tom Cruise.
It seemed as though this novel wanted to explore the undercurrent of racism in a very rural corner of Vermont, but the author (or, perhaps the fictional character writing his memoir) doesn't have the fundamental understanding of racism to bring the novel to a successful conclusion. Instead, it veers off to comment on the blindness of small towns to religious extremism in their midst. I suppose that there's some crossover there, but there's no analysis, no soul searching on the racism front. It's more of a one off - his way of life was being challenged so he lashed out violently - and, sure, that's pretty applicable to a number of situations, but there's not analysis or thought given to how those who didn't have those beliefs could have intervened or been on guard or done anything other that continue to be wilfully blind to the coming crisis.
September 12, 2008
This is a terrific read. Frank Mosher comes from the Northeast part of Vermont known as the northeast kingdom. the setting for the book is a small town there. He writes in a style all his own, and it truly captures the spirit and "culture" of this special place. The story is about a black minister who arrives in town with his 16-year-old son. The son befriends the son of the local newspaper editor. The story is told through the eyes of this editor's son. Much of the story captures the quirkyness of the characters and the isolation of the place. A murder occurs and the minister is accused of the murder. The twists and turns of the story makes it a compelling read. I highly recommend this book.
September 21, 2009
Really liked this book. Found it hard to put down at times. The author does an excellent job of portraying a Northeast Kingdom Vermont town. Some times I can see it, because I've been there. Though it is fiction, he knows his territory. A very food read.
January 22, 2015
Written as a memoir, this is a nostalgic story of life in the insular, traditional "Kingdom" of rural Vermont, which is challenged by a stranger of another race. It highlights how race relations can divide and upset the most stable of communities. Well written, easy read.
August 21, 2017
Good, old fashioned story telling. Small town histories and secrets and a new guy comes to town. Mosher was identified by Richard Russo recently as being his inspiration. This book, set in 1952 and written in 1989, shows why.
August 27, 2019
A very well written book of a small town in Northeastern Vermont staged in 1952. All about religious strife. Racial prejudice is involved. Murder and trials.
I enjoyed this book. I grew up in a small town in Iowa and I too was graduated from high school before I was introduced to other races. So in this book I can relate to what happens.
I enjoyed this book. I grew up in a small town in Iowa and I too was graduated from high school before I was introduced to other races. So in this book I can relate to what happens.
September 25, 2025
definitely a 3.5 probably could be rounded up to a 4 but, i think that may just be more based on the other books i’ve read this year, and less based on the book in the grand scheme of my life. but i liked it a lot, i really did.
August 5, 2024
*** VERMONT ***
August 2, 2020
A Stranger comes to the Kingdom.
I have some bias in giving this a good review being that I live on the edge of what is called the Northeast Kingdom of VT. So many of the places were familiar to me and it was easy even in the current day to visualize this small town. The book starts out slow and is very character driven in the beginning as the reader learns about the inhabitants of this town and their ancestors that settled it which will tie into later events. It then picks up considerably half way through when a murder takes place.
Prejudices come to the fore and a court drama ensues.
This would make a good book club read.
I have some bias in giving this a good review being that I live on the edge of what is called the Northeast Kingdom of VT. So many of the places were familiar to me and it was easy even in the current day to visualize this small town. The book starts out slow and is very character driven in the beginning as the reader learns about the inhabitants of this town and their ancestors that settled it which will tie into later events. It then picks up considerably half way through when a murder takes place.
Prejudices come to the fore and a court drama ensues.
This would make a good book club read.
October 6, 2013
As others have stated, the book gets off to a slow start. For me the pace picked up dramatically after the first fifty percent. The pacing is slower at the beginning of the book as the author sets the tone by allowing the reader ample time to become acquainted with the book's time period and setting while also thoroughly developing the main characters. Set in rural northern Vermont in the 1950s, families, friends and strangers become embroiled in a brutal murder trial. A GREAT book for discussion of the 'classic' themes - prejudice, community values, acceptance of strangers and religious hypocrisy. Excellent choice for a book club!
February 4, 2025
📚⛪🎣⚖NOVEL THOUGHTS⚖🦌⛪📚
This amazing story told by the grown up Jimmy Kinneson as he recalls the events of 1952 when he was 12 yrs old going on 13 in his hometown of fictional Kingdom, VT very close to the Canadian border, will keep the reader engaged and fascinated from start to finish. What begins as a coming of age story becomes more of a reality check for Jimmy as his community is swept up in a trial of the newly hired Black minister accused of murdering a young woman who came to town answering an ad for a mail order housekeeper. Both of these characters are "foreigners" to this small insular town and those whose family history dates back for decades, are not so welcoming and suspicious of these Canadian transplants who are only looking for a new start.
Jimmy's family have owned and run the local newspaper forever. His family is well respected and they are very openminded when Rev Walter Andrews and his 16 yr old son Nat come to town to take over the long vacant pulpit of the Episcopalian church which itself has a long and troubled history. Jimmy and Nat become fast friends though Nat isn't as enamored of the little town far from his beloved Montreal and when Claire LeRiviere comes in response to the ad posted by Jimmy's "cousin" Resolved, both boys are charmed by her. Claire wants nothing more than to become Hollywood actress and wants to make enough money to travel there so she takes the job as the cousin's housekeeper but he wants much more. This leaves her to need to find another accommodation and she ends up living briefly with the minister until one day, she is found dead at the bottom of a cliff. This leads to some very suspicious investigations and the Rev is arrested and charged. The ensuing courtroom drama is riveting, led by Jimmy's older brother, a likeable character and successful defense attorney.
The book is basically two halves: half one is getting to know all the unique and wild characters in Kingdom, their histories as well as the history of the town itself and half two is the trial. The author brings so much of the town's way of life, the scenery as the seasons change and the leisure time spent fishing and hunting. But the story is not without some dark themes, foremost the racism of some of the townspeople, even within his own family. Jimmy sees this through his young eyes and realizes that his is a life that has not been subject to this kind of prejudice before and his innocence is shaken to the core.
This book was first published in 1989 but is not the least bit "old." The writing is captivating, the characters well developed, and the story is as relevant today, as it was in 1989. Sadly, some things, never change.
This amazing story told by the grown up Jimmy Kinneson as he recalls the events of 1952 when he was 12 yrs old going on 13 in his hometown of fictional Kingdom, VT very close to the Canadian border, will keep the reader engaged and fascinated from start to finish. What begins as a coming of age story becomes more of a reality check for Jimmy as his community is swept up in a trial of the newly hired Black minister accused of murdering a young woman who came to town answering an ad for a mail order housekeeper. Both of these characters are "foreigners" to this small insular town and those whose family history dates back for decades, are not so welcoming and suspicious of these Canadian transplants who are only looking for a new start.
Jimmy's family have owned and run the local newspaper forever. His family is well respected and they are very openminded when Rev Walter Andrews and his 16 yr old son Nat come to town to take over the long vacant pulpit of the Episcopalian church which itself has a long and troubled history. Jimmy and Nat become fast friends though Nat isn't as enamored of the little town far from his beloved Montreal and when Claire LeRiviere comes in response to the ad posted by Jimmy's "cousin" Resolved, both boys are charmed by her. Claire wants nothing more than to become Hollywood actress and wants to make enough money to travel there so she takes the job as the cousin's housekeeper but he wants much more. This leaves her to need to find another accommodation and she ends up living briefly with the minister until one day, she is found dead at the bottom of a cliff. This leads to some very suspicious investigations and the Rev is arrested and charged. The ensuing courtroom drama is riveting, led by Jimmy's older brother, a likeable character and successful defense attorney.
The book is basically two halves: half one is getting to know all the unique and wild characters in Kingdom, their histories as well as the history of the town itself and half two is the trial. The author brings so much of the town's way of life, the scenery as the seasons change and the leisure time spent fishing and hunting. But the story is not without some dark themes, foremost the racism of some of the townspeople, even within his own family. Jimmy sees this through his young eyes and realizes that his is a life that has not been subject to this kind of prejudice before and his innocence is shaken to the core.
This book was first published in 1989 but is not the least bit "old." The writing is captivating, the characters well developed, and the story is as relevant today, as it was in 1989. Sadly, some things, never change.
August 21, 2023
I really loved this book! It addressed a serious theme of racism in Vermont and in small towns, but it did so effectively by showing the events of the summer of 1952 slowly, allowing readers to become invested in the characters and setting before revealing the crime, mystery, and trial. Much of the book is spent in creating the setting, including describing the history of the family and the town through recollections of adventures and family stories. This was entertaining and helpful in making the community seem alive and nuanced beyond simple distinctions of good or evil.
The thing that you won't learn from the descriptions or from some of the other reviews is that the crime and the trial promised in the description of the book do not happen until the end. For some readers, I could see how it might be frustrating to be promised a murder and then not have one committed until you're several hundred pages in. Then the trial, which is what I thought the bulk of the book was going to be about, was certainly covered with a lot of care and detail, but took place in the last probably quarter of the book. There were several hundred pages of pre-murder and pre-trial material that I loved and were beautiful and very worth reading, but it would be a mistake to say this book was just about a murder or a trial. It was about a family, a friendship, and one man's arrival and contributions to a small town. If you won't enjoy the chapters about baseball and fishing and an outlaw cousin's cockfighting tournament and a coming of age story, then this book probably isn't for you.
The thing that you won't learn from the descriptions or from some of the other reviews is that the crime and the trial promised in the description of the book do not happen until the end. For some readers, I could see how it might be frustrating to be promised a murder and then not have one committed until you're several hundred pages in. Then the trial, which is what I thought the bulk of the book was going to be about, was certainly covered with a lot of care and detail, but took place in the last probably quarter of the book. There were several hundred pages of pre-murder and pre-trial material that I loved and were beautiful and very worth reading, but it would be a mistake to say this book was just about a murder or a trial. It was about a family, a friendship, and one man's arrival and contributions to a small town. If you won't enjoy the chapters about baseball and fishing and an outlaw cousin's cockfighting tournament and a coming of age story, then this book probably isn't for you.
March 8, 2018
This is my second trip to the Kingdom and while I didn't love it quite as much as the first ("God's Kingdom"), it probably won't be my last. I love the author's rambling style - his descriptions and small anecdotes bring so much life to this small New England town! Frankly, those were the portions of the book I enjoyed the most. The murder and the ensuing trial were OK - very "To Kill A Mockingbird" and interesting, but I breezed by them pretty quickly in comparison to the first half, which I read and re-read and really savored. It's funny, it almost felt as though the author wrote half a book with very little plot, just beautiful, meandering descriptions and funny happenings, and suddenly woke up part-way through and thought, "Crap! I need a plot! I should probably start adding a plot somewhere in here!" I would have honestly been fine without it. Not that it wasn't entertaining, but it just didn't seem to fit. One thing I find very interesting about the Kingdom series is that it seems that you have to read the whole series to piece together what happend in the town's past. Each book makes references to various incidents, but only some give you the full picture of what happened, others just hint at things but leave them shrouded in mystery. I like this piecing together of past traumas and events. In any case, I'll most likely be coming back to the other books in the series.
October 24, 2017
The blurb for this book makes it out to be a murder story followed by a courtroom drama. It's not that, though those are elements of the book. In fact, it's an absorbing, hypnotic descriptive story of life in the North East Kingdom of Vermont in 1952, seen through the eyes of 12 year old Jimmy Kinneson, son of the editor of the local newspaper.
We are treated to descriptions of life in the Kingdom as spring succeeds winter, summer succeeds spring, and autumn comes around, and all the natural changes that go with the seasonal change - what are the best places to fish, the baseball rivalries, and so on. we are lulled into a sense of the 1950's and that apparently simpler time.
Then the strangers come to the Kingdom. It's interesting that it's not actually clear to whom the author was referring when he called his book "Stranger in the Kingdom", but there are two obvious candidates. First the new black (shock!) minister and second the transient would-be actress from Quebec. And even as time goes back, the travelling gypsies.
However, once we've been lulled into our summer of peace, one of the strangers has been charged with the murder of the other, and Jimmy's brother Charlie must defend in court.
It's a great book. I read it because it's a Vermont classic, and now I can see why.
We are treated to descriptions of life in the Kingdom as spring succeeds winter, summer succeeds spring, and autumn comes around, and all the natural changes that go with the seasonal change - what are the best places to fish, the baseball rivalries, and so on. we are lulled into a sense of the 1950's and that apparently simpler time.
Then the strangers come to the Kingdom. It's interesting that it's not actually clear to whom the author was referring when he called his book "Stranger in the Kingdom", but there are two obvious candidates. First the new black (shock!) minister and second the transient would-be actress from Quebec. And even as time goes back, the travelling gypsies.
However, once we've been lulled into our summer of peace, one of the strangers has been charged with the murder of the other, and Jimmy's brother Charlie must defend in court.
It's a great book. I read it because it's a Vermont classic, and now I can see why.
May 1, 2022
I first read this book in the early 1990s, not too long after moving to New Hampshire's North Country, just across the Connecticut River from the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont (where this books takes place in fictional Kingdom County). At the time, I thought it was one of the best novels I had ever read, and it was a good introduction to some of the characters in this new world I had moved to.
Fast forward 25-30 years, and I decided to read it again. It's one of those books that doesn't get old, and I enjoyed it as much this time as the last. (Others that fall into that category for me are John Irving's Cider House Rules and Dickens's Great Expectations.) Anyway, despite the events in the book taking place in the early 1950s in rural America, its theme seems so timely in the 2020s given the racial reckonings of the last few years. The book's tolerant characters thoughtfully examine their own biases and seem to recognize their own white privilege, and there are also characters who do not recognize their own biases, which shine through in their words and actions.
Aside from the topical theme, this is just a really well written book that transports the reader to northeastern Vermont in 1952 as only a native could do.
Fast forward 25-30 years, and I decided to read it again. It's one of those books that doesn't get old, and I enjoyed it as much this time as the last. (Others that fall into that category for me are John Irving's Cider House Rules and Dickens's Great Expectations.) Anyway, despite the events in the book taking place in the early 1950s in rural America, its theme seems so timely in the 2020s given the racial reckonings of the last few years. The book's tolerant characters thoughtfully examine their own biases and seem to recognize their own white privilege, and there are also characters who do not recognize their own biases, which shine through in their words and actions.
Aside from the topical theme, this is just a really well written book that transports the reader to northeastern Vermont in 1952 as only a native could do.
December 9, 2017
This is one of the best books I ever read . I have never even heard of this author and it’s only because of one of my favorite authors ,Richard Russo who recommended him that I read this book. Looking up Howard Frank Mosher I see he died this year in January 2017 . Damn I thought this guy has like 11 novels and I never even heard of him and now he’s dead ? Oh well his novels are still here and so I picked this one . I use to live in Vermont and I know about the” northeast kingdom “and how sparsely it was populated. I use to love driving my sports car up that way to the Canadian border where there where no people and hardly any cars on the road where I could open up my turbo charged engine without fear of the police . So I was intrigued , I would probably like this authors work . I loved it beyond belief . I couldn’t put it down and at times I felt my heart racing as I read faster and faster to find out what happened . I won’t get I. To the story itself other reviewers have done that but I can honestly say it’s one the best books I ever read . What a pleasure .
December 16, 2018
With this novel I complete my 50-states journey - woo hoo!! Vermont is the setting, back in the 1950’s. I feel like I was transported there, reading this half coming of age, half courtroom drama (very Perry Mason-esque). It is almost 5 stars IMO, but I am giving it 4 because I am trying to be very selective about what gets a 5. If you like setting specific tales with wonderful, detailed descriptions youwill like this book. It covers a family that settled a region in N Vermont and is heavily invested in their family history and legacy. Race is also a focus - Stranger in the Kingdom -as is the challenge small isolated communitees have struggles accepting newcomers. In that regard there are similarities with To Kill a Mockingbird. I am not sure which book was written first. I hope some people pick this bookup and read it - i had both a kindle version and a library version. The library version hasn’t been checked out in ages so I fear it will disappear from the shelves. Keep this book available!!!
October 23, 2017
I read this while on a recent vacation. Some of my thoughts include the similarities to "to Kill a Mockingbird", with the racial overtones and rampant bigotry. Some less-than-accurate details regarding some of the baseball stories are a minor detraction. While the setting is 1952, the story is being told in a retrospective from the late 1980s, when one of the main characters is a grown man, looking back to his childhood. The digital version that I read had many typos, which was distracting. The main portion of the story takes a while to be made evident, although the setup is important. Some of the vocabulary is tough to handle, although much of the local dialect is interesting, and seems authentic. Enjoyable book...
September 26, 2020
This tale takes place in a small town near Montreal where religious traditions and family histories are heavily entrenched. Everything changes when a black minister accepts a position in a split church. A couple of generations back, one of the prominent family members marry a gypsy woman whose offspring are the reason for the split in the church. A traveling group comes to town after picking up a 17-year old girl hitch-hiking to Hollywood, but finds herself stuck in the town with no one to put her up till she can make her way onward. The whole town is in an uproar because of all of these in...
May 29, 2021
I read Northern Borders some years ago and loved this author's voice. His protagonist in that book, as in this one, is a man recalling his boyhood in a northern Vermont town. It's a different man, but the voice has a similar quality. Humorous, gentle, and comforting. Having lived in Vermont for a few years, I also loved the setting which Mr. Mosher captures in his prose to a T. In this book he has created a town and a full complement of quirky yet believable inhabitants. Add a dash of mystery and some race and cultural issues for good measure. No wonder he has received so many regional awards for his writing. He deserves to be known outside of New England.
April 15, 2018
There are so many reasons to love this book, the first of which is Mosher's writing. He is a beautiful story teller, weaving together complex threads of character, time and place. It is a subtle story of nativism and prejudice...but family and setting take precendence ... as the story unfolds, characters grow, and tension builds to an (almost) surprising and satisfying conclusion. Mosher puts you in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont in the 1950's without over playing colloquium or making fools of local characters. A lovely, long, luxurious read.
July 12, 2022
Only made it 21% of the way thorough the book. Honestly, the writing style is what made me give up. There was a constant flow of introducing new (seemingly, small role) characters, making it difficult to keep up with who is who. Additionally, the transitions between character/space descriptions and actual conversation were hard to follow. One minute I'm reading about a complex kitchen with 9 doors in really brilliant detail, and the next we're in a dinner conversation with 4 people. How did we get here? Had a hard time following and gave up reading it.
December 30, 2022
The rating is 3 stars but could have been 5 if the first 75% could have been half as good as the last 25%. I did not find it hard to put the book down but did find it hard to pick it back up until the last quarter of it. It was like a travel book story most of the way and I was not looking to learn about the fishing and hunting in Vermont. Reading over 325 pages to get some excitement is a little much. I doubt I will be reading this author again. With his great writing skills he should be able to cause some interest earlier in the story. Can anyone confirm if his books are all like this one?
November 23, 2025
A beautifully written story about an eventful few months for a 13 year old boy in 1950s northern Vermont. Mosher's writing reminded me of Ivan Doig's writings. A real pleasure to read. The small community of Kingdom County has hired a new minister sight unseen. He's a black man and brings along his 16 year old son. Some community members are welcoming, others show their bigotry. A young Canadian woman is found murdered and the trial reveals much of the community's dynamics. An excellent read.
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