A Time in the Country and Other Stories

A Time In The Country And Other Stories contains fourteen masterfully told tales from the mind of Christopher Scott Davis, a lifelong, Midwestern writer from the city of Peoria. In a departure from the mainstream of most modern fiction, the stories collectively span an autobiographical journey of a lifetime. The book fascinatingly portrays, and examines people and landscapes which span a time from innocent childhood to the cynicism of unrealized goals of adulthood. In "The Farm" the book begins with a provocative and innocent observation of a young boy's examination and fear on a night time meadow, as his youthful illusions are about to dissolve into the reality of adolescence and adulthood. 'œNone of us smoked yet, or drank, or chased women; we were still too young. We were close to these things and close to becoming men, but there was still time left for us to act as boys. So, when the evening hours had become dark, all of us had gone across the blacktop road to the neighbor's farm in an attempt to chase cows. Chasing cows involved covering a lot of ground, in a group, on a stranger's land, in the dark of the night. We couldn't distinguish the cows from the bushes or small trees. Nor could we tell them apart from the tree trunks or the rotted out remains of an old log. And if one of us ran into a cow, he had the advantage of knowing that the cow was probably as surprised as he was. The greatest danger, and the one that gave us the highest sensation, was that we might run into a bull, and bulls weren't known to get scared or surprised. And, of course, everything was a bull.' 'œThe Afternoon of Roy Butler' addresses the terror that many people harbor about the psychological and emotional decline that time brings, and the inevitability of lost dreams as a result of deteriorating effort through approaching old age. In 'œThe Chalk Crosses,' Paul Meyer and Jean come to understand that integrity, courage, and a moral center in life may be the critical elements of existence one takes away from the terrifying but emboldened experience of combat and war. The dilemma of holding true to one's dreams, or 'œselling out' to the practical, modern forces in the world for a safe survival, mark the compelling lessons in 'œA Small Party of Friends,' 'œMy Kingdom for a Lady,' and 'œNight Glass.' Accenting the collection are 'œNiece at a Redwood Table,' The Art of Rome,' and 'œA Time in the Country,' which are about the poignant and important point of how each of us have a responsibility to discover a harmony and grace, as we dance through this labyrinth of what we commonly refer to as life.