THE GOOD SPIRIT OF LAUREL RIDGE

The Kentucky hills again as background for a typical Jesse Stuart yarn. There's the very scent and sound and feel of the region, while the people he writes about are close to the soil he knows so well. There's a sense of fun in his yarning, and the born story teller comes to the fore in the character of old Theopolis Akers, who spins tall tales to suit his needs. Sometimes it is to entertain his daughter, come back to take care of him in his blindness. Sometimes it is to scare the city slickers who settle upon him. Sometimes it is to belittle his neighbors, the gossipy old trouble maker, Doshin, or her lazy son, Hootbird. But it all adds up to a tale with the feel of folk material, though the setting is today.