ALWAYS THE LAND

A poet turned novelist imparts something of his poetic faculty to his portrayal of setting, to his sense of the place of his people against that setting. But Paul Engle, author of American Song, does more than this. He has shared with his readers the oneness of his characters and the land, and, in particular instances, the horses which are their passion. This is a modern farm story -- the background is the Iowa praries -- the demands of government, and the steps taken to organize farm activities, form an undercurrent, but the horses and the men -- and women -- who love them, form the actual theme of the story. It has its high moments of drama; and its moments of tribute to the love of the country from which it stems. Not a great book, but a good book. It has some of the appeal of the early Phil Stong novels (State Fair, etc.)