South of the Big Four

July 29, 1996
Kurtz's debut novel tells of two farmers who must battle to sustain their disappearing way of life.

July 1, 1995
A first novel about farming in north-central Indiana seems unlikely to pique wide interest. But in just a page or two, Kurtz pulls the reader deep into the story of 30-year-old Arthur Conanson's return to his family homestead to mend fences, find love, and acknowledge his true vocation. As his past is enticingly revealed, Arthur is welcomed by older brother Byron and hired by hearty pillar-of-the-community Gerry Maars to help farm his ever-increasing acres of corn, rye, and beans. In his few hours away from unrelenting, bone-wearying work, Arthur is with Annie Leroux, a married mother of four, who is seemingly related to half the town and is willing to run away with him. This is an unvarnished portrait of the family farm, an exploration of the faces of love, and--most of all--an examination of the strength of loyalty and the land. Kurtz is a fine writer, and if his final paragraphs are too earnestly explicit, this is a small disappointment in an exceptional literary debut. ((Reviewed July 1995))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1995, American Library Association.)