I just finished reading a novel by former Oklahoma Senator Fred Harris entitled Following the Harvest. The novel is set in the summer of 1943 and follows the experience of a 16 year old boy named Will Haley as he works on a harvesting combine crew that goes from his home in southwestern Oklahoma up through the Texas Panhandle, eastern Oklahoma, Wyoming, finally ending up in North Dakota.
I have always enjoyed "coming of age" stories like this. Seeing a young protagonist go from youth and innocense to maturity and experience seems to me to be the very essense of our lives. The novel also has a real feeling for setting, of time and place. I grew up in or near many of the places described in the novel. Harris has a good "writer's eye" for geography. His description of the Caprock region in Texas matched my own feeling for the area's atmosphere and mood.
I would recommend this book for a pleasant reading experience.
1 comment:
Fred Harris is a nice guy. I'll get his new book as soon as it's available on Kindle. I knew Sen. Harris through my dad, who was on old Oklahoma democrat political. They were also acquainted through the Indian Territory Posse of Oklahoma Westerners (history buffs). Dad's first job out of college (1948) was working for Bob Kerr's senatorial campaign. I enjoy your blog. I, too, was a John Edwards supporter. It'll be interesting to see who is the veep candidate.
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