Raintree County is an epic, poetic personal narrative by Ross Lockridge Jr. that opted to be The Great American Novel. the story takes place in the authors home town in Indiana and incorporates his family's characters and history. Even though it is epic in size (1060 pages) it is easy to read and has a Joycean stream of consciousness at times, while other times being nostalgic and reverent about the land and Nature's way. It takes place before, during and after the Cicil War and gives a good glimpse of what life was like then - how people talked, what was considered good and heroic as well as irreverent. Excellent writing.
