About book Idyll Banter: Weekly Excursions To A Very Small Town (2005)
Chris Bohjalian and his wife moved from New York City to Lincoln, Vermont, population 975, in 1986, and he wrote a weekly column for the Burlington Free Press from 1992 to 2004. This book compiles some of these columns and longer feature pieces he wrote for the Boston Globe. I have a special interest in small towns in New England because I lived in four small towns in Maine between 1965 and 1974. I visited Vermont several times -- driving through the spectacular White and Green Mountains -- because a good friend was going to college at St. Michael's in Winooski, near Burlington. The subjects of these pieces range from the community effort to replenish the book supply for the severely flooded town library in Lincoln, the technique of getting maple syrup, and the all-enduring Boston Red Sox fan -- written before the Red Sox finally won the World Series in 2004. An especially interesting column is called "Why the Green Mountains Turn Red," about the justly famous brilliant leaves of the New England autumn. Bohjalian points out deciduous trees shed leaves because the leaves will be ill-equipped to survive the upcoming cold. "That is, in essence, what we are watching when we gaze at the annual autumnal fireworks in the trees: We are watching leaves die."
I read a review somewhere describing this as a charming and funny collection of this writer’s work as a local columnist. The author has written popular novels, including one chosen by Oprah for her book club. Since I really enjoyed similar collections from Carl Hiaasen, Bill Bryson, Mary Roach, and Garrison Keillor, I fell for the hype and made an impulse buy.But I didn’t fall for it at all – for the “charm” that is. The dozen or more entries I read were very place-specific, and many paragraphs are loaded with the names of local people, alive and dead. Of course a columnist will include the names of local citizens who should be thanked for leadership or participation, so they can see their names in the local newspaper, but this is not compelling reading for someone outside the community. I spared myself the task of finishing it.In other words, I would take a pass on this unless you once lived in Lincoln, Vermont...or if you are a major fan of the author and want to read every single thing he published.
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I really enjoyed this collection of articles/essays/whatever you want to call them. I’m a fan of "author’s notes", as I think they give an idea of the author’s true voice — what they’re really like. After reading this, I feel like Bohjalian is someone that you could sit down and chat with and completely relate to. Some of it may be that I grew up in a small town like Lincoln, so I can draw some familiar comfort from the stories. I think that reading this will make me read his future books with a different eye.
—Jaime
This collection of newspaper columns written by Chris Bohjalian is a wonderfully enjoyable read. Bohjalian's only direction from his editor was to "write something that would make Vermonters smile." I'm not from Vermont, but these short essays made me smile and sometimes get a tear. Treat yourself to a few of these one or two page tales before bed or work. The author's descriptions of life in New England and his quirky but loving neighbors will brighten your day or help you have sweeter dreams. Of course I loved the beautiful story about his town's love and appreciation of their small library. Reading these tales made me wish more than ever that I could be half this good at expressing my thoughts and describing my surroundings. Even if you're not a fan of Bohjalian's fiction, you will find this collection of musings delightful.
—Anne
Throughout reading this book all I kept thinking to myself is, "It must be so peaceful and beautiful to live there, but I would never survive the winter." This collection of stories compiled from Chris Bohjalian's newspaper column was an interesting look into living in a small mountain town in Vermont and the bonds formed among the townsfolk. It was nice to read about an area that for the most part hasn't been tainted by the overabundance of modern technology. The people living in this town actually talk to one another and know each other, which is so different from people constantly checking their crackberry, iPhone, or other device meant to connect you to the world.All in all, it was a fun read; and for some reason I kept picturing the town from Beetlejuice...
—Liz
