Vermont and All That I Have by Castle Freeman (2009)

All That I Have is a novel by Castle Freeman set in rural southern Vermont around the Green Mountain National Forest region of the state. Referred to as the 'granite backbone' of the state, the forest was established in 1932, as a result of uncontrolled over-logging, fire and flooding. The protagonist is Lucian Wing, a local county sheriff whose career path has been tied to his home state. Having chosen the Navy out of school over college but not having much care for ships (Vermont is New England’s only landlocked state) he wound up in port patrol dealing with drunks. That experience helped him get into the state police back in Vermont after a brief stint working in the forest for his uncle's logging business. After a year and a half of that he quit to become the local sheriff’s deputy, eventually taking over, unopposed in election, from the retiring sheriff himself. In the U.S. the role of the sheriff varies from state to state. In Vermont the elected sheriff is primarily an officer of the County Court, but in the absence of a local police force in rural towns law enforcement patrol is performed as well. As Lucian himself explains due to the costs of the sheriff’s department being paid for by the taxpayers this can lead to more bookkeeping work than actual policing when the town boards and treasurers want to "bite every dime you spend". All That I Have is about dealing with that unexciting side of sheriffing, which as Lucian describes it "is like being the bouncer at the Ladies' Aid Lunch: when things are going normally, they don't work you too hard".

I’d definitely recommend All That I Have to anyone looking for a fast-paced easy read. I don’t quite get the Cormac McCarthy comparisons, other than that they both have an economical style of prose. Freeman’s writing has a lighter semi-comic tone, halfway between the small-town quirkiness of the Coen Brothers' Fargo and the dry wisecracking of Philip Marlowe. The plot itself is pure detective-noir, albeit relocated to a rural setting – an item belonging to some rich mysterious foreigners goes missing and the chief culprit can’t be located. It’s entertaining stuff, and Freeman has a natural gift for dialogue and a Chandler-esque way with a simile.

Next: Massachusetts

Week 3: State - Vermont

Vermont, the third state in New England on this trip, is the second least populous state in the United States, perhaps understandable given that 77% of the state is covered by forest. At 625,741 it's population is less than the city of Boston, and 400,000 less than Rhode Island, the smallest state in the country. The state capital is Montpelier and the largest and most populous city is Burlington which, with a population of only 42,417, is smaller than Salisbury in England. Nicknamed the 'Green Mountain State', after the mountain range that runs like a spine down most of the length of the state, Vermont has often featured high up in the list of states you are most likely to live the longest in, having been ranked number one as the healthiest state seven times between 2001 and 2008, and ranking second in the nation for safety in 2009 (even though Vermont has some of the most relaxed gun control laws in the country). Vermont was also the first state to abolish slavery and is the leading producer of maple syrup in the United States (two completely unrelated facts there).

Notable films set in Vermont include Dead Poets Society, What Lies Beneath, and the David Mamet film State and Main (set in the small town of Waterford, Caledonia County).

I started to suspect very early on in this endeavour that there were no classic novels set in Vermont to easily choose from. I've still yet to find any (and if you know of any it's too late now), so for the first time I've had to go with a relatively obscure writer, Castle Freeman.

Castle Freeman is a resident of Vermont who has written four novels to date, all of which have been set in his home state. I have gone with his most recent, All That I Have, published in 2009. Why? Well the reviews include comparisons to Cormac McCarthy, who I like very much, and a quote from the great singer-songwriter Nick Cave: "I loved this book". Good enough for me. Oh, and it's short. Really short.

Review to follow later this week.