Because of its topical subject matter and superior prose style, Stegner's fiction usually provokes stimulating discussions.

In general, his fiction reflects his interests in history, the natural world, social values, and how environment affects what people become as they age. Genesis pulls together these interests in a traditional tale of man-against-nature. His respect for the natural world, both its beauties and its terrors, is reflected in his account of herding cattle in a remote area of the frontier. Discussions might focus on the realism of the tale, from its portrait of Canadian cowboy life to the different ways different cattle are handled. Another approach would be to examine it as a contribution to literature about cowboys.

Does its style, its imagery, or its characterization make it something more than just another routine story of the spoiled boy becoming a man through the hardships of cowboy life...