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As the novel meanders through many moments in the many lives of its characters, there is a fleeting nature to its focus, dotting along, hitting upon flashes of movement in the collective history of rural Iowa, in such a way as to realize greater truths about America as a country and its people as humans. Darnielle and his narrator highlight the differences between midwest and other regions, expressing how certain behaviors or personality traits come to develop based on the environment people grow up in. Jeremy, Steve, and Ezra are all clear examples of Darnielle’s idea of men in the rural midwest, soft spoken and decent, hardworking. For example, the narrator remarks of Ezra: "he had to drive over half a mile of gravel road to get to the highway, in a car that was barely up to the task. His...