3.5 stars ( )

Not a lot happens in this book about a small town in the Midwest in the 1970’s. At least, not until the last quarter of the book. Then things start to rush along, each event becoming more serious as we go.

This is a character-driven story, and I found the characters to be fully developed and interesting. There’s a lot of humor here as well, most of it subtly subverting the mores of the 70’s. It’s certainly something different from most novels. Highly recommended to those who enjoy something out of the ordinary, and don’t mind a quiet read. ( )

My description of this novel: A week in the life of small-town high school teacher Miles Pruitt. There wasn't a fast moving plot. In fact, I'd have trouble explaining what the plot actually was. The only thing that seemed to push this novel forward was time itself.

I enjoyed it immensely, right up until the ending. I thought about it for a couple of days but am unable to convince myself that this ending isn't out of place or that it has a larger worthwhile point.

Yet, like I said, I really liked this book. I enjoyed my time with Miles Pruitt, the high school where he taught, the inept superintendent, the nervous principal. My favorite character was Miss McGee, Miles' Catholic boarder, who once set off a fire alarm at school to prevent students from hearing any more nonsense from a modern poet.

She prays for Miles (Hail Marys for the return of his faith), and she dislikes rain. She wonders about sin after observing that ferns thrive only with sun AND rain. "Does God permit sin because it's an ingredient in something he's concocting and we human beings aren't aware of what it is? Is there sprouting up somewhere a beautiful fern, as it were, composed of goodness and sin?"

She later rejects her own thinking. When I think about this novel, I expect that I'll remember Miss McGee and Miles Pruitt with equal fondness.

English teacher Miles Pruitt is having a tough week. The high school principal will not get off his back, he has a bad toothache, and one of his pupils, a teenage girl, cry out for help in her messed up life. And he doesn’t know what to do about it, fearing rumours of a relationship with her.

On top of that there’s a fight in the classroom, a Chippewa student is being hurt, which upsets the whole community in a nearby Indian reservation. Pruitt is in the middle of an uprising.

[Staggerford] is the first in a series of novels that takes place in the fictional rural Minnesota town. It is populated with interesting and eccentric characters. There are many funny scenes and conversations. Specially Agatha McGee, a devout Catholic and strict school teacher with a good heart - she is a wonderful spirited character.

This was four stars until the sudden and tragic ending of the novel. I didn’t see that coming and didn’t feel it was in line with the otherwise “feel-good” and warmhearted mood of the novel. And some of the story-lines I felt were a little unresolved.

But it hasn’t deterred me from wanting more of Staggerford and John Hassler. [Simon’s Night] was much better, and I look forward to some more life wisdom from dear Agatha McGee who returns in some of the other Staggerford-novels. ( )

I am a big fan of Jon Hassler and was saddened when I heard of his passing. A number of his books revolve around the small town of Staggerford in the Midwest. Having grown up in a small town in Minnesota, it was easy to identify with and recognize the characters and situations in these books -- His writing style is not unlike that of Alexander McCall Smith in his Isabel Dalhousie series. If you enjoy reading books that take you to simpler, calmer place that still holds your interest, Staggerford and Hassler's other books are a great place to begin... ( )