The strength of this book lies in Conover's voice, confident, observant, nonjudgmental. He seems to find everyone interesting. Still, he recognizes 'the needy are not always the good'.

Shaggy but engrossing.

One of our great narrative journalists.

Another book-length study of rural America as a symbol of a fractured nation.

Conover keeps his readers waiting for too long, almost half the book, before saying anything about how the San Luis Valley came to be a magnet for the dispossessed.

... an important book, shedding light on people who are often depicted as caricatures, if they are depicted at all. Mr. Conover’s love of the land and the society are genuine, but—and there’s no way to avoid this—life here is a counterpoint to his life in New York with his wife and career. That’s a luxury not available to the residents of the Valley..

Conover’s steady sympathy, his negative capability, lets us take in the culture of the flats on its own terms.

Conover’s ability to depict all characters he encounters with grace and dignity shows a restraint that makes this a work to be devoured by readers from empty, forgotten places and beyond..

A raw, revealing, and effective look at life on the rural perimeters of society..

It is the coming and going to the valley, the building of lives, the breaking of lives that creates interest here.

... sharp, balanced profiles.

... impressively detailed if somewhat diffuse.