I am getting ready for a South Dakota vacation by reading some books about and set in the region. This novel is about farmers during the dust bowl years leading up to the depression. It gives good insight into their tough life. The characters are well drawn and interesting. At first you don't like George, the main character. But by the end you can't help but sympathize with him. His daughter, Lucy, is the most interesting character. His wife and his wife's parents are the other main characters. Well worth the read.

For years, it seemed, I'd hear bits & pieces about a book entitled "The Bones of Plenty": how great it was, how its story, about bleak farming life on the harsh plains of North Dakota during the Great Depression, rivaled even Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath". But I knew, of course, that connoisseurs of fine literature, in possession of their full faculties, would respond to such a claim with a vitriolic & sarcastic "okay, sure". Well, I, oddly enough, discovered this weighty piece of work, penned by Lois Hudson, published 1962, not for casual reading but as research material. Its story's geography and flavor, you see, was to quench my thirst for much-needed data for my own next novel.

I scanned editorial reviews of Hudson's "Bones" on the Internet, and saw, to my surprise, that a few critics did indeed rank it with "Grapes". I, of course, remained skeptical. Now, having read "The Bones of Plenty", I must agree: It is rugged & truthful, hopeless & brutal. It is magnificent in every way.

Is "Bones" the absolute equal of "Grapes"? Perhaps not, perhaps due to its safe distance of time from the Depression Era; an era that Steinbeck's words, in real time, painted so artfully. Perhaps since North Dakota doesn't hold the Hollywood charm for film as did Steinbeck's golden California, and, just maybe, because readers suspected Hudson no doubt drew inspiration from Steinbeck, & not vice-versa, "The Bones" could not quite climb that "Grapeful" platitude. Who knows? But it DOES rank. READ IT! It is amongst the rarest & best works of fine literature. And, dare I admit this? IT HAS BROKEN INTO MY TOP 10! As an avid reader myself of classics, I was at first stunned by how The Bones so quickly took its rightful place alongside The Old Man, Eden, Mockingbird, Fountainhead, Deliverance, King's Men, Lonesome Dove, etc., on my very exclusive list; hallowed ground, stingily reserved.

So I re-read Modern Library's 100 Greatest 20th Century Novels and similar published rankings, certain I'd find my "Bones" comfortably amongst the elite. But nothing. "Bones" made not one list! Hmmm...where & why were "The Bones" buried? Why Hudson - a great writer's ghostwriter - lack of notoriety? Was Hudson's beautiful "Bones" buried in the early-60's avalanche of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird? Joseph Heller's Catch 22?: great books both, and both, like The Bones of Plenty, notched in my personal Top 20. Perhaps we'll never know. I suspect North Dakota's writers receive about as much respect & fanfare as does the humble state from which they come.

So my hat's off to Lois P. Hudson; a woman whose politics, I've gathered, could not be more distant from my own conservative views. (I was not pleased by her recent comments on GWB!) But, politics aside, it is my testimony to say that readers of fine works are a little less blessed for not having unearthed & wept over Lois' "Bones". I suggest they grab a shovel. The literary world owes her a belated thanks for this glorious book. Thank you, Lois. Greg Ryan

As a farmer of 20 years myself, Lois Hudson has touched a nerve with her novel. The roller-coaster of emotions and vivid descriptions she gives of agriculture in the Dakotas are suprisingly true to this day. The sense of pride for an honest way of life, the anger springing from the lack of control over events, people, weather and markets,and the ultimate indifference to the farmers existence displayed by urban populace stings like salt in a wound. I only wish that more Americans would read and experience this wonderful novel. Perhaps they would better understand the small minority that works to feed them.