Sharon Butala was born and raised in Saskatchewan but she spent some early adult years out of the province. Perhaps that time away gave her the appreciation of the Saskatchewan landscape that she writes about so eloquently.

This book takes place in the fictional town of Ordeal near Swift Current in the southwest of the province. Although it was published in 1992 the story takes place in the year 2000. The town of Ordeal is disappearing bit by bit. There has been a drought for years and farmers, encouraged by the banks to take out loans during the good years, have not been able to make their loan payments. The banks repossess their equipment, sell their cattle and drive the farm families off their land. The businesses in Ordeal can't make a go of it so they close down. Services like the branch rail line and the post office are cut. People are desperate to save the town but don't quite know how to go about it. Meanwhile many residents are having disturbing dreams and visions that seem to foretell the end of the world. Just what do these portents mean?

I've driven through this area a number of times. It is beautiful in a completely different way from the parkland area where I grew up. When you stand out in that prairie you feel very close to nature. There is always wind whipping up the dust in the summer or the snow in the winter. It breeds a special kind of people I think. Sharon Butala has captured the quality of the people and the land perfectly in this book. ( )