Charles Robert Wilson is a science fiction writer in the tradition of John Wyndham. That is to say that he writes good, solid novels with convincing characters that just happen to have sci fi elements.
This novel is set in small town America during the Depression, and it conjures up the hopelessness of unemployed men; the frustration of a young man who is trapped by circumstance; and the fear and uncertainty of that time and place.
All of these things are brought together by events that could be described as science-fictional - the beauty of the book is that the unusual elements highlight the ordinary, making a story about people rather than a fantasy about aliens. ( )