A Song for Nettie Johnson

June M. Blurton is a retired speech/language pathologist.

A small town in southern Saskatchewan is the setting for six of the nine
stories in this book. Set in the 1930s and 1940s, and narrated from an
adult point of view, the first story introduces us to the people of
Stone Creek, interweaving gossip and politics with vivid descriptions of
the bare, dry, dusty Saskatchewan spring and the icy winter. The next
five stories, written from the point of view of children, and are less
successful. The setting then moves to Edmonton and the 1950s and later.
The final story is a charming fantasy set in Moose Jaw.

The book’s greatest strength is the high quality of the writing.
Throughout, we encounter phrases like “flock of waxwings play with the
sky.” In one story, fall is described as “the ground grey and rusty
brown, settling into rest.”