I kept thinking about Sarah Orne Jewett's 'The Country of the Pointed Firs' (another wonderful book!) as I read this, largely because of Marcia Elder's connection to her hillside and home (though this is in Vermont, not Maine). The story, about the elderly but completely alive Marcia Elder, is the perfect one to read on the last day of the year. Especially on a bright and cold day, curled on the couch, with some light coming in from the southwest corner of my house. ( )