The Comfort of Our Kind

By Tom Stoner

Situated between two mountain ridges, the New England town of Franklin Notch celebrates its history and the characters who have forged it. The cornerstone of its heritage is Talbert's Treaty, an eighteenth-century agreement between the original settlers and the Sagaweh Indian nation---as discovered by local historian Wes Moffatt, ex-host of a regionally famous kiddie TV show. The Comfort of Our Kind is narrated by Daniel "Boone" Moffatt, Wes's oldest son and local chief of police, who describes life with his sister, Veronica, a misanthropic nurse with a weakness for Xanax; his brother, Reggie, a disgraced sportscaster who has been living undetected in Cinderella's Cast= his mother, a mystic ex-nun (who everyone still calls "Sister"); and his father, who has just been accused of inventing bad history by concocting Talbert's Treaty and most of the local lore. As children, Boone, Veronica, and Reggie were trained by their mother's puzzling bedtime stories to serve in God's Army of Saints and "fight for Goodness on earth." Now, as adults, they search for their gifts of Faith, Hope, and Grace in a parade of life-altering adventures while struggling with the presence of evil in the world. Along the way, they collide with a collection of characters, including a serial killer, a Zenlike naturalist doctor, a genius Mafia princess, phony Native Americans, and the Devil himself in various incarnations of human vanity. Against the deadline of Wes and Sister's fiftieth wedding anniversary and Boone's apocalyptic seventh visit from the Devil, the Moffatt family struggles to unite as a force of goodness and to reclaim the respect of their neighbors and friends. Reminiscent of Lake Wobegon Days and The Witches of Eastwick, The Comfort of Our Kind is an unpredictable, quirky tale in which each character's spirituality is tested in the overlay between earthy mysticism and raucous fantasy. Praise for The Comfort of Our Kind : "This fun debut novel by story writer Stoner chronicles the tribulations of a family caught in a war between good and evil in Franklin Notch, N.H. Stoner's storytelling has a lot of Wes Anderson elements and should find a readership among those into the folksy, absurd and poignant." -- Publishers Weekly "A comic tale of a New England family battling personal weakness and the Devil….Stoner's characters are appealing, and the multiple subplots will hold readers' interest…amicable mix of comedy, mysticism and earnest spirituality." -- Kirkus Reviews

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312369298
• ISBN13: 9780312369293
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 1.18 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.5" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

For the Eccentrics of this World (and those who wannabe)

I got this book from the library, but after reading it, I am ordering the last 3 copies in stock for family members (and one for myself). The plot and characters have been lovingly described by professional reviewers, so I won't go there, but if you are the kind of person who has ever wondered about the world behind the world we inhabit in our busy daily lives (and who isn't?), "The Comfort of Our Kind" will help you to see the grace and beauty possible in this life.