Greenwillow

A lyrical and poetic fable, Greenwlllow tells of the romance between young Gideon Briggs, who is haunted by a family curse that he believes will cause him to wander and leave his family alone. He vows never to marry, but is conflicted when he falls in love with Dorrie, an orphan girl.

Set in the 1930s in a nebulously located small town, Greenwillow is full of interesting characters, including the Reverend Lapp, who preaches hellfire, damnation and the eternal loss of the souls of babies who die before being baptized. When the genial Reverend Birdsong shows up, sent, as he says, “by the Bishop,” the two preachers have to compromise and share the church, even if they cannot agree entirely on doctrine.