When a wolf howls in the wilderness, there is a primal feeling that pricks the spine, a feeling whose depth is related to profound loneliness yet not quite tinged with despair. When one hears a wolf howl, one knows that he is way out there. That is the feeling this book evokes. Originally published as a short story, Train Dreams has been released as a novella that is well worth reading all at once. It is the story of a life - its protagonist, Grainier, lives out his life in northern Idaho with occasional forays into Washington and Oregon for woodsman's work and into Spokane for pleasure. Although he lives into the 1960's, most of the book takes place in the early 1900's, when Model-T Fords were a novelty and religion and superstition were great forces in the lives of men. Elegant yet spare in style, Denis Johnson places the reader in the story with all the senses: we get the smells and sounds of a burning forest, feel the hardness of life on the land, see the limpid beauty of a mountain sunset. This book is best experienced on a quiet evening when you have plenty of time to read it and then allow it to digest.