South of the Big Four

by Don Kurtz

The story of a man returning after many years to his family's abandoned farmhouse in Indiana reveals an American Midwest where community, trust, and commitment are no longer at the center and a way of life is rapidly disappearing

Genres: Fiction, Novels, Collections, Historical Fiction, Book Club

371 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1995

Reviews

[Haven · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best novel ever written about Midwestern farm life. There simply is nothing better.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written character study of a young man who returns home to the family farm and the people and memories he left behind. We are at times charmed and confused by Arthur's actions or lack thereof. We see his love affair with the hardships of farming and his workaholic boss, Gerry Maars. At times it seems he is incapable of forming a lasting relationship, but it is the one with Gerry that remains a constant as he drifts through questionable love affairs without thought of the consequences. An interesting story of friendship, growth, loss, and acceptance. Recommended.

[Candice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a character. at first I am liking him, then unsure of him, then liking him again, then surprised by him, then confused about him...lol.....it was a fantastic book, the writer has a wonderful way of getting you to know this man at an incredible level. Arthur is so simple, and yet complex and comfortable as your favorite blanket. His friendship to his boss is nothing short of the true meaning OF friendship, I fell in love with each and every character. great job Mr. Kurtz, great job.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about farmers in Indiana? Count me out...but the story sucked me right in despite nothing much actually happening for a hundred pages. The characters in this book embody deeply American forces, good and bad, and the story is loaded with symbolism (nuanced and seamless) that reveals a gigantic shift in who we are as a people and where we are headed as a culture and a nation. The author is obviously steeped in daily life on an industrial scale farm (circa late 1980's anyway) and you quickly find yourself caught up in the rhythms of work and life on the Midwestern prairie and the victories and struggles of existence in small towns right on the cusp of the Walmart armageddon (although this story forebodes those changes rather than witnessing them). Highly recommended.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not something I would not normally pick to read but it was on my mom’s bookshelf when I was cleaning it out 4 years ago. It looked interesting enough and knowing that my mom read it, I was curious although it took me 4 years to get around to reading it.
Overall it was a good enough story that kept me interested with characters that were diverse and had qualities that you could relate to. Some were like-able and some were not but all were interesting and were woven together nicely.
I liked the farming aspect of it and could somewhat follow it because I grew up in northern New Jersey where there was some corn and some of that machinery but some of it I didn’t really understand.
Overall it was a good read and I would give it 3 1/2 stars.

[Julia F · Rating 5 out of 5]

People in real life can't ever be too tragic about anything-- no character here is unique, but all of them feel complete beyond the view of the main character. This book has a hypnotic, repetitive, and addictive flow. It has a sense of the passage of time.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the farmland of north central Indiana "South of the Big Four" tells the story of Haskell County, the farm people who live and work the land and their struggle to make a go of a disappearing way of life. The plot centers around a young farmhand named Arthur who returns from working the iron ore barges on the Great Lakes to take up planting and harvesting work as hired man for the County's most prosperous, but fading, grower and local politician Gerry Marrs. This is a well written story with a big dose of human conflict along with a great description of Midwestern farm life. I recommend this book.

[Ellen Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lyrical writing, vivid characters, an intimate view of life in a small midwestern farming community. Don Kurtz made farming life feel as limited as the back 40, characters stuck in a life that repeats from generation to generation, and knowing little else, they remain in the cycle. It is who they are and who they will be. It reminded me of stories Gabriel Garcia Marquez likes to tell, minus the magic. But the characters are drawn with convincing detail that pulls the reader in and keeps you cheering for them to rise above. A lovely book.

[Razz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very slow starting book. But after awhile, I enjoyed the planting of soybeans and corn,.the weather that controls it (snow, heat) and the cost and upkeep of the trucks and combines, and the ability to change with the times as productivity and efficiency increases
with better machines. A good human interest story too: brother against brother, the lure of love and sex, old timers vs the young whippersnappers, and the incredible cost to those who farm a sometimes unforgivable land.

[Eugene Smolenskiy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved how genuine this book feels. You can really tell that the author knows this way of living and has borne witness to its passing. This is by no means a fast-paced book; it forces you to take full stock of the time and place. I never thought I'd be interested in reading about the decline of family farming in rural, northern Indiana, but what captivated me is getting to experience a place so foreign, and a time so far removed from my own.

[Zhaodan Kong · Rating 4 out of 5]

At a first glance, the novel is almost uneventful as the Indiana terrain. However, slowly but surely you can feel the decline of a way of life and the loss of innocence flowing out of the pages. The ending is also characteristically uneventful, with the two main characters, who could have symbolized the passing of the old-fashioned farming life, beaten and drained out of life. There doesn't seem to be a future for the young Arther unless he chooses to escape just as what Annie did.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this look at agriculture in northern Indiana in the 1990s but several elements keep it from being a book club contender. Would like to read more from this author but he hasn't done much more from what I can see. Partially a Hoosier: he worked on his uncle's farm in Indiana for a few years.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book about life on the farm. Main character could be exasperating at times and kind of a jerk, but all in all, good read. At times, it did drag on and it kind of left me feeling "what happens next", but I did enjoy reading about a very different lifestyle than what I have.

[A Ghandour · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting and sad but not wonderful. the book clearly explains the problems of farmers in today 's world and how hard it is to keep the farming and farmer life afloat. If I knew more about farm machinery it might have helped.

[Jen]

Years after reading this book, I recall it's simple elegance.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful character driven first novel about contemporary farming in the mid-west (Indiana). Liked this novel.

[Rose Abriani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat interesting if you know Indiana and farming. He was a hard working but un-affilitated guy. Wish he could have found someone or something to call his own.

[Mackay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this story of mid-west farming a lot more than I actually did. Didn't care about any of the characters, mostly.

[Sherry Shamansky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring and dull

[Marcleitson Leitson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful characterization and tales of trying to farm with dignity.

[Bookish]

One of the novels I just can’t quit is South of the Big Four by Don Kurtz. The narrator returns to his Indiana town and, before long, begins an intense affair with a married mother of four. He works long hours in the fields for a throwback farmer who resists corporate farm culture. Nothing ends well for any of them, of course. My crush on this book, which is set near where I was born, is enduring. Twenty years after I first read it, its characters and their longings still ring achingly true. —Andrew Scott (https://www.bookish.com/articles/lite...)