I stumbled onto this virtually unknown little gem on the "new fiction" stacks at my library. Written from the first-person perspective of a mixed-race pregnant 19-year-old young woman, it tells a quiet story of the lives of four people (and one donkey and a rattle-less rattlesnake), in a row of three houses, in a downtrodden area somewhere just outside of Memphis. Barfield examines lives which I have to think, are very unlike his own, with sensitivity and compassion. The poverty and circumstances are hard to read about at times, but this is an outstanding little character novel. While nothing much happens by way of action, a lot happens spiritually and emotionally, in the reflection of thoughts and acceptance of the people around us. It really made me re-think about some of the erroneous assumptions we make about people and circumstance. I was sad when this book ended and I left Yslea's world. What is amazing to me is how well Barfield writes from a female perspective! Highly recommended. ( )