Urban Coyote: Howlings on Family, Community and the Search for Peace and Quiet

Obviously the work of a man who has fought to shape a life of meaning while subsuming his ego to the mundane realities of bringing up children and loving a woman. Should be read for its Trollopesian slices of life in middle-class America, where the well-read and the well-bred try to mingle, not mangle their way to community-hood. Far from glib pundintry, Lenfestey's deceptively low-key style rewards re-reading. Seeing the arc of his world unfold over the years, one hears subtle groans, snickers, and sighs, and sees conspiratorial winks aimed at the dubious and gullible. Lenfestey, a self-confessed former member of "the movement", revisits the past and agonizes over how our perceptions shape us. The one where he brakes down and buys a television is priceless (and my heart goes out to the missus). E.B. White would have savored this book. I know I did.

If you believe community is dead, this book will prove you wrong. Follow the life of the Urban Coyote and his family through fifteen years of sad, hillarious, and ultimately heartwarming realities of community life. The stories are simultaneously honest and magical because they are all true. And brilliantly written. A great book.