> Skip to content
  • Published: 15 March 2011
  • ISBN: 9781400052363
  • Imprint: Crown
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 240
  • RRP: $49.99

Idyll Banter

Weekly Excursions to a Very Small Town



Fans of Chris Bohjalian's novels and Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon Days will enjoy this collection of witty and astute observations on rural American life.

Years ago, Chris Bohjalian and his wife traded their Brooklyn co-op for a century-old Victorian house in Lincoln, Vermont (population 975). Bohjalian, a bestselling novelist, began chronicling life in that gloriously quirky little village with a wide variety of magazine essays and his newspaper column, “Idyll Banter.” These pieces, written over the course of twelve years, are honest, funny, and deeply affecting reflections on the unique idiosyncrasies of small-town life (annual outhouse races) and the universal experiences (our hunger for neighborliness) that unite us all.

  • Published: 15 March 2011
  • ISBN: 9781400052363
  • Imprint: Crown
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 240
  • RRP: $49.99

About the author

Chris Bohjalian

Chris Bohjalian has written four novels and reviews regularly for the New York Times Book Review and the Washington Post. He is married with children.

Also by Chris Bohjalian

See all

Praise for Idyll Banter

"Whether you're aching to escape the urban grind or yearning to have your small town experience reflected back at you, you'll do well to pick up IDYLL BANTER."
--Elle
"[T]hese essays carry a community connection and a humble grace. When words read this easily, you know they also carry a lot of work. Bohjalian is a reliable guide, moving from pastures to town steeple to the edge of the playground."
--The Boston Globe