When I picked up “Noon Wine” by Katherine Anne Porter, I was looking forward to a story that would sweep me away and make it worth taking the time to really sit down and read- because who has time to read a bad book? I can honestly say that my expectations were more than reached because “New Wine” was able to achieve in 68 pages what many books can not achieve in 200 pages or more.

Right away I entered into a world of blazing heat on a small farm in southern Texas. I was introduced to a small family of four, Mr. Thompson, his weak wife Mrs. Thompson, and their two little boys. I have a hard time enjoying a book if the setting isn’t communicated properly, but I had no issue fully immersing myself into this book’s world. The story is centered around a new addition to the family, a Swedish man, Mr. Olaf Helton, who asks for employment from Mr. Thompson, and greatly improves the well-being of the family’s dairy farm as well as the family itself. The most interesting and thrilling part of the story is the lack of dialogue between Mr. Helton and the rest of the family. The book does a wonderful job of creating a mysterious mood around Mr. Helton where the reader wonders why he is so important to the story. There was marvelous character development in how each person felt about Mr. Helton as the story moves on. Mrs. Thompson grows afraid of him, and her reasoning is up to the reader to decide if it is valid or not. We learn in this book that there is more to Mr. Helton than meets the eye, even though in the nine years he has spent with his family he has done nothing but improve and support the lives of the people he works for.

This book was able to convey such an important message in such a short amount of time- it tortures the reader with questions about right and wrong, the morality of mankind, and the truth, which the book will never answer. “Noon Wine” is the most successful short novel that I have read, with everything a book should be represented in the bindings between beginning and end.