Dancing In The Dark

About the Book

Pride, Prejudice and Passion in Vermont. A young man, Paul Boivert, joins a motley bunch of characters thrown together in a 1930s Vermont Civilian Conservation Corps camp. Clueless city slickers, rural rubes and their leaders complete forest conservation projects amid human failings of bullying, ethnic conflict and racism, made raw by the effects of the Great Depression. Despite ugly confrontations, deception and violence, humor, self-confidence and bonds of friendship prevail. Complicated love affairs emerge as Paul, the camp commander and an aging professor find themselves in an odd quadrangle with a sensitive young teacher who joins the camp to study gypsy moths. A murder throws the camp into chaos. Simultaneously, WW II breaks out and sweeps Paul and others into violence dwarfing all earlier experiences. Drawing on every strength he has, Paul perseveres and survives as innocence dissolves in a tumbling surreal world of love, hate and persistent contradiction. Despite wounds and confusion, he learns that humans must continue to dance through their allotted time bound by links of human affection and forgiveness. Cover: The Quabbin Wilderness. Photo by author.

About the Author

Win Lavallee is a former U.S. Army Medical Service officer and an emeritus Community biology professor. Before his retirement he was a community college dean and vice president. Trained as an entomologist, he often writes insects and other creatures into his fiction. Previous works include, Dancing in The Dark: A Novel About the Civilian Conservation Corps and Tempest in The Wilderness: A Novel About the American Revolution on the Northern Frontier, as well as published and unpublished short stories. He and his wife live in Western Massachusetts. Cover photo by author.