Vinal County, Ohio is a place where corn is king and soybeans are a distant cousin. The spires of regal Catholic churches rise out of the farm landscape and are living testimony to the faith of
God-fearing farm families who lived here without change for generations. Then, one day the higher-ups in Rome decide to shut down these churches and make way for some good old-fashioned 21st
century style efficiency.A mini-revolution occurs within the churchyard and the locks on the venerable church door is shattered, leaving it swinging in the wind, and the sanctuary open to all.
A cast of zany characters emerge: from Mary Barnette who dubs herself Pope, to the horse-riding, sheep-tending priest Fr. Ray, to a greedy parish priest who tries to cash in on the ethanol
boom, to a group of Catholic royalists calling themselves the Defenders of the Door.The original contrary farmer himself ruminates on the nature of religion and belief in this barnstormer of a
book. Razor sharp satire, flawless characterization, telling dialogue, and formidable comic situations make this third novel by veteran farm and nature writer Logsdon a must-read.
