Delphic Oracle, U.S.A.

Delphic Oracle, U.S.A. by Steven Mayfield is a charming story. Set in a small Nebraskan town called Miagrammesto Station, the narrator recalls how this place came to home an alleged Oracle of Delphi.

This novel contains a plethora of characters, but the main one I will focus on is Maggie Westinghouse. Maggie and her mother moved to Miagrammesto Station after her father allegedly was killed in “The War to End All Wars.” She is beautiful, smart, quick on her feet, and enchanting. Men are constantly pursuing Maggie; however, women are generally very unkind to her, always jealous of the attention and love she receives. Maggie finds that her peers are constantly trying to undermine her gifts with false gossip and small talk, something that leads her to spend most of her time alone. Because of this, one of Maggie’s favorite past times is to take long walks, often to the edge of town, by herself. On one of these walks, she stumbles upon a very attractive young man. Although he looks like an absolute wreck, asleep on a pile of gunnysacks, Maggie is drawn to him. When he wakes up, she answers his questions with her usual wit and is stunned at how well he handles her anger and retorts. Little does Maggie know, this special man will change her life, both for the better and the worst.

Alongside Maggie Westinghouse, Miagrammesto Station has plenty of idiosyncratic characters. Like all small towns, everyone knows more than enough about each other and everyone else’s business. Although annoying at times, everyone generally acts as a family, and characters are able to confide and lean on each other in both small and big concerns. This is especially needed at Miagrammesto Station; From runaway husbands, to discovering religion, to unexpected pregnancies, Delphic Oracle has a unique character and tale for every reader.

I enjoyed reading this novel. I found all of the tales, especially Maggie’s, to be entertaining and interesting. I think Mayfield did a great job of capturing life in a small town. He wrote his characters wonderfully, giving them a great balance of humor and wit. The only criticism I have of this book is that I did have a hard time keeping track of the characters, but, as Mayfield states in the prologue, “You are about to meet a great many people, too many to keep track of at first.” I did find this statement to be true, so readers should heed this and expect to need to reread it as a reminder of which characters are which.