Safe from the Neighbors is a novel of unusual richness and depth, one that's as wise about the small shocks within a marriage as it is about the troubled history of Mississippi. Steve Yarbrough is a formidably talented novelist, shuttling between the past and present with a grace that feels effortless.

It just took some people a little longer than others to realize how few words they needed to get by, how much of life they could negotiate in silence.

They both seemed to understand that describing it was beyond their powers, the gratitude that spreads through your body when a burden gets lifted, and the sense of homecoming that follows, when you suddenly remember what it feels like to be yourself.

I write about kids growing up, I write a lot about schools and parents, and all of my experiences with those things have been suburban experiences.

I find that even small changes sometimes jog you out of a mental rut.

After all, what was adult life but one moment of weakness piled on top of another? Most people just fell in line like obedient little children, doing exactly what society expected of them at any given moment, all the while pretending that they’d actually made some sort of choice.

I used to describe myself as a comic novelist, but my concerns seem to have darkened over the past few years.