The appeal of Doris Betts's short stories derives from her ability to give dignity and significance to her ordinary and often unassuming characters. More comfortable living with and writing about the people at the feed store than the academics she works with at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Betts creates stories that reflect the quiet despair and moments of hope and doubt of everyday people. Using her imagination in combination with voracious reading and a strong sense of place acquired from growing up in a quiet mill town, Betts produces a fictional world that delineates all the subtle complexities of "simple" rural life.

Because of her persistent interest in the dynamic processes of faith and doubt, and because her settings are rooted in the South, critics often label Betts's works as Christian and/or Southern. The critical objections to these categories, however, are equally strong...