Because of its topical subject matter and superior prose style, Stegner's fiction usually provokes stimulating discussions. In general, his fiction reflects his interests in history, the natural world, social values, and how environment affects what people become as they age. In The Big Rock Candy Mountain, he explores lives blighted by abusive childhoods; not only is Bo's life forever marred by the brutality he endured as a child, but as a result of the abuse he endured, he mars the lives closest to him, those of his wife and son. A vigorous discussion of Stegner's portrait of child-abuse and its consequences could evolve out a discussion of the principal characters of the novel.

A key point to remember is that Stegner is discussing child-abuse about forty years before it became a trendy social issue. Therefore, his views on the issue are likely to vary from present-day...