The Winter Room is a short novel written from the point of view of Eldon, a boy who lives with his family on a farm in northern Minnesota in the first half of the 20th century. Eldon lives with his parents and older brother, Wayne, and two elderly uncles, David and Nels, Norwegian immigrants who came to America to work as wood cutters.

The novel takes place over the course of a year on the farm, beginning in the spring. It is a time of bad smells, Eldon recalls, as the world is thawing out from winter. The summer is passed with hard work on the farm, although Eldon is sometimes excused from the most strenuous labor because a childhood illness has left him weak. The family takes occasional trips into the nearest town to sell grain, purchase things and socialize with other farm families. At...