Quirky characters (with quirkier names) in an odd family saga that makes for a strangely compelling novel. The story focuses on the descendents of Ansel Easter, a coal miner turned minister, who haunts the back story. C and his brother Sam split after their father is murdered; C attends college for a few years, drops out, encounters a young woman, Cell, and returns to his hometown. The old house is still there, but empty, and they move in. C turns the lawn over to junk which he barters for more stuff, as well as food, but not money. Brother Sam returns home and moves in. C and Cell marry and have two kids, Glove and Baron (who doesn't talk and is afraid of the outdoors). The local banker, Rabbit (wife Ester, daughter Eight, and son Fisher), remembers the events around Ansel's murder, and befriends the Easters. Money, memory, and fear eventually becomes issues and the story becomes quirkier, more engrossing, and revealing. Somehow, largely perhaps through the superb writing, the story suspends my disbelief. David Rhodes is an overlooked master of Midwestern gothic tradition. ( )