subtler, internal struggles of men and women. Morgan earned a master's degree in Theological Studies and puts it to good use by applying a vibrant undercoat of spiritual philosophy to her novel. The constant opposition between male and female, silence and expression, solitary habits and sharing, outright meanness and passive aggressive tactics highlight the harsh realities about merging as a couple -- particularly when love is such a submerged part of the equation. The author also counters light and dark, drought and deluge, mountains and bottom land to underscore the natural suspense that human beings are additionally dealt by God's creation. Life and death on the farm, and the fundamental tension between survival and higher pursuits contribute too to the characters' grapplings. Happiness, ALL THE LIVING argues, is a superficial goal because existence from moment to moment is a tumultuous and simultaneous wrestling with the beautiful and the ugly. What counts is endurance in commitments and bone-deep unions. The question is, will these people step up to that uncompromising reality? This novel's crisp, slotted language, redolent with the cadences of Kentucky rural talk, and brimming with both casual and profound insights works economically, at the bone. Morgan wastes no words. She casts light and shadow with a steady and wise hand, leaving us to see stark contrasts and rough splendors. ALL THE LIVING, Job-like, questions the ordering of nature and the cosmos. Perhaps more importantly, it meditates on what constitutes human maturity. It SHOULD become a classic. First off, for