In the languid summer of 1960, nestled in the fragile tranquility of America's last innocent days, the small town of Atkinson, Vermont, becomes the backdrop for a poignant narrative of longing, deception, and the complex web of human connections. "Songs in Ordinary Time" by Mary McGarry Morris unfolds the story of Marie Fermoyle, a woman of formidable strength yet haunted by vulnerability. Her fervent aspirations for her children and her profound loneliness render her susceptible to the charms of Omar Duvall, a charismatic yet perilous con man whose arrival in town heralds a turbulent upheaval in the Fermoyle family's life. Through the vividly drawn lives of Marie's children—Alice, caught in the turmoil of forbidden love; Norm, bristling with youthful idealism and anger; and Benjy, the silent witness to secrets too burdensome for his young heart—Morris weaves a rich tapestry of human frailty and resilience. Set against a cast of deeply flawed yet endearingly real characters, from the family's estranged patriarch to the neighbors who epitomize the era's quintessential suburban dream, this novel captures the essence of a period on the cusp of change. "Songs in Ordinary Time" is a masterful exploration of the shadows that lurk behind the facades of ordinary lives, and the light of hope that shines through them, illuminating the extraordinary moments found within the mundane.