The Mysteries of Soldiers Grove

Poet Zimmer (The Great Book of Love) has crafted a superior love story between two senior citizens set in the little town of Soldiers Grove, Wis. One afternoon, nursing home resident Cyril Solverson sneaks out to Burkhum’s Tap, where he drinks beer and bores other patrons with his endless biographical trivia. After leaving the bar, he passes a gas station where an armed man he calls Balaclava forces him into the man’s pickup. The thug takes Cyril’s wallet and releases him into a driving snowstorm miles from town. Fortunately, the sheriff finds the nearly frozen Cyril on the road. Back at the home, Cyril, awkward and clueless, sets out to woo a new resident, sophisticated French-born Louise. The pair begin a series of gradually bolder escapes from the facility, until Balaclava’s return puts them in peril. Zimmer nails the small intimacies that gradually build the trust, love, and hope between Cyril and Louise, including a remarkable scene in which they share a dance using their canes as props. (Feb.)