In 1985 The Beans of Egypt, Maine came into this world, the unique creation of Carolyn Chute. A microcosm, Egypt instantly became part of America's fictional landscape. Three years later Ms. Chute gave us, in Letourneau's Used Auto Parts, a further - and broader - take on a world in miniature.

But hold on. In Merry Men Egypt, Maine, is not so small, as Chute demonstrates so tellingly in her lamination of that society. There are the Barringtons, a classic Egypt clan, complete with Unk Walty, who does all the cooking and devotes his spare time to constructing lifelike and life-size sculptures of the denizens of the area, and his nephew, Lloyd, who at age 8 and 3/4 is widely - and rightly - known as Super Tree Man.

On to the upper middle class, as exemplified by the family of Dr. William Curry, who has just died. How his widow, Phoebe, and his assorted children deal with the sudden loss is, to put it mildly, a wonder to behold. This is only the beginning of Carolyn Chute's saga, an epic in which she remarkably pulls together all the strands until we have before us an amazing and coherent and altogether rewarding picture of a place unlike any other but eerily similar to most.