Leavened with humor, Of Clay Made is comprised of three stories about folks whose humanity we often overlook because they do things (like steal chickens, a bad habit to which a couple of the characters in the second story succumb) that donat sit comfortably with values many of us espouse. The first storyaaThe Courtship of Catherineaafinds Casey, the central character in all three stories, head-over-heels in love. It also finds him caught up in the horrific devastation of World War I, where he inadvertently becomes a hero. The second storyaaSin and Redemptionaabegins with a juicy scandal of the sort that keeps town gossips busy for years, a scandal which, though Casey had nothing to do with it, forever changes his life. The third storya"When Evening Comes"a finds Casey in the twilight of life. It is a story of loneliness, discovery, reconciliation, and family of the most unconventional sort.