All the Little Live Things

All the Little Live Things (1967), a novel by American author Wallace Stegner, follows literary critic Joe Allston (the protagonist of Stegner’s National Book Award-winning The Spectator Bird) as he and his wife, Ruth retreat to a remote part of California’s Bay Area to grieve the death of their son, Curtis, in a surfing accident. There Joe encounters two figures who embody the countercultural spirit of the era: hippie squatter Jim Peck, and young earth-mother Marian Catlin. Stegner is regarded as a major 20th-century American novelist, and the Allston novels are central to his reputation.

Joe Allston and his wife, Ruth have retired to a remote part of California, where they have built their own house on an extensive, wild piece of land. They are out walking on their property one day when they encounter a young man on a motorcycle. The trespasser introduces himself as Jim Peck and asks permission to camp. Joe takes an immediate dislike to the young hippie, but grants permission, not without laying down a few ground rules.

Jim immediately begins building a tree house and an access bridge over the nearby canyon. Joe privately points out to Ruth that this runs counter to Jim’s supposed distaste for civilized comforts.



A young couple moves into a nearby cottage, and the beautiful wife, Marian, catches Joe in the act of trying to kill a gopher that has been damaging his garden. Marian—who is pregnant—tells him that “all the little live things” have a right to live.

Joe tells Marian about their neighbors, the Welds, who used to own all the land in the vicinity. Joe is angry that Tom Weld won’t repair the fences bordering his own land: Weld boards horses, which are often found wandering through Joe’s garden. Worse, Weld is bulldozing the hills in the vicinity to build new homes. Joe accuses him of being too lazy to work.

The Allstons become good friends with Marian and her husband, John, but they’re surprised when the Catlins also befriend Jim Peck.



The Catlins’ young daughter, Debby, asks Jim if she can see his tree house, and everyone except Joe troops over the rickety bridge to admire Jim’s handiwork. Joe notices a light in the tree house, and the next day he discovers that Jim has tapped into the Allstons’ electricity and water supplies.

Joe explains to Marian why he dislikes and distrusts Jim. Marian suggests that Joe’s feelings might be related to his son Curtis, who was a wandering free spirit not unlike Jim. Afterward, Joe writes Marian a letter, admitting that she is right: his guilt about his difficult relationship with Curtis is a factor in his feelings about Jim. However, he doesn’t send it.

The Allstons and Marian attend a Fourth of July party at the house of their neighbors the LoPrestis. There Joe overhears an argument between Fran LoPresti and her daughter Julie, who has been sleeping with Jim. Joe drives Marian home and on the way, Marian reveals that she has cancer. Joe asks what treatment she is receiving, and she explains that even radiation treatment won’t work. Joe insists that it will, and Marian explains that she wants to protect her unborn child, even if it means dying herself. Joe is upset and angry.



When he arrives home, Jim is throwing a party in the tree house. Joe breaks it up, telling Jim to leave the property by the end of the week.

Some days later, Jim asks Joe if he was serious about evicting him. Joe explains that he was. Jim tells Joe that he has just received funding to start a freethinking school on the property, but Joe insists that he leave. Jim is angry, but he packs up his tree house and departs.

Joe and Ruth take care of Marian as she declines. Joe tries to persuade John to pressure Marian into getting treatment, but John refuses. Marian begins to treat Debby coldly in order to make her death easier for the girl. Joe tries to persuade her that this is wrong-headed and counter to her own beliefs, but she won’t change her mind.



Soon Marian is dying and in terrible pain. As they drive to the hospital, they find the road blocked by Jim Peck on his motorbike, Julie LoPresti on her horse, and some other young men. Joe sounds his horn, causing Jim to lose control of his bike, which in turn spooks Julie’s horse. The horse falls through the rickety bridge, blocking the road. To remove it, John Catlin has to shoot the horse. Joe is upset that this is the last Marian will see of her beloved natural world.

Marian and her child both die. John and Debby move away. Julie is pregnant with Jim’s child, and Joe notes that it seems to have brought her closer to her mother. The Welds’ housing development continues apace.