Brandon author Gary Meffe will debut his new novel, “Return to Odd,” at the Brandon Free Public Library at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18. It’ll be very much a local celebration.

“Return to Odd” is Gary’s second novel and third book about Vermont. The setting might seem strangely familiar to people around here. It takes place in the small town of “Oddertown,” a place where the residents argue a lot but somehow manage to get along anyway. They even manage to appreciate one another once in a while.

That reminds me of someplace, but I can’t quite put my finger on where . . . 

Back to Gary: he’s a former biology professor from Florida. When he and his wife Nancy were ready to retire in 2007, they chose to come to Vermont (and Brandon). He describes his first Vermont book, the memoir “Van Cortland Chronicles, A Celebration of Life in a Small Vermont Town,” as being about “learning to be a Vermonter.” In it, he also tried to convey to his readers “what Vermont meant to us.”

And what was that? “The word that always comes to mind is ‘community,’” he says. “That’s the value that makes life special in a place that is “small and local.” What he especially loves about Vermonters is our tolerance of each other. People here, he says, “find a way to get along” even when we disagree. Vermonters “don’t go to the level of [saying] ‘You’re evil.’” 

After all, sooner or later we’re going to be running into one another at the grocery store.

His novels expand on those themes. He says they’re about “triumph and tragedy in small towns,” that they’re character-driven, and that some of the characters can be “quirky.”

Which doesn’t sound like anyplace I know, but I digress.

The new novel, “Return to Odd,” continues the emphasis on character, but it also takes a more serious turn. It’s a little grittier than his first novel, “The Wizard of Odd,” Gary says. It gets into some of the problems that tourists to Vermont don’t see. It’s also about how we can harm one another, and about forgiveness. “Forgiveness and redemption,” he says. “Can people forgive themselves for something that happened decades earlier? How much can you forgive someone who harmed you terribly? And can that person be redeemed?”

Like in any real Vermont town, there’s a whole lot going on in Oddertown. It may seem quiet from the outside, but things are happening under the surface. There are many subplots. There’s a lot to consider. The people there are busy living in community and getting along with one another as best they can. As one reviewer of his first novel put it, “Gary Meffe makes me want to move to Vermont! He makes a compelling case for small-town life with all its difficulties and joys.”

In that community spirit, by the way, Gary wishes to extend his appreciation to his supporter Barbara Ebling at The Bookstore in Brandon, where you can buy any of his books. “People should buy these locally!” says Gary.

You know, he just may have learned how to be a Vermonter.