I'm not even entirely sure what The Gillespie County Fair is supposed to be about. It's certainly not about the Gillespie County Fair. It's not really about Fredericksburg, Texas, where it takes place. I suppose it's about the inhabitants of Fredericksburg, maybe a character study of the people in this community? But it's hard, if not impossible, to like any of them. Selfish, ambitious, drunk, apathetic, ambivalent. Just about the only positive trait I can find in any of these people is their loyalty to each other - when they're not harping on, beating up or arresting each other. I can't say that any of them are changed for better or worse by the end of the book, which leaves the book as a peek into the lives of people who are miserable and aren't overly concerned about truly changing their lives.