This is not totally relevant. Actually hardly relevant at all. But you mentioned the beautiful drive through snow-covered fields without your lights on.
There’s a Docotrow novel, I think it was Loon Lake. As I remember it, the hero is driving through the corn fields with his lights off. He views the magnificence of the fields in the moonlight and says to his ‘love’ who is the 19 year old daughter of a Lithuanian undertaker, “look at this. Do you feel it?” She looks at him, puzzled and says “I dunno what’cha talking about.”
Somehow I was stopped in my tracks and couldn’t keep reading for hours after that.
Thanks, I had forgotten about Doctorow. I read “Ragtime” back in the day, but not the one you mention.
He was one of the “craft” writers - I will look for “Loon Lake” and give it a try.