Bad Dirt: Wyoming Stories 2 Review

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(More customer reviews)I greatly enjoyed Proulx' Close Range collection of short stories,
and Bad Dirt (subtitled "Wyoming Stories 2") is a very worthy
encore. The Close Range stories gave a wonderful flavor to the
rural areas of the state, the people, the land, the warm and the
rough sides, both past and present. Some of the stories were
humorous, others were harrowing, some were a whimsical mix. You'll
find just the same mix (and a bit more) in Bad Dirt. You start off
with a 12-page story about Game & Fish Warden Creel Zmundzinski (who
turns up again in a couple of more stories) that begins in a nice
straightforward fashion, and then takes off into a kind of
humorous Proulx-Stephen King joint venture (or perhaps
Proulx-King-Carl Hiaassen).
Several stories center on the residents and the 3 bars in the tiny
town of Elk City: I very much like reading another of Proulx'
short stories when I feel that I already know the characters well
(one of these is a kind of Proulx-Hiaassen mix involving rental
alligators--it sounds bizarre, but the story works in a truly
delightful way).
The best of the stories is The Wamsutter Wolf, and runs about 35
pages. Buddy Millar lives in a $40/month rental housetrailer
5 miles out from the center of a small boomtown (almost all
trailers). You don't get much for your $40 a month. His only
neighbors live close by in an even grungier trailer--a bully who
beat him up in high school, his wife and passel of grungy young
kids, one of whom is a 4-year-old alcoholic (his father believes
that learning to drink young avoids the problems that come with
learning later). This is a horrifying and harrowing story--
stronger than anything I remember in Close Range. It's very
tough, utterly realistic, and it left me wanting to see it
expanded to about 300 pages as a novel.
Annie Proulx and William Gay (I Hate To See The Evening Sun Go
Down) are the two best short-story writers I've read in many
years--and both write excellent novels as well.

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Winterkill: A Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)I basically read "Winterkill" in one sitting. It's an excellent story about fathers and sons and the family history that both brings them together and also creates walls between them. Through the principal character, Danny Kachiah, Lesley weaves an absolutely engrossing story of a contemporary Native American family. In the process, he also tells something about the nation (in this case the Nez Perce of Eastern Oregon) and its history, and how this history weighs down on its descendents. The story is never anything but believable-the characters are very realistic, and Lesley's portrayal of life among the "reservation Indians" is brutally honest. Also, there is no climatic "redemption" or catharsis or any of the other cliched conclusions that can usually be found in similar "family drama" literature. This is what makes "Winterkill" so much like real life, as it deals with slow growth and the painful ups and downs that generally mark interpersonal relations. There's not much more I can really add here, except to say that this is the best piece of fiction I've read in a long time.

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Winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Book Award From the two-time winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award: a deeply moving and evocative novel of fathers and sons.Danny Kachiah is a Native American fighting not to become a casualty.His father, Red Shirt, is dead; his wife, Loxie, has left him, and his career as a rodeo cowboy is flagging.But when Loxie dies in a car wreck, leaving him with his son, Jack, whom he hardly knows, Danny uses the magnificent stories of Red Shirt to guide him toward true fatherhood.Together, Danny and Jack begin to make a life from the dreams of yesterday and the ruins of today's northwestern reservations.

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The Music of Chance Review

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(More customer reviews)I don't know if I necessarily enjoyed this book (or any Paul Auster book, for that matter). The enjoyment comes from the questions I ask myself after I've put the book down. It is not an enjoyable reading experience, but rather a contemplative one. In that regard, it is a highly successful piece of art.
The story appears to be relatively simple. One man goes driving. He meets another man on the road. The two of them meet some eccentric millionaires. The four men play poker. Then two men build a wall. It is almost nonsensical now that I look back on it. But the story's not really the thing (it never is in an Auster book). So don't go looking for closure, and don't expect easy answers. It's all just an excuse for some finely written meditations on the nature of fate and the restrictions of freedom.
Auster's writing style is enigmatic. There is a faux-coldness to it, appearing at first glance distant and reserved. Closer inspection, however, reveals much humanity and passion in his prose. I've always had suspicions that his surname is really an ingeniously calculated pseudonym, for any austerity in the writing is both sincere and ironic. That's a neat trick to pull off, and, to my mind, his greatest strength as a writer. In this example from his oeuvre, he gets the balance just right.

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Heart Songs and Other Stories Review

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(More customer reviews)I read the Shipping news first. Struck by the wonderful use of language, in awe of the structure of this descriptive writing at its very best, I was not disappointed by these short stories written earlier. Some passages should be read again and again. One day, if not now, this author will be quoted as a modern classic

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