From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'The Shipping News' comes a collection of short stories inspired by the harsh and unforgiving landscape of Wyoming. Throughout the collection, Annie Proulx invests these stories with an intelligence and black humour that transforms them into something new and surprising. In one story, a slight young man defies his mother's insults to become a rodeo star, while in another, an octogenarian finds himself drawn back to the ranch that he quit decades before - against his better ...
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From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'The Shipping News' comes a collection of short stories inspired by the harsh and unforgiving landscape of Wyoming. Throughout the collection, Annie Proulx invests these stories with an intelligence and black humour that transforms them into something new and surprising. In one story, a slight young man defies his mother's insults to become a rodeo star, while in another, an octogenarian finds himself drawn back to the ranch that he quit decades before - against his better judgement. Elsewhere, Proulx demonstrates her taste for the macabre in a grisly tale of bad weather, gambling and amputation set a hundred years ago. Inventive, compassionate and wildly funny, these marvellous stories explore the unbreakable bond between a people and their land.
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The author of these short stories is a master at painting pictures with words -- and uses words carefully, thoughtfully and for the most descriptive impact. She uses her words sparingly - sometimes a bit too sparingly for my taste. I sometimes have to backtrack because I missed something. I enjoyed these stories very much although they are sometimes gritty so these are not for juvenile reading. Having known western people and that culture a little bit allowed me to understand the characters a bit more than some might. All in all I recommend this to any adult reader.