Annie Proulx's Latest

I recently picked up Annie Proulx's latest collection of short stories, FINE JUST THE WAY IT IS. I'm two stories in, having read "Them Old Cowboy Songs" -- which appeared previously in The New Yorker, and which my friend Lynn sent along a few months ago, knowing how much I love the historical American West, with its blood-filled rough and tumble -- and "The Great Divide."

The inside flap says "Proulx's characters try to climb out of poverty and desperation but get cut down as if the land itself wanted their blood," which it does, of course, and which it succeeds in claiming.

I've just started the third story (I'm reading out of order), which features Duane Fork, "the Devil's demon secretary." I suspect this story won't end well either, which is its juicy appeal.

Bad Dirt: Wyoming Stories 2

A couple of years ago, I bought Annie Proulx's Bad Dirt, but set it aside after reading only a handful of stories. As I told my friend Lynn, Annie Proulx's writing is always delicious -- but the stories themselves are sometimes hit and miss. I picked the book up again the other day and came across this description, which I'd earlier underlined and dog-eared:

"Warmin up," called one of the men, stretching his back. The sun shone behind his ears, which turned the color of chokecherry jelly."

That, my friend, is yummy!

Also read "The Wamsutter Wolf," which I enjoyed as much as "Brokeback Mountain." When she gets it right, it's perfect. And wow, was Wamsutter good! (Also just ordered Larry McMurtry's Books: A Memoir, and can't wait for it to arrive. More on that later...)