Genre: Book/Stories
Grade: A-
Notable People: Annie Proulx
Title: Close Range
Review: Proulx is not prolific; she has written three novels and 5-6 sets of stories in the last 30 years, but all have a level of quality of writing not often found these days. This volume is the first of four books of stories that represent her Wyoming collection- starting in the late 90s. She has lived in Wyoming for many years and has a clear fascination with the history, culture, politics and especially with the land. I found this set of stories to be quite unusual in subject matter- some of them going back to pioneer days and some current day. One is the shortest, short story on record at under one page. Another is a magnificent 8 pager that essentially narrates an entire life through a person’s held jobs. Lot of cowboys, rodeo types, ranch hands, rough necks…..people getting by in a harsh and mostly poor environment. Proulx has a sneaky sense of humor that appears in the most unusual places, but is refreshing. A few of the stories seemed way too long and rambled on in a way that had me lose interest..…but for the most part, I found myself totally absorbed in the time and place. Getting into the second set soon.