- Paperback: 148 pages
- Publisher: Milkweed Editions; 1 edition (Oct 15 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1571310363
- ISBN-13: 978-1571310361
- Product Dimensions: 17.7 x 10.8 x 1.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 68 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,128,529 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Winner of the Milkweed National Fiction Prize, Pritchett's debut is an admirable, steely-eyed collection of stories and vignettes featuring a family of ranchers in mountain-shadowed Colorado. Pritchett, raised a rancher herself, writes beautifully about the hard work and casual cruelty of ranch life. Forest fires, stillborn animals, poverty, cold and violence: all play as significant a role in the shaping of these characters as their emotionally hardscrabble family life. The three family groups that form the collection's core are brought uneasily together by an act of violence: the murder by her own husband, Ray of Rachel, youngest daughter of stubborn matriarch Renny. Some of the finest writing is in the stories about Rachel's children, Billy and Jess: "A Fine White Dust" chillingly illustrates their relationship with Rachel's abusive husband, and in "Dry Roots," one of the most painful and evocative stories, Billy and Jess come upon a horribly mutilated calf the property of a vicious neighbor and must make the decision to end its suffering. Pritchett's emotional revelations are often painted with broad strokes, as when Ben and Anita, estranged brother and sister, agree "that devastation looks pretty damn good from afar." But just as often, the writing is redeemed by fierce tenderness: "The wheat is starting to turn, flashes of deep gold streaking through tall, waving green....I suspect most city-folk... don't realize that wheat grows up green and living and then it dies, and that's when it becomes useful." Fans of Annie Proulx's Close Range: Wyoming Stories and Jon Billman's When We Were Wolves should enjoy this visceral, accomplished collection.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-A collection of well-crafted stories told by the members of a ranching family. Renny and Ben, after raising their two daughters, now live at opposite ends of the ranch, but miss the closeness they once shared. Carolyn, the elder daughter, is happily married, but just has to go to town because she knows an old beau has stopped there. Her daughter confronts her grandfather's hired man with a mixture of bravado and caution; son Jack takes his girl to Denver for an abortion, knowing they're too young to be parents, but determined to keep the pregnancy a secret. Rachel, Renny and Ben's younger daughter, is a battered wife who is eventually murdered by her husband. Their children, Billy and Jess, are adolescents struggling to find the courage to confront their cruel father. The stories jump back and forth in time, but their message is clear: this family's ties are as quixotic, fierce, and enduring as the land that binds them together. Teens will find this a moving portrait of the American West and what it takes to eke out a living from land that is as harsh as it is beautiful.
Molly Connally, Kings Park Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
RENNY STANDS IN THE gravel driveway between the house and barn, her hands jammed into the pockets of a blood-splattered jacket. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
RENNY STANDS IN THE gravel driveway between the house and barn, her hands jammed into the pockets of a blood-splattered jacket. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Moving and Compelling Read,
By A Customer
This review is from: Hell's Bottom, Colorado: Stories (Paperback)
"Hell's Bottom, Colorado" benefits from sharp, focused writing and real-life details, which make the stories ring true. Though each story stands alone, there is the connectedness of family saga as we are introduced to distinct, evocative members of this modern-day ranch family. A truly pleasant read.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Read!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Hell's Bottom, Colorado: Stories (Paperback)
Pritchett evokes the vivid images of landscape, ranching and families in the West. Set along Rocky Mountains, these stories show the beauty and sometimes messy reality of farming, ranching, and living. When writing in her clear-eyed prose, Pritchett has perfect pitch: all of her charcters and stories ring true. Highly Recommended.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Clear-Eyed, Vivid Debut,
By A Customer
This review is from: Hell's Bottom, Colorado: Stories (Paperback)
This is an outstanding book! Pritchett' interconnected stories are a matter-of-fact and essential portrayal of the contemporary American West. Pritchett's characters are vivid in spite of (or beause of) her simple prose. Through the characters you get a feel for the beauty and stark reality of raising cattle, and families, in the Intermountain West. A refreshing read among the usual clutter of literature today.
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