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larrys's review against another edition
5.0
In line with most other readers, my least favourite stories were the ones set in Elk Tooth but the quality of the rest more than made up for that. The serious stories were the ones that made me laugh out loud.
If you don’t share Proulx’s dark sense of humour this probably won’t be your favourite collection of hers.
But I do share this sense of humour, and also the basic worldview—the geographical determinism, as it’s often called. Annie Proulx favours no one, but shows an in depth understanding of how small communities tend to work.
I feel like I just visited Wyoming, without actually having to go.
I analysed my favourites from this collection elsewhere:
If you don’t share Proulx’s dark sense of humour this probably won’t be your favourite collection of hers.
But I do share this sense of humour, and also the basic worldview—the geographical determinism, as it’s often called. Annie Proulx favours no one, but shows an in depth understanding of how small communities tend to work.
I feel like I just visited Wyoming, without actually having to go.
I analysed my favourites from this collection elsewhere:
The Hellhole
The Indian Wars Refought
The Trickle Down Effect
What Kind of Furniture Would Jesus Pick?
The Old Badger Game
Man Crawling Out Of Trees
The Contest
The Wamsutter Wolf
Summer of the Hot Tubs
Dump Junk
Florida Rental
dreesreads's review
4.0
I didn't realize this was vol 2 when I began listening on Hoopla. There is also a vol 3.
I enjoyed these stories, especially The Trickle Down Effect (man hauls alfalfa from Wisconsin with breaks for drinking only); Man Crawling Out of Trees (easterners retire to WY and break the #1 rule: help others); and The Wamsutter Wolf (man rents a trailer park in the desert, only to find the high school bully and the needy girl married and living nearby). But they were all good. I wish I had read them on paper rather than listened--the worst part is not having a table of contents to refer to!
Several stories take place in the town of Elk Tooth, WY, so there are recurring characters.
I enjoyed these stories, especially The Trickle Down Effect (man hauls alfalfa from Wisconsin with breaks for drinking only); Man Crawling Out of Trees (easterners retire to WY and break the #1 rule: help others); and The Wamsutter Wolf (man rents a trailer park in the desert, only to find the high school bully and the needy girl married and living nearby). But they were all good. I wish I had read them on paper rather than listened--the worst part is not having a table of contents to refer to!
Several stories take place in the town of Elk Tooth, WY, so there are recurring characters.
djrmelvin's review against another edition
4.0
Annie Proulx inspires me to be a better writer. She's one of the best short story writers alive, and I'd put her up against most of the dead ones too.
bridgestemm's review
2.0
This collection didn't hit me in quite the same way Close Range did. Proulx's stories are bleak and real while maintaining this level of absurdity throughout, and Bad Dirt continues that. But there weren't any real standouts. Reading Close Range, I'd have to put the book down after each story just to get over the ending. I wanted a little more from these.
However, it did introduce me to the best character name in Annie Proulx history: Fiesta Punch (And choosing a favorite is saying something because she comes up with the greatest character names in literature).
However, it did introduce me to the best character name in Annie Proulx history: Fiesta Punch (And choosing a favorite is saying something because she comes up with the greatest character names in literature).
alanbaxter's review
4.0
Some truly beautiful writing and some fantastic characters in these stories. One thing that stood out to me though - and I might be biased and making too much of this - but out of the 11 stories here, 4 are original to this collection. The others have been published in places like The New Yorker, Playboy and The Paris Review. "Serious" publications. Of the four originals, two (50%!) are heavily spec-fic/magical stories. Is Proulx secretly a genre writer trapped in "Literary" fiction? It feels like she's joyously sneaking fantasy into a collection hoping no one will notice. But like I said, I'm biased. Regardless, an excellent collection by a master of language and character.
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