A review by devinsf
Close Range by Annie Proulx

5.0

A collection of short stories, the first of three volumes. Slightly uneven but extremely powerful. These are hard, fatalistic tales of individuals stringing together desperate lives in the selenic expanses of Wyoming; inarticulate men and women slowly crumbling into dust or spiraling into immolation — but mostly just enduring. The writing style is distinctly of the American West, and ranges between pieces from gorgeously spartan to borderline camp. At its best, Proulx’s writing bends the character of campfire yarn-spinning into a rolling, luscious prose. Come for “Brokeback Mountain,” stay for “The Mud Below,” “The Bunchgrass Edge of the World,” and “Pair a Spurs.”