Close Range

More about the book

From the author of <i>The Shipping News</i> comes a collection of short stories inspired by the harsh and unforgiving landscape of Wyoming. Throughout, Annie Proulx invests these stories with an intelligence and black humour that transforms them into something new and surprising. In one story, a slight young man defies his mother's insults to become a rodeo star, while in another, an octogenarian finds himself drawn back to the ranch that he quit decades before — against his better judgement. Elsewhere, Proulx demonstrates her taste for the macabre in a grisly tale of bad weather, gambling and amputation set a hundred years ago. And in ‘<i>Brokeback Mountain</i>’, Proulx changes gear once again to describe the unexpected love that flowers between two cowboys as they struggle with the elements in some extremely inhospitable terrain. Inventive, compassionate and wildly funny, these marvellous stories explore the unbreakable bond between a people and their land, and will delight Proulx's fans everywhere. Contents: - <i>The Half-Skinned Steer</i> - <i>The Mud Below</i> - <i>Job History</i> - <i>The Blood Bay</i> - <i>People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water</i> - <i>The Bunchgrass Edge of the World</i> - <i>Pair a Spurs</i> - <i>A Lonely Coast</i> - <i>The Governors of Wyoming</i> - <i>55 Miles to the Gas Pump</i> - <i>Brokeback Mountain</i>