Annie Proulx — Close Range: Wyoming Stories
Simon and Schuster 2000 Paperback, 288pp. Annie Proulxâs masterful language and fierce love of Wyoming are evident in this collection of stories about loneliness, quick violence, and wrong kinds of love. In âoeThe Mud Below,â a rodeo riderâs obsession marks the deepening fissures between his family life and self-imposed isolation. In âoeThe Half-Skinned Steer,â an elderly fool drives west to the ranch he grew up on for his brother\'s funeral, and dies a mile from home. In the iconic story âoeBrokeback Mountain,â the difficult affair between two cowboys survives everything but the worldâs intolerance. (ISBN: 9780684852225). Good.