Publishers Weekly, Starred : "Nature is as much a character in this sterling collection of 10 short stories."
This new collection is big in scope, with a broad range of characters and subjects: the title story concerns a woman recovering from cancer; "Pagans" tells, at forty years' distance, of a girl and two boys—one of whom was in love with her—and the dangerous games they played. In "Her First Elk," a woman looks back on her first elk hunt, three years after her father died, and of the two brothers she hunted with, also now dead. These stories, distinguished by their maturity, are narrated by men and women with compelling life tales. Filled with Bass's hallmark lean and beautiful prose, they are further proof of his mastery of the short fiction form.
Rick Bass is the author of twenty-one books, including Where the Sea Used to Be and Colter: The True Story of the Best Dog I Ever Had. His stories have been awarded the Pushcart Prize and the O. Henry Award and have been collected in The Best American Short Stories. He lives in the Yaak Valley of Montana.
