Fourteen remarkable stories that combine strong Western settings with a subtle and distinct female voice. This critically celebrated debut collection marks the exciting beginning of prize-winner Meloyâs promising career.
Lean and controlled in their narration, abundant and moving in their effects, Maile Meloyâs stories introduce a striking talent. Most are set in the modern American West, made vivid and unexpected in Meloyâs unsentimental vision; others take us to Paris, wartime London, and Greece, with the same remarkable skill and intuition.
In âFour Lean Hounds, ca. 1976,â two couples face a complicated grief when one of the four dies. In âRanch Girl,â the college-bound daughter of a ranch foreman must choose which adult world she wants to occupy. In âA Stakes Horse,â a woman confronts risk and loss at the racetrack and at home. And in âAqua Boulevardââwinner of the 2001 Aga Khan Prize for Fictionâan elderly Parisian confronts his mortality. Meloyâs command of her charactersâ voices is breathtaking; their fears and desires are deftly illuminated. Smart, surprising, and evocative, Meloyâs brilliantly observed stories fully engage the mind and heart.