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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
It took me a bit to get into this collection, but I was absolutely enthralled by the last few stories. I wished for full length novels of "The Archivist" and "The Diggings."
This is a dazzling collection of short fiction. Watkins cuts every single extraneous word, creating a sharp and manicured re-imagining of the landscape of the American West.
One of the reasons I'm drawn to fiction set in the West is that the good stuff, the really good stuff, brings this part of the world to life. It is a vivid, harsh, beautiful place that rarely nurtures but often rewards anyone who can handle it.
Many of the characters can handle it in Claire Vaye Watkins's brilliant stories in Battleborn, which are set in Nevada and Northern California. They just don't know they can handle it until circumstances point it out to them abruptly.
That's certainly the case in "The Last Thing We Need". Thomas Grey, who lives out in the Middle of Nowhere, finds the debris of what may have been a wreck and writes to the man whose name and address he finds on some prescription bottles. Even though he has a wife and two children, he lives mostly with his thoughts. And, because the man he is writing to has not answered, Thomas Grey begins to relay his thoughts.
This is our old joke. Like all our memories, we like to take it out once in a while and lay it flat on the kitchen table, the way my wife does with her sewing patterns, where we line up the shape of our life against that which we thought it would be by now.
I'll tell you what I don't tell her, that there is something shameful in this, the buoying of our sinking spirits with old stories.
And later:
On second thought, perhaps sometimes these things are best left by the side of the road, as it were. Sometimes a person wants a part of you that's no good. Sometimes love is a wound that opens and closes, opens and closes, all our lives.
Grey finds out that there is something he cares very much about besides the past. He can handle where he is and what he has.
Other characters need to leave to reach that epiphany. One leaves a brother to his own devices after his sibling is enthralled by something else out in the land where gold was hunted and where gamblers still believe they will come out on top. Another has been depending on her sister and reaches a point where, perhaps, her sister can now depend on her.
Others are not so successful. Not all attempts by the men to be heroic succeed, as one old-time miner discovers. Not all attempts by the women to let go of the past succeed.
For all of them, the men and the women, the ones who thrive and the ones who barely survive, promises matter. In a story, "The Diggings", set during the Gold Rush, a 49'er explains:
A promise unkept will take a man's mind. It does not matter whether the promise is made by a woman or a territory or a future foretold. ... Because though I was afraid and angry and lonesome much of the time, I was also closer to my own raw heart there in the territory than I have ever been since.
Many of the characters can handle it in Claire Vaye Watkins's brilliant stories in Battleborn, which are set in Nevada and Northern California. They just don't know they can handle it until circumstances point it out to them abruptly.
That's certainly the case in "The Last Thing We Need". Thomas Grey, who lives out in the Middle of Nowhere, finds the debris of what may have been a wreck and writes to the man whose name and address he finds on some prescription bottles. Even though he has a wife and two children, he lives mostly with his thoughts. And, because the man he is writing to has not answered, Thomas Grey begins to relay his thoughts.
This is our old joke. Like all our memories, we like to take it out once in a while and lay it flat on the kitchen table, the way my wife does with her sewing patterns, where we line up the shape of our life against that which we thought it would be by now.
I'll tell you what I don't tell her, that there is something shameful in this, the buoying of our sinking spirits with old stories.
And later:
On second thought, perhaps sometimes these things are best left by the side of the road, as it were. Sometimes a person wants a part of you that's no good. Sometimes love is a wound that opens and closes, opens and closes, all our lives.
Grey finds out that there is something he cares very much about besides the past. He can handle where he is and what he has.
Other characters need to leave to reach that epiphany. One leaves a brother to his own devices after his sibling is enthralled by something else out in the land where gold was hunted and where gamblers still believe they will come out on top. Another has been depending on her sister and reaches a point where, perhaps, her sister can now depend on her.
Others are not so successful. Not all attempts by the men to be heroic succeed, as one old-time miner discovers. Not all attempts by the women to let go of the past succeed.
For all of them, the men and the women, the ones who thrive and the ones who barely survive, promises matter. In a story, "The Diggings", set during the Gold Rush, a 49'er explains:
A promise unkept will take a man's mind. It does not matter whether the promise is made by a woman or a territory or a future foretold. ... Because though I was afraid and angry and lonesome much of the time, I was also closer to my own raw heart there in the territory than I have ever been since.
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I've never been to the West, which became vividly clear from reading these stories. The blanket of loss, profit, gold, or fame covered each story, met with the natural backdrop of dust and desert. Watkins ability to carry this setting across stories pushed this book towards a geographic anthology. I now am looking forward to an eventual trip to the American West.
Terrible heartache and loss accompany this cultural twang. These stories were nothing if not sad. Sad to the point of discomfort which made it difficult to find the endurance to move from one story to the next. I would argue that some of the stories felt incomplete. Watkins invests so much into each character that by the ending of her story, you feel a bit lost. It's as if someone pulled the emergency break when they arrived and didn't park or turn off the car. The endings were sometimes subtle, but always abrupt. It didn't affect me too much, as I continued to read the stories and even re-borrowed it from the library months later after only finishing half.
Terrible heartache and loss accompany this cultural twang. These stories were nothing if not sad. Sad to the point of discomfort which made it difficult to find the endurance to move from one story to the next. I would argue that some of the stories felt incomplete. Watkins invests so much into each character that by the ending of her story, you feel a bit lost. It's as if someone pulled the emergency break when they arrived and didn't park or turn off the car. The endings were sometimes subtle, but always abrupt. It didn't affect me too much, as I continued to read the stories and even re-borrowed it from the library months later after only finishing half.
Solid storytelling set in the West, past and present. Looking forward to more from this woman.
In general, I give stars to what I've read but don't write many reviews. (And many of my star ratings might seem even random, especially the 5 star ratings. I have my reasons.) Here's what I want to say now: Claire Vaye Watkins' stories are breathtaking. They are heartfelt, fierce, insightful, intelligent, and astonishingly well written. This is someone to read and to follow. (And thank you, Bill, for turning me on to her work!)
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This collection was incredible. It gives such a sense of place in each story--the desert west, the plains, Nevada--without ever once getting dull or repetitive. Characterization is incredible. Plots are incredible. Just so gorgeous and perfectly executed, this collection is difficult for me to review because I love it so, so, so much. Here are some of my favorite stories in the collection:
Ghosts, cowboys
This story is a look at connections and legacies focused on the impact of Charles Manson across the years. It plays with interconnected narratives, switching viewpoints, and it is so raw emotionally while being perfectly, precisely executed.
Rondine AL Nido
This was a difficult read, because it is about a date rape. But it is also a must-read, looking into the dark motivations of young girls, dynamics of friendship, and the way one event can change your life.
Read this collection. Read it NOW. You won't be sorry.
Ghosts, cowboys
This story is a look at connections and legacies focused on the impact of Charles Manson across the years. It plays with interconnected narratives, switching viewpoints, and it is so raw emotionally while being perfectly, precisely executed.
Rondine AL Nido
This was a difficult read, because it is about a date rape. But it is also a must-read, looking into the dark motivations of young girls, dynamics of friendship, and the way one event can change your life.
Read this collection. Read it NOW. You won't be sorry.