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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
What a gorgeous collection. My favorites: Wish You Were Here, Man-O-War, The Archivist (!!!!), Graceland. But every story is a marvel. Such range!
This author shows some definite promise, provided she can manage to sort out her verb-tense schizophrenia. She doesn't shy away from dicey material. In the first few stories, she revels in the strange and the forbidden, with stories about abortion, incest, a gay male madam at a Nevada brothel, and kids who ran with Charlie Manson. The last few stories are a bit more commonplace, but still edgy, because edginess is the petri dish from which her stories evolve.
Most of these stories are set in Watkins's home state of Nevada. I spent my formative years on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe, on the California side, but very close to the border with Nevada. I have some familiarity with the geography and "vibe" of Nevada, which Watkins captures perfectly. Her stories grow from that boredom and restlessness and just general weirdness of life in a barren landscape, where there's so little to do but stir up mischief and go a little crazy.
Two complaints. First, wandering verb tense makes me tense. Second, I felt cheated by the way some of the stories ended. Short stories are often like outtakes from a full-length film. It takes some real skill to leave the reader satisfied while ending a story in media res. Watkins has yet to master that skill, but she certainly has the potential to do so.
Most of these stories are set in Watkins's home state of Nevada. I spent my formative years on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe, on the California side, but very close to the border with Nevada. I have some familiarity with the geography and "vibe" of Nevada, which Watkins captures perfectly. Her stories grow from that boredom and restlessness and just general weirdness of life in a barren landscape, where there's so little to do but stir up mischief and go a little crazy.
Two complaints. First, wandering verb tense makes me tense. Second, I felt cheated by the way some of the stories ended. Short stories are often like outtakes from a full-length film. It takes some real skill to leave the reader satisfied while ending a story in media res. Watkins has yet to master that skill, but she certainly has the potential to do so.
I read Watkins’ essay On Pandering before I read this book, so it might have colored my perception of it. But I do feel that her appraisal of the book is on point. There are many stories here that feel like they were written to please certain (white male) editors at certain literary magazines. Others that feel like something workshopped and edited to death. Plus I find the impulse to name characters after yourself a bit irksome. Still, there were some very good stories. Rondine Al Nido and The Archivist were my favorites, Wish You Were Here was pretty good, Virginia City and Graceland weren’t bad. I think I would recommend you find some Watkins’ individual stories and see which ones you like. I think she is a very good writer, and I might pick up her novel to see how her writing has evolved, but Battleborn is not really a collection I enjoyed, as a whole. I'd give 2.5 out of 5 stars, but as usual, I'll round it up.
This collection is a great exploration of Nevada. The stories are all quite different, but very interesting.
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Wonderful short stories, all set in the Nevada of today or its history. y special favorite was The Archivist in which a young woman, grieving over an impossible relationship, takes a long soak in a tub and imagines a museum of her love. I liked it well enough to imitate it in my story in the Narrative Imperative< The Museum.