You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
"A sunset was nothing, Harris knew, dust particles, pollution, sunlight prismed by the slant of the world. Still, it was pretty."
"A sunset was nothing, Harris knew, dust particles, pollution, sunlight prismed by the slant of the world. Still, it was pretty."
Originally posted on ars shatomica.
“A flag that bears the name…battle born.”
In 2012, The Killers introduced me to the state motto of Nevada: Battle Born. Turns out that Nevada took this name after achieving statehood during the Civil War. It’s also a very fitting name for the title of Claire Vaye Watkins’ first book, a collection of short stories that take place in various places around Nevada and the Mojave Desert. It is, by far, one of my new favorite books.
The first story (“Ghosts, Cowboys”) in this collection hits the ground running with a story about the daughter of Charles Manson’s right-hand man. A quick Google search reveals that this is actually true–Claire is the daughter of Paul Watkins, Manson’s adviser and eventually testified against Manson. It appears that the story is a fictional take on her background. It’s a very good short story, so if anything, read “Ghosts, Cowboys.”
My favorite of this anthology was “The past perfect, the past continuous, the simple past.” It’s about a young man traveling abroad in the US who gets separated from his traveling companion and ends up at a brothel in the middle of nowhere Nevada. One of my favorite images from this story was the brothel owner, a gay man named Manny, taking care of his boss’ flock of peacocks. All of the peacocks are named after counties in Nevada. While CVW didn’t name this peacock in particular, I really like the idea of a peacock named Humboldt–and again, thank you Brandon Flowers for teaching me Nevada county names.
CVW writes quite evocatively. A sense of place is really apparent in this collection–Las Vegas, the Mojave, dry land, stark sunshine. Reading these stories made me feel like I was in Nevada along with the characters.
“A flag that bears the name…battle born.”
In 2012, The Killers introduced me to the state motto of Nevada: Battle Born. Turns out that Nevada took this name after achieving statehood during the Civil War. It’s also a very fitting name for the title of Claire Vaye Watkins’ first book, a collection of short stories that take place in various places around Nevada and the Mojave Desert. It is, by far, one of my new favorite books.
The first story (“Ghosts, Cowboys”) in this collection hits the ground running with a story about the daughter of Charles Manson’s right-hand man. A quick Google search reveals that this is actually true–Claire is the daughter of Paul Watkins, Manson’s adviser and eventually testified against Manson. It appears that the story is a fictional take on her background. It’s a very good short story, so if anything, read “Ghosts, Cowboys.”
My favorite of this anthology was “The past perfect, the past continuous, the simple past.” It’s about a young man traveling abroad in the US who gets separated from his traveling companion and ends up at a brothel in the middle of nowhere Nevada. One of my favorite images from this story was the brothel owner, a gay man named Manny, taking care of his boss’ flock of peacocks. All of the peacocks are named after counties in Nevada. While CVW didn’t name this peacock in particular, I really like the idea of a peacock named Humboldt–and again, thank you Brandon Flowers for teaching me Nevada county names.
CVW writes quite evocatively. A sense of place is really apparent in this collection–Las Vegas, the Mojave, dry land, stark sunshine. Reading these stories made me feel like I was in Nevada along with the characters.
I absolutely loved this collection, and I'm at a loss to say why.
Most of the stories in this book are full of hopelessness, loss, heartbreak, and sadness. However there was something about the way they were written that was lyrical and compelling to read. The author has taken these dark moments and shows us the hidden joys and dreams hidden within. Ending with a gritty, realistic moment that has layers of emotion shining through to the reader. My favorite story had to be The Diggings, followed closely by Graceland, and The past Perfect, The Past Continuous, The Simple Past.
Most of the stories in this book are full of hopelessness, loss, heartbreak, and sadness. However there was something about the way they were written that was lyrical and compelling to read. The author has taken these dark moments and shows us the hidden joys and dreams hidden within. Ending with a gritty, realistic moment that has layers of emotion shining through to the reader. My favorite story had to be The Diggings, followed closely by Graceland, and The past Perfect, The Past Continuous, The Simple Past.
so good. not a great choice if you need a pick-me-up though. :o
4.5
This really clicked with me for some reason. A collection of ten short stories that range from today to the gold rush, all taking place in Nevada. Some stories were better than others but I didn't regret taking the time to read any of them which is pretty rare. A lot of interesting thematic through lines that I wouldn't have thought I would have connected with here such as aging, motherhood, meaning making through relationships, banal ubiquitous trauma, and the fatalism of being brought into the world somewhere that gave up a long time ago.
Some of the stories read like auto fiction and others play with form in interesting ways (structured like letters, recollections, etc) which always made it tempting to start the next one to see what, when, and who was next. Overall I enjoyed all ten of the stories but the couple that dealt with sexual violence more directly (mainly 'Rondine Al Nido') I found myself disengaging with somewhat, not sure why. The standouts for me were 'The Last Thing We Need', 'Wish You Were Here', 'Man-o-War', 'The Diggings', 'Virginia City,' and 'Graceland.' Particularly seeing a lot of hate for 'Virginia City' in the reviews which makes me sad I liked that one.
This really clicked with me for some reason. A collection of ten short stories that range from today to the gold rush, all taking place in Nevada. Some stories were better than others but I didn't regret taking the time to read any of them which is pretty rare. A lot of interesting thematic through lines that I wouldn't have thought I would have connected with here such as aging, motherhood, meaning making through relationships, banal ubiquitous trauma, and the fatalism of being brought into the world somewhere that gave up a long time ago.
Some of the stories read like auto fiction and others play with form in interesting ways (structured like letters, recollections, etc) which always made it tempting to start the next one to see what, when, and who was next. Overall I enjoyed all ten of the stories but the couple that dealt with sexual violence more directly (mainly 'Rondine Al Nido') I found myself disengaging with somewhat, not sure why. The standouts for me were 'The Last Thing We Need', 'Wish You Were Here', 'Man-o-War', 'The Diggings', 'Virginia City,' and 'Graceland.' Particularly seeing a lot of hate for 'Virginia City' in the reviews which makes me sad I liked that one.
Well, this is pretty good - rather grim and bleak in its empty lost characters looking for home and meaning, and not showing a completely stunning way with words, but good, honest and complex, definitely requiring re-reading and discussion (if only there was anyone to discuss it with).
The few stories that use off-standard narrative techniques (letters, a historical piece, an odd voice or two) seem a bit experimental, and not as strong. I feel the collection doesn't hang together as well as it might - the stories being bound by their setting (battleborn Nevada) rather than their style. Though there is a consistency in the oblique approach to subjects. And in fact we could debate for hours what the subjects really are.
Anyway, thumbs up.
The few stories that use off-standard narrative techniques (letters, a historical piece, an odd voice or two) seem a bit experimental, and not as strong. I feel the collection doesn't hang together as well as it might - the stories being bound by their setting (battleborn Nevada) rather than their style. Though there is a consistency in the oblique approach to subjects. And in fact we could debate for hours what the subjects really are.
Anyway, thumbs up.
This collection is excellent. Just excellent. And I'm not saying that with some sort of Claire-and-I-were-both-roaming-the-halls-of-Denney-at-OSU-at-the-same-time bias. It's just a really good book. You should all read it. Unless you don't like really good books, that is.