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Sto caricando le informazioni... Hell's Bottom, Colorado (2001)di Laura Pritchett
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Iscriviti per consentire a LibraryThing di scoprire se ti piacerà questo libro. Attualmente non vi sono conversazioni su questo libro. This little book, in spite of its tough events, was a pleasure to read. It links together the stories of various members of an extended family on or about the ranch that the grandparents still live on- albeit at opposite ends. The children, grandchildren, in-laws, animals and hangers on are described sparely and always with reference to the landscape that they live on, and find so much meaning in. Each chapter would make a stand alone short story, but together it is worth more than the sum of its parts. On Hell's Bottom Ranch, a section of land below the Front Range, there are women like Renny who prefer a "little Hell swirled with their Heaven" and men like Ben, her husband, who's "gotten used to smoothing over Renny's excesses." As I was reading, I recalled often a quote from Stars Go Blue that Renny knew the ranch like a chart, but Ben knew it like a poem. That theme is apparent here, too. The ranch has been the site of the births of the Cross children, and of Rachel’s tragic death – just as it has been the site of untold births and deaths of livestock. Pritchett’s format here is a collection of related short stories which read like a novel. Hell’s Bottom, Colorado is a tribute to life on the Cross ranch – its harmony, its vision, and its heartache. Beautifully written, with characters so relatable I feel I know them personally – Pritchett has established herself as a favourite author, and Hell’s Bottom Ranch a favourite place. Highly, highly recommended. Focusing on one family, ranchers in Colorado, each story gives us profound truths - about the pain others can cause through violence and simple misunderstanding, about our capacity to nurture both anger and joy, about contentment and desire and the conflict between the two. Pritchett's writing is spare and the stories short but not lacking. The back of the book says it well, "Her characters convey the universal truth that family relationships, like Hell's Bottom Ranch itself, are marked by moments of pain and glimpses of paradise." This slim collection of under 150 pages can be read in a single sitting but don't race through it. There is much to be savored and reflected upon. Wow. A stunningly beautiful collection of linked short stories chronicling episodes in the lives of Colorado ranchers, Ben and Renny Cross, and their children and grandchildren. Spare, heartbreaking, and definitely not for the faint of heart. Fans of Kent Haruf, Annie Proulx, and Larry Watson (and like Watson's Montana 1948, Hell's Bottom, Colorado was also a winner of the Milkweed National Fiction Prize) should give this one a look. Published in 2001, it seems to have been sadly overlooked. nessuna recensione | aggiungi una recensione
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Winner of the PEN USA Award for Fiction. "An admirable, steely-eyed collection of stories and vignettes featuring a family of ranchers."--Publishers Weekly On Hell's Bottom Ranch, a section of land below the Front Range, there are women like Renny who prefer a "little Hell swirled with their Heaven" and men like Ben, her husband, who's "gotten used to smoothing over Renny's excesses." There is a daughter who maybe plays it too safe and a daughter plagued by only "half-wanting" what life has to offer. The ranch has been the site of births and deaths of both cattle and children, as well as moments of amazing harmony and clear vision. "Set in the unpredictable West, these stories remind us that we cannot escape the messiness and obsessions of ordinary life."--Patricia Henley, author of Hummingbird House "Displays the talent of a brilliant, new writer."--The Rocky Mountain News "With the rugged beauty of the Rocky Mountains as backdrop, Pritchett's spare yet richly evocative stories portray the stark reality of life on a Colorado cattle ranch, where three generations of one family tend the land and animals, devoting and losing themselves to an existence few would understand or choose to follow . . . Regardless of whether the songs she hears are sung by a meadowlark or a jailbird, Pritchett excels at juxtaposing the sensuous with the severe, the rapturous with the repugnant."--Booklist "The stories jump back and forth in time, but their message is clear: this family's ties are as quixotic, fierce, and enduring as the land that binds them together."--School Library Journal Non sono state trovate descrizioni di biblioteche |
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Google Books — Sto caricando le informazioni... GeneriSistema Decimale Melvil (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyClassificazione LCVotoMedia:
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Each story reveals a part of this family’s history and their connections to each other. They are both a clear-eyed look at living close to nature and dealing with all that entails and a fiercely tender revelation of connections. Each story would stand alone and all reveal one or two characters but it’s by taking the collection as a whole that the reader comes to know the family.
Many of the stories are highly emotional yet all give an expressive view of this family’s dynamics. One word of warning however is that some readers may be disturbed by the casual cruelties of ranching life. I personally was spellbound by the author’s strong, rich writing and her use of the evocative and vivid Colorado ranch-lands to deliver such authentic and memorable stories. ( )