"Exhilarating, like a swift ride through river rapids with a spunky, sexy gal handling the oars."—Washington Post Book World
In Pam Houston's critically acclaimed collection of strong, shrewd, and very funny stories, we meet smart women who are looking for the love of a good man, and men who are wild and hard to pin down. "I've always had this thing for cowboys, maybe because I was born in New Jersey," says the narrator in the collection's title story. "But a real cowboy is hard to find these days, even in the West." Our heroines are part daredevil, part philosopher, all acute observers of the nuances of modern romance. They go where their cowboys go, they meet cowboys who don't look the part – and they have staunch friends who give them advice when the going gets rough. Cowboys Are My Weakness is a refreshing and realistic look at men and women – together and apart.
1 of 1 copy available
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
February 14, 2011 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780393077537
- File size: 501 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780393077537
- File size: 5558 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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January 1, 1992
A good man is hard to find, but a good cowboy practically impossible. At least that's what the women in this accomplished, witty and engrossing debut short-story collection discover when they fall 10-gallon-hat-over-spurs for the kind of men who go in for roping cattle, not for romance. In ``Selway,'' among the most gripping of these 12 tales, an intrepid young woman rafts through treacherous white water to keep up with her boyfriend, who is as untamed as the river that nearly kills them. Accompanying Boone (``a hunter of the everything-has-to-be-hard-and-painful-to-be-good variety'') through the Alaskan wilderness during sheep hunting season, the unnamed narrator of ``Dall'' learns about male camaraderie, violence and herself. The cowboy enthusiast in the title story, listening to country music, observes, ``The men in the songs were all either brutal or inexpressive. . . . The women were victims, every one.'' But the women featured here aren't victims: they are smart, funny and likable. A gifted storyteller and a fine writer, Houston brings insight and an original perspective to the heavily trafficked gender divide. Literary Guild selection. -
February 1, 1993
A gifted storyteller and a fine writer, Houston brings insight and an original perspective to the heavily trafficked gender divide in her short-story collection, which was a two-week PW bestseller in cloth. -
November 15, 1991
Houston, whose short stories have appeared in such periodicals as Mirabella and Mademoiselle, now has her first collection, the highlights of which are "How To Talk to a Hunter," a story selected for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories, 1990 ( LJ 10/1/90), and "Selway." Though these two stand out, the collection as a whole showcases a fresh, original, strong feminine voice. Houston is almost Hemingway-esque in her spare prose, yet richly eloquent in her descriptions of the Western sensibility. "How To Talk to a Hunter" oozes sensuality and masculinity, while at the same time getting inside the feminine mind in love with a man of few words. Likewise, "Selway" brilliantly shows what the experience of loving an adventurer is like. Houston is a part-time guide in Alaska. This is a strong woman who is wise and cynical but refreshingly optimistic. Her view of man-woman relationships is realistic: wise women get involved with "cowboys" they should know better, but they don't. Recommended.-- Rosellen Brewer, Monterey Bay Area Cooperative Lib. System, Cal.Copyright 1991 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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