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Writing the West

Book Review

There is no question that perceptions of the West has changed. No longer does talk of "The West" automatically conjure images of John Wayne charging along on an unruly stallion battling Indians; instead we might think of ranchers struggling to preserve their land or a nation of Native Americans trying to preserve their culture.

This is largely because as the landscape, attitudes, and prejudices of the West have changed, so have the writers who document those changes. And although writers like Louis Lamour (with their formulaic stories) still enjoy a great deal of commercial success, a breed of authors has emerged whose books belong on the shelves with William Faulkner and Ernest Hemmingway.

Proof of this is Cormac McCarthy. His first book (in what he calls the Border Trilogy) "All the Pretty Horses," won a National Book Award in 1992; his second, "The Crossing," earned him a great deal of respect. It was as good, or better than, "All the Pretty Horses."

"The Crossing" begins on a cattle ranch in a New Mexico Valley in the last years of the Depression. A she-wolf has crossed the Mexico-United States border and begins to attack cattle. Billy Parham, along with his father and brother, acquire a set of barbaric jaw traps and set out to catch the wolf. It isn't easy, but Billy manages to snare it. He realizes that it's pregnant, and, unexpectedly, doesn't kill it but muzzles and leashes it and sets off to return it to Mexico. At this point, the book becomes dreamlike and begins to read like something written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Enroute to Mexico, Billy encounters old Indians and old farmers. The exchanges he has with these people are always surreal and always contrary: Some are generous and kind, others are menacing and hostile. But this is only the first crossing. Billy returns to his home town to retrieve his younger brother and trek across the border again, and once more before the story ends.

McCormac's prose is such that each scene is incredibly detailed, sometimes so much so it is easy to get lost in all the metaphors and descriptions. Because of the way we are taught to think, it's easy to get caught up in trying to keep track of what is a dream and what is reality. Fortunately, mid-way through the book you realize it doesn't matter because they are one and the same.

Fast forward 40 years or so, move north toward Missouri, enter a stereotypical Indian reservation complete with alcohol, poverty and wasted lives, and you've got Michael Doane's "Bullet Heart." Set in 1972, "Bullet Heart" tells the story of a handful of people living on a forgotten reservation whose lives are irrevocably changed after excavation for a golf course uncovers a graveyard. The bones are those of "white folks," with the exception of one set, which, unmistakably belong to a young Indian girl. The white bones are immediately reburied (implying they are sacred), but the Indian girl's are shipped off to a museum in the city (implying they are an artifact). Understandably, the Indians are outraged. When conventional measures to retrieve the bones fail, they set out to steal them back.

This conflict is only the foundation that "Bullet Heart" is built on. From there, Doane cleverly weaves characters, alliances, and betrayals together over a period that spans almost 20 years. This novel has no central character. That is, everyone is a central character. It is structured such that instead of chapters or sections, each character narrates the piece of the tale that applies to him or her.

Meanwhile, a confrontation with the FBI, and local and state police takes place. A few people die, some are wrongly arrested, and others get away with murder.

What is best about "Bullet Heart" is the way Doane manages to document the ills facing Native American Indians as it is without making excuses.

"The Watch" by Rick Bass is a collection of short stories like no other. Bass is well known for writing quirky stories set in the South and West. And although the themes he writes about are common: friendship, loyalty, and the desire to escape the conventions of every day life, Bass' style is not.

The first story, titled "Mexico," is about Kirby and Tricia. They are an affluent, young couple whose deep swimming pool (which, in true Bass manner, is located in the front yard, instead of the back) is home to an unusually large bass named Shack. Gus, a spiteful neighbor, is intent on catching and killing the fish. "Yellow crankbaits, with a pork rind trailer, dipped in horse urine; I can catch her, just like that," he says.

The most beautiful story in "The Watch" is "In Ruth's Country," because it is about first love and loss due to a misunderstanding. It begins-"The rules for dating Mormon girls were simple. No coffee; no long hair. No curse words; one kiss. That was about it. It was simple. Anyone could do it." This story effectively communicates the feelings one has when they are shut out of any group of people for reasons born only out of ignorance.

Bass' prose is complex without being cluttered, and is full of people striving to change their lives yet are constantly running head-on into roadblocks which prevent them.

As we enter the 21st century, we can be certain the West will continue to change, but we can only hope that writers who care about the people and places of the West will be around to witness it.

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