|
I order a book a month on Amazon. I was sooooo pleasantly surprised when this book showed up just 5 days after I ordered it. I do not time my orders well, so I end up waiting a week or so after I have finished a book. It usually takes up to 3 weeks. I was thrilled. Not this time. Yeah.
Little but dialogue is written about the father, but he comes across as callous and more worried of turning the boy into a real man. Life in NW Wyoming is not easy. These are two feelings I got from reading this memoir. The boy, in turn, writes about his concerns about the man he will become. Days are spent with horses and one's life is taken by horses. In fact, if you love horses this is a great book.One thing that kept creeping into this book is the distance the author had toward his parents, especially his father. At times that dragged on too much.Still, it's wonderful prose written in a manly tone. For rugged cowboys and ranchers it's a perfect read.
Look, I'm not really out here trying to sell my book at every corner but the people who told me about Mark Spragg are readers of my book, "Antler Dust." I had three recommendations from "Antler Dust" readers to check out Mark Spragg, mostly because, I believe, of the detailed outdoors action and the fact that my book takes place in a neighboring state, Colorado. The stories follow an amazing arc that you don't see coming until the last chapter and then you just kind of want to start all over again, and meet the boy that became the man.
Mark Spragg's style is a bit like David Hockney doing his photograph collages. He doesn't show you everything, just bits and pieces to make the whole.
What an unrelentingly gripping series of stories -- life, death, animals, boys, girls, men, women, horses, snakes, water, wind, earth, blood, fire and sky. It's shot through with his own strong character and some compelling scenes of raw Wyoming life.
He lets you put some of the pieces in place. What a style.
Beautiful stuff. I am going to read more Mark Spragg but for others who like him, please also consider Antler Dust.
I'd worry about peope who don't hurt themselves laughing while reading Wapiti School. My goodness, these stories are terrific, sometimes tough and bitter, sometimes perfect poetry. Just wonderful.
Mark Spragg writes beautifully, even poetically, of teenage life in a Wyoming family struggling to make ends meet by catering to "dudes" come West for the seasonal fishing and hunting. His collection of stories is varied, but all are tied to the splendor of unshod love for the land and for the horses he rides through a journey that will steal your heart.
|
