Bad Dirt

Annie Proulx is best known for The Shipping News her novel set in small town Newfoundland. However she also spends half her time living in Wyoming and has written a good number of short stories set there. Bad Dirt is Proulx second collection of Wyoming stories. Most of them deal with the townsfolk's troubled lives and the grit it takes to get through day to day. Each story details just a few short days or years and display quirky characters living the fast disappearing life of rural America. Proulx's stories of Wyoming also appear in the New Yorker from time to time and run along the same lines as Bad Dirt. I always enjoy reading them for the deep characters and vast scenery. I read Bad Dirt over the last several months in between other books. Collections of short stories are nice that way, I really enjoyed this group of Wyoming Stories and look forward to reading more from time to time.