Bad Dirt, Annie Proulx
Bad Dirt, Annie Proulx
3 Rating(s)
List: $21.95 | Sale: $15.37
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Bad Dirt
Wyoming Stories 2

Author: Annie Proulx

Narrator: William Dufris

Unabridged: 7 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/01/2005

Synopsis

Annie Proulx follows the success of Close Range with another remarkable collection of stories. Bad Dirt is filled with the vivid characters for which Proulx has become known. In "The Contest," the male population of Elk Tooth, Wyoming, vows to put aside their razors for two seasons, ante up ten dollars each, and wait to see who has the longest beard on July 4. Deb Sipple, the moving protagonist of "That Trickle-Down Effect," finds that his opportunism—and his smoking habit—lead to a massive destruction. In every story in this book, Proulx displays her wit and her knowledge of the West, of history, and most of all of characters who must use sheer will and courage to make it in tough territory.

About Annie Proulx

Annie Proulx is the author of eight books, including the novel The Shipping News and the story collection Close Range. Her many honors include a Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award, the Irish Times International Fiction Prize, and a PEN/Faulkner Award. Her short story “Brokeback Mountain,” which originally appeared in the New Yorker, was made into an Academy Award–winning film starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. Proulx currently lives in Wyoming.

About William Dufris

William Dufris attended the University of Southern Maine in Portland-Gorham before pursuing a career in voice work in London and then the United States. He has won more than twenty AudioFile Earphones Awards, was voted one of the Best Voices at the End of the Century by AudioFile magazine, and won the prestigious Audie Award in 2012 for best nonfiction narration. He lives with his family in Maine.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jessaka on May 12, 2022

How to Write a Great Short Story I have never been drawn to short stories, and mostthat I have read just did not interest me. So, why this book? I decided to give them another try, but as I was reading, I was analyzing my feelings about these short stories. . First, these stories are no different from......more

Goodreads review by Jenny on September 12, 2007

The cover blurb on my paperback copy proclaims Proulx's work to be in the spirit of Mark Twain, and while I doubt I'd've come up with that myself, it is spot on, especially here. Proulx has a dark sense of humor which blends perfectly with the landscape she paints of the New West. Her characters are......more

Goodreads review by Spike on September 07, 2009

Annie Proulx has once again proven herself to be a literary treasure, one of very few writers who can affect a literary style without the pithy navel-gazing dreck found in nearly every lit mag in America. She actually tells stories, and they are interesting! Imagine that. The language is there: each......more

Goodreads review by Edward on August 11, 2023

This collection of 11 short stories has a particularly apt epigraph, a quote from the serial killer, Charles Starkweather, “They say this is a wonderful world to live in, but I don’t believe I ever did really live in a wonderful world.” The stories are set in the rugged landscape of Wyoming, and the......more

Quotes

“Like Flannery O’Connor and William Faulkner, Proulx has found a tone and style of delivery that allow her to be humorous and existentially black at the same time. No other writer in America gets away with this combination.” Denver Post

“Proulx does leaven her tales of hardship and woe with a dry humor, and she doesn’t forget to tackle the misguided romance sought by newcomers to the land…A rich, colorful picture of local life.” Publishers Weekly

“A literary trail ride with some great views…This collection is entertaining and contains some gorgeous descriptions of Wyoming.” AudioFile

“Vivid language…Proulx’s vision, like the Wyoming countryside she so meticulously describes, is unyielding.” Booklist

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