western

I checked this book of short stories out for something quick to read at lunchtime, becaseu I recognized that the author also wrote The Shipping News.  The stories are all set in Wyoming, many in the little town of Elk Tooth that boasts 3 bars and an assortment of eccentric characters.  Proux uses a very spare, precise style of writing that clearly evokes the images of the rural people whose ranching way of life is disappearing.