Oregon News

Best Books In the West 2010

The Six Best Books in the West of 2010

By Jenny Shank, 12-08-10

Here it is, the big moment where I bestow the tiaras and sashes for the very best Western books of the year.  Last year I narrowed my list down to five, and I was trying to do that this year, but I was having so much trouble with it, I thought, why agonize?  Why not just name six?  Who’s to stop me?  Okay, now would be a good time for a drum roll if you’ve got it:

The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall (W.W. Norton & Company, 602 pages, $26.95)

It will come as no surprise to anyone who has heard me gushing over Brady Udall’s hilarious and heartfelt The Lonely Polygamist that it is my favorite book I read this year.  Polygamists, ungovernable children, a dog in a diaper, a couch of contention, a brothel owner named Ted Leo, inconvenient chewing gum and loads of heart—what’s not to love?  Do yourself a favor and read this book so I can shut up about it already.

River House by Sarahlee Lawrence (Tin House Books, 272 pages, $16.95)

The Wilding by Benjamin Percy (Graywolf Press, 288 pages, $23)

These two books are by young authors from central Oregon.  Both have to do with multiple generations of a family confronting each other outdoors.  In Benjamin Percy’s novel The Wilding, a father, his son, and grandson travel into the woods for a hunting and camping trip one last time before the area is razed for development, and all manner of hell breaks loose.  In Sarahlee Lawrence’s memoir River House, after years of world travel, Sarahlee is struck by a powerful impulse to return home to Terrebonne, Oregon.  Once home, she endeavors to build herself a log cabin, and drags her endearing, surfer/stoner/farmer dad along for the adventure. 

Claiming Ground by Laura Bell (Knopf, 239 pages, $24.95)

The western book with the most beautiful prose this year is Laura Bell’s arresting memoir Claiming Ground.  This is Bell’s first book, and it reads as though she has been saving up observations since she came west in 1977 to work as a sheepherder, ranch hand, forest ranger, and masseuse, and has distilled them into this precise and moving memoir.  She writes of love, loss, and Wyoming’s flora and fauna with uncommon grace.

Panopticon by David Bajo (Unbridled Books, 384 pages, $29.95)

Day Out of Days by Sam Shepard (Alfred A. Knopf, 304 pages, $24.95)

I loved David Bajo’s novel Panopticon and Sam Shepherd’s story collection Day Out of Days because they were surprising, weird, and delightful.  Bajo’s story of a journalist chasing three mysterious assignments during his last week on the job for a newspaper on the California-Mexico border was fresh, artful and unique.  Some strange things happen, including cameras turning up everywhere and footage from private lives ending up in the hands of young men who make movies out of scenes from other people’s memories.  Day Out of Days is a loose account of a road trip, packed with unexpected episodes, such as a talking severed head, meth lab explosions in Butte, and the story of the poor soul who was trapped in a Cracker Barrel Men’s Room overnight and forced to listen to Shania Twain songs on an endless loop.  After the night of torture, Shania herself appears to him.  There were times when I didn’t understand exactly what was going on in these two books, but in taking a few steps away from reality they managed to capture some essential qualities of the West: its violence, beauty, wildness, and ability to surprise.

Don’t forget to leave a comment on any one of the three Best Books of the West articles by December 12 for a chance to win a copy of Benjamin Percy’s The Wilding.

• Last year’s top five books.

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