Site Fidelity

"If we are to survive, even the next several decades, we need to feminize the myth of the American West…Claire Boyle’s stories do just that, the tenacious, unsinkable women who inhabit them no longer content to sit back and let powerful men of industry make us all extinct. For anyone who loves and grieves the West, who isn’t afraid to open their eyes and see her distress, these beautifully forged stories are as essential as water." So says Pam Houston, one of my favorite novelists and herself an eloquent advocate for earth and it's children. The short stories here span the beginning of an epoch - 1970s through near future - sometimes dubbed the anthropocene or the age of man vs earth. They are gracefully written, linked at times and not polemical but descriptive. Read, weep and enjoy these unforgettable, resilient characters,

This short story collection is so real and raw! Boyles perfectly captures the wildness (and loneliness) of the West through her stories of strong women facing tough challenges. As someone who has lived in a small mountain town in Montana doing environmental work like she described, these stories really resonate.

The underlying theme of each story is a strong attachment to "home," which is captured perfectly with the title of this collection. From protecting sage grouse and cutthroat trout to hiding illegal chicken flocks, these stories may seem "out there," but they are quite accurate! The people in these stories feel like those I have encountered in middle-of-nowhere America. This collection is definitely worth a read.

I loved these stories. Many of the stories are interconnected, which is a favorite element of short stories for me, which I thought was done quite well in this collection. I also loved the thematic explorations of the environment and protecting the environment, particularly how environmental activism can relate to familial or even spiritual connections. The emotional depth of these stories also was a favorite element for me. If you like short stories that center the environment/environmental change, I can't recommend this collection enough!

Thank you to W. W. Norton and Claire Boyles for providing me with an early copy of this work through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Site Fidelity comes out on June 15.

Author Claire Boyles has almost a reporter’s sense of accuracy in her descriptions of place in SITE FIDELITY: STORIES, a series of short stories that explore the human condition of bonding to a place. In this instance, the place is the American West, both geographically and spiritually. Yet her stories are also lyrical journeys into hard lives, defined by lonely choices. Each short story is memorable for the specificity and universality of the human emotions revealed. Boyles is an author worth following. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.