November 15, 2014
Earthy and cerebral, curious and empathic toward animals as well as human beings, Hoagland mines deep veins of experience in his essays and fiction, from his time with the circus to his extensive travels and struggles with physical ailments. His last book was the lacerating novel Children Are Diamonds (2013). In this collection, readers will discover the intensity and wisdom of Hoagland's muscular short stories, which span 50 years. These are visceral tales of men living bruising lives of toil and risk, hardscrabble freedom and precarious love. Hoagland portrays carnies spoiling for a fight, hobbled rodeo cowboys, a former sailor living in a New York apartment with an alligator, a Vermont auctioneer with suspect sidelines, and, in the title story, a philosophical motorcycle daredevil. Each masterful story whips up a seething storm of consciousness as memories collide with current conundrums and Hoagland's battered characters try to figure out their next move. Flush with life, these knowing and passionate tales are the work of a tremendous writer whose literary power flows from the hot springs that fuel America's greatest fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)