Earthquake Weather

by Catherine Ryan Hyde and Ana Huang

Book Overview

A masterful collection of award-winning short works by the acclaimed author of "Funerals for Horses". From the story of a boy who overcomes his nightmarish life with the help of an unlikely "angel" to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0965352471
• ISBN13: 9780965352475
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Russian Hill Press
• Length: 229 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.6" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

The best of Catherine Ryan Hyde

In just about all the stories presented here we have some common elements - western US setting, characters down on their luck and sometimes a little rough, and usually a positive or reaffirming message despite the messy environment Hyde has created.While no specific story stands out as grand art, all are good reads that show skill in creating characters and carrying a story forward in a short space of time. In too many short stories it seems like there's no point, that the whole thing was a college course exercise in creating a single scene. Or its the opposite extreme in which you've got all plot and no character to care about. Hyde somehow does the miraculous and pulls both off in just about every story here. And she does it all in a positive and life affirming way.Far and away, I consider this her best work. This is perhaps not a popular view among Catherine Ryan Hyde fans, but her later work has gotten sloppy, especially in her last two books, "Electric God" and "Walter's Purple Heart" in which she presents us with unrealistic characters and situations. But that is simply not the case here. If you've read any of Hyde's later books and you want more then I highly recommend "Earthquake Weather." You'll be pleasantly surprised that perhaps her best book ever is the one that's sadly out of print.

Fluid and involving

_Earthquake Weather_ is, at first read, a surprisingly calming collection of stories about people at violent points in their lives, choosing non-violent coping methods. I found myself pausing for a few minutes after each story to wonder if I would have been as graceful as Hyde's characters had I been in their situations. After more reflection, however, the book has a definite anger running through it, as if each protagonist is raising hands to the sky to ask "why?," quietly furious that the answer is not waiting there. Characters from all walks of life can be found in this collection, from an unlikely pair of secretive male lovers to a scared little boy and his best friend, the war veteran, to a guarded and needy recent divorcee and the unwilling subject in her revenge plot. This book is utterly involving and not unlike a long train trip, watching people out the window. Here, instead of just wondering, you actually find out what their lives are like.