Hell's Bottom, Colorado

by Laura Pritchett

Book Overview

Winner of the PEN USA Award for Fiction. "An admirable, steely-eyed collection of stories and vignettes featuring a family of ranchers."--Publishers Weekly

On Hell's Bottom Ranch, a section of land below the Front Range, there are women like Renny who prefer a "little Hell swirled with their Heaven" and men like Ben, her husband, who's "gotten used to smoothing over Renny's excesses." There is a daughter who maybe plays it...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1571310363
• ISBN13: 9781571310361
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: Milkweed Editions
• Length: 148 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

A Clear-Eyed, Vivid Debut

This is an outstanding book! Pritchett' interconnected stories are a matter-of-fact and essential portrayal of the contemporary American West. Pritchett's characters are vivid in spite of (or beause of) her simple prose. Through the characters you get a feel for the beauty and stark reality of raising cattle, and families, in the Intermountain West. A refreshing read among the usual clutter of literature today.

A Great Read!

Pritchett evokes the vivid images of landscape, ranching and families in the West. Set along Rocky Mountains, these stories show the beauty and sometimes messy reality of farming, ranching, and living. When writing in her clear-eyed prose, Pritchett has perfect pitch: all of her charcters and stories ring true. Highly Recommended.

A Great Collection of Short Stories

Hell's Bottom is a poignant collection of short stories that chronicles some of the watershed events in the lives of a Colorado ranch family. It's quite enjoyable on several levels.I especially appreciated the attention to detail about life in modern rural America. This book chronicles ranching activities in an accurate manner- one can tell the author is familiar with this way of life. I don't believe that an outsider could have presented such an honest portrait. This realistic backdrop helped the already interesting characters become even more alive for me.Hell's Bottom is an excellent read. I look forward to more by this author.

Uncommonly Insightful

Pritchett's short stories are psychologically insightful into life's sometimes painful details and hidden triumphs -- expressed within the framework of everyday existence. Hard to find writing like this -- definitely worth your time.

Simply Excellent

Laura Pritchett has written an honest, elegant collection of stories about Colorado ranch life. This was the most engrossing, illuminating, and again, I use the word 'honest' set of stories I have come across this year. I read the book in one sitting, which for me is unusual. She successfully showed me a piece of America I formerly knew little about, and did so with the clarity and poignancy of a true poet.