Crow Fair (Vintage Contemporaries)

A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year

Set in his beloved Big Sky country, these stories attest to the generous compass of Thomas McGuane s fellow feeling, as well as to his unique way with words and a comic genius in the vein of Twain and Gogol. In this triumphant collection, filled with grace and humor, the ties of family make for uncomfortable binds: A devoted son is horrified to discover his mother s antics before she slipped into dementia, and a father s outdoor skills are no match for a change in the weather. But complications arise equally in the absence of blood, as when lifelong friends on a fishing trip finally confront their deep dislike for each other. Or when a gifted traveling cattle breeder succumbs to the lure of a stranger s offer of easy money. McGuane is as witty and large-hearted as we have ever known him, and Crow Fair is a jubilant, thunderous confirmation of his status as a modern master.