One of my
colleagues suggested I write my blog in English. Naturally I concurred; it’s a
treat to be able to relax back into the mother tongue. I come from Wyoming –
that’s saying something as there aren’t that many of us. It’s the least
populated state in the U.S. The largest city and state capital, Cheyenne, has
fewer people than Kristiansand’s Kommun.
I used to
tell people there were more cattle than people in Wyoming, my sister-in-law added:
“there are more rattlesnakes than people in Wyoming”; also true.
When I
moved to Sweden and got married I told my wife it was to get away from Country
music. This wasn’t entirely true; fortunately, since I didn’t.
But prior
to last summer I hadn’t been back for twenty years. Visiting an old friend and his
wife I heard about a couple of local authors worth reading. I was sceptical.
There is
one good writer living in Wyoming, but she’s imported. Annie Proulx is famous
for her Pulitzer Prize winning novel The
Shipping News set in Newfoundland. She’s also written two collections of
short stories set in Wyoming.
Close Range from 1999 (Berättelser från vidderna 2000) is well known, at least, for the
story Brokeback Mountain about two
unhappy cowboys. Unfortunately everybody in the book is pretty much unhappy –
and they are all losers. This is not the image the Wyoming Tourist board
strives to project. Possibly it is due to them that her second collection Bad Dirt from 2004 (Vilda vägar 2006) is a lot more fun. In
this book she gave her imagination free rein. And while the characters are
recognizably crazy, they are at least not all losers; or, if losers, unaware of
the fact and happy with their lot. Her dialogue is a pure pleasure to read.
Here is a sample from “The contest”; about a book:
“Come on in,” she said. “I think I found you a good one. But it’s hard
readin. A lot of foreign language and them sideways leanin words.”
“Italics?”
“Yeah”…
One of the
authors recommended to me this past summer is C.J. Box. He has a couple of
books translated into Swedish but unfortunately they are thrillers set in
Montana and Idaho! This is disappointing as Box is best known for his Joe
Pickett novels.
Joe is a
game warden – not your common detective as a warden’s main job is checking
fishing licenses and taking care of injured wildlife. But Joe tends to get
involved in all kinds of trouble. And as a real son of the west, he doesn’t
back down.
Joe lives
with his family up near the Big Horn mountain range in north central Wyoming but
he gets around In the last book I read: Nowhere
to Run he was down in the San Madre Mountains in South Central Wyoming.
I’ve never been there, never even heard of them. In the book Below Zero one of Joe’s cronies,
following criminals down the highway, passes through the small town in Eastern Wyoming
where I grew up.
I’ll admit
I am impressed with Box. His characters and language are believable, the scenes
are well painted – and Wyoming – most parts – is a dramatic backdrop, as is the
weather. The plots are well thought through and Box sure knows how to spin a
yarn – as we say out west.
More later…
Michael
Bafford
