Out of the Woods: Stories [Paperback]

Seven years ago, Chris Offutt made his literary debut withKentucky Straight,a fiercely original collection that earned him not only critical praise but many prestigious awards.
The eight new stories inOut of the Woodsmark Offutt's return to the form in which he first displayed his astonishing talent. Offutt, who draws landscape and constructs dialogue with the eyes and ears of a native son (The Miami Herald),is on strong home turf here, capturing those who have left the Kentucky hills and long to return. These are stories of gravediggers and drifters, gamblers and truck drivers a long way from home, tales that are so full of hard edges they can't help but tell some hard truths.Chris Offuttgrew up in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky and has held more than fifty part-time jobs. For his first three books --Kentucky Straight, The Same River Twice,andThe Good Brother-- he received numerous awards and honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Whiting Award. He currently lives in Iowa City, where he is a visiting professor at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Out of the Woods

Gerald opened his front door at dawn, wearing only a quickly drawn-on pair of jeans. His wife's four brothers stood in the ground fog that filtered along the ridge. The oldest brother had become family spokesman after the father's death, and Gerald waited for him to speak. The mother was still boss but everything had to filter through a man.

It's Ory, the oldest one said. He got shot and is in the hospital. Somebody's got to fetch him.

The brothers looked at Gerald from below their eyebrows. Going after Ory wasn't a chore anyone wanted, and Gerald was new to the family, married to Kay, the only sister. He still needed to prove his worth. If he brought Ory home, maybe they'd cut the barrier that kept him on the edge of things, like he was nothing but a third or fourth cousin.

Where's he at? Gerald said.l3E