Publisher Description
Like the work of Cormac McCarthy, Denis Johnson, Richard Ford, and Annie Proulx, Battleborn represents a near-perfect confluence of sensibility and setting, and the introduction of an exceptionally powerful and original literary voice. In each of these ten unforgettable stories, Claire Vaye Watkins writes her way fearlessly into the mythology of the American West, utterly reimagining it. Her characters orbit around the region's vast spaces, winning redemption despite - and often because of - the hardship and violence they endure. The arrival of a foreigner transforms the exchange of eroticism and emotion at a prostitution ranch. A prospecting hermit discovers the limits of his rugged individualism when he tries to rescue an abused teenager. Decades after she led her best friend into a degrading encounter in a Vegas hotel room, a woman feels the aftershock. Most bravely of all, Watkins takes on - and reinvents - her own troubled legacy in a story that emerges from the mayhem and destruction of Helter Skelter. Arcing from the sweeping and sublime to the minute and personal, from Gold Rush to ghost town to desert to brothel, the collection echoes not only in its title but also in its fierce, undefeated spirit the motto of her home state.
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“This evocative collection of short stories draws deep on the mythos of
the Southwest. The shame, isolation, and violence of Watkins’ beautifully rendered characters match perfectly the grievous landscapes
in which they are set…Essential listening for Western fans, especially those who enjoy literary fiction, but very enjoyable for others, too.”
—
Library Journal (starred review)
About Claire Vaye Watkins
Claire Vaye Watkins is the author of Battleborn, which received numerous awards and accolades. Her stories and essays have appeared in the New York Times, Granta, One Story, the Paris Review, Ploughshares, Glimmer Train, Best of the West 2011, Best of the Southwest 2013, and elsewhere. A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, and Ohio State University, Claire has received fellowships from the Writers’ Conferences at Sewanee and Bread Loaf. She is an assistant professor at Bucknell University and the codirector, with Derek Palacio, of the Mojave School, a free creative writing workshop for teenagers in rural Nevada.
About the Narrators
Ali Ahn is a film, television, and voice actor. Her acting credits include appearances on Law & Order, Ugly Betty, White Collar, and Zero Hour. She has also narrated numerous audio books, such as Honolulu by Alan Brennert, This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen, Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas, and Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart.
Mozhan Marnò is an Iranian American film and television actress, most notably appearing in Charlie Wilson’s War and Bones. Her audiobook narrations have won several AudioFile Earphones Awards.
Laura Knight Keating, an Audie Award-winning narrator, is an actress who has appeared on stage, in films, and on television shows, including Boardwalk Empire, Hope and Faith, and Lipstick Jungle.
Kevin Orton is a musician, composer, and actor. He performed in the 1999 Broadway revival of Amadeus and has appeared in numerous other New York and regional theater productions, as well as on television and in film. As a musician, he is most noted for composing and performing original music in the Tony Award–winning production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
T. Ryder Smith is an American actor. A native of New York state and long-time resident of New York City, he has appeared frequently on stage, particularly in avant-garde theater works, and in film, sometimes as a voice actor.