First published 2006
A boy glides across Lake Michigan's frozen surface at night and stumbles upon something unexpected. An Irish family gathers around their dying grandmother's bed in Massachusetts. A weathered man who survived Key West's wild years finds himself stranded elsewhere. In Montana's Big Sky country, a father desperately tries to arrange his grown son's first sexual encounter. A former convict works cattle on a failing ranch, seeking shelter from his past. A couple drives through the dangerous canyon that gives this collection its name, knowing their relationship will not survive the journey. These ten characters search for what the American landscape might offer them. They fall under the spell of places that promise transformation but demand harsh reckonings. The land's beauty pulls them forward while its reality strips away illusions. Each story moves between humor and darkness, following people who believe geography can change their lives.
Genres: short-stories, literary-fiction, american-fiction, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, search-for-meaning
Setting: Big Sky Country, Key West, Lake Michigan, Massachusetts, Montana
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
240 pages · Hardcover · Knopf