Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Like many before her, poet Gretel Ehrlich discovered the therapeutic qualities of the West. In 1976, a time of personal crisis, she moved from the East to a small farm in Wyoming where she ultimately found peace of mind and inspiration. Originally, she had gone west to make a film for PBS; she returned to work with neighbors at cattle- and sheep-ranching, taking pleasure in open spaces. Ehrlich writes with sensitivity and affection about people, the seasons and the landscape. Whether she is enjoying solitude or companionship, her writing evokes the romance and timelessness of the West. November (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Many urbanites sojourn in the West to commune with nature in the wide-open spaces, but few have related their experiences, or so fully captured the essence of Wyoming, as well as this author. She was sent from New York to the Big Horn region in 1976 to make a film about sheepherders. To recover from the death of a loved one, she wandered near and far for two years before returning to northern Wyoming, where she finally found solace. The vivid descriptions of the physical aspects of her surroundings are more than balanced by her poetic commentaries on the nature of the sheepherders, cowpokes, and Native Americans who inhabit the area. This paean to Wyoming should find a place in all special collections on the West and would be a fine addition to general collections. Sondra Brunhumer, Western Mich. Univ. Libs., Kalamazoo (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An auspicious beginning for a writer sure to be reckoned with. Ehrlich (essays and poetry in The New York Times, Atlantic, Vanity Fair) enthralls and enchants with her tales of an East Coast, college-educated, ""culture straddler"" making it as a sheepherder in the Wyoming wilderness. Ehrlich brings to our senses the sight, smells and visages of life in the harsh badlands of Wyoming. Doses of western wisdom (honesty is stronger medicine than sympathy--which may console but often conceals) permeate a land where ""humans are outnumbered by the animals."" Across the ""tumbled, wasted desert, ribboned with faded deathbed colors,"" Ehrlich tells her saga of life, death, and the pride of a west still primitive and unashamed of its shortcomings. With a keen eye for detail and nuance, we watch the rhythmic ""beat of an Indian dance pull the sun up"" as a modern brave in full ceremonial regalia lounges on the hood of his Corvette. Like most first works, this one has its flaws. Words like declivitous, libidinous, anathema--are used too freely and set our ears to ringing--of being out of place and superimposed. Scenes are repeated (Keith's death and the barking of his dog). But when Ehrlich doesn't take the preachy tone of someone writing to impress an editor and sticks to the basics, "". . .the sperm, blood and guts business of ranching"" comes alive as do the rock-tough truths of her prose and the morality of a culture she identifies with and wishes us to see and experience. Impressive. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
