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In Our Nature: Stories of Wildness
Fourteen unforgettable short stories provoke, illuminate, and startle as they explore our perception of nature and the conflict between wildness and civilization within each of us.
As we are recognizing the consequences of the destruction of forests and wetlands, the pillaging of the seas, and the toxicity of industry, we are experiencing profound uncertainty about our relationship with the earth. These stellar short stories by writers such as Barry Lopez, Rick Bass, Margaret Atwood, E. L. Doctorow, Chris Offutt, and others plumb the mystery―as only fiction can―of nature within us and the world of nature that surrounds us.
We are nature, in spite of our machines, our plastics, and our artificial ingredients. Yet what do we make of our own nature? Our own wildness? And how do we explain the paradox of our urge to both exploit and protect wilderness?
From E. L. Doctorow's shattering tale, "Willi," in which a young boy witnesses adults transformed into animals by the frenzy of sexual lust, to Rick Bass's "Swamp Boy," whose young hero is hounded by a pack of boys incensed by his solitary communion with the wild, to Margaret Atwood's wickedly funny story, "My Life as a Bat," or Kent Meyers's soulful ballad of love regained, "The Heart of the Sky," these memorable stories articulate our deep need for wilderness and the indelible role nature plays in our psychological and spiritual well-being.
As we are recognizing the consequences of the destruction of forests and wetlands, the pillaging of the seas, and the toxicity of industry, we are experiencing profound uncertainty about our relationship with the earth. These stellar short stories by writers such as Barry Lopez, Rick Bass, Margaret Atwood, E. L. Doctorow, Chris Offutt, and others plumb the mystery―as only fiction can―of nature within us and the world of nature that surrounds us.
We are nature, in spite of our machines, our plastics, and our artificial ingredients. Yet what do we make of our own nature? Our own wildness? And how do we explain the paradox of our urge to both exploit and protect wilderness?
From E. L. Doctorow's shattering tale, "Willi," in which a young boy witnesses adults transformed into animals by the frenzy of sexual lust, to Rick Bass's "Swamp Boy," whose young hero is hounded by a pack of boys incensed by his solitary communion with the wild, to Margaret Atwood's wickedly funny story, "My Life as a Bat," or Kent Meyers's soulful ballad of love regained, "The Heart of the Sky," these memorable stories articulate our deep need for wilderness and the indelible role nature plays in our psychological and spiritual well-being.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
272 pages, Paperback
First published December 18, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 17, 2024
Such a brilliant collection of short stories! They all have their own unique ways of exploring the human/nature connection, and it made it such a colourful read. Out of all of them, I think Everett's 'Wolf At The Door' was my favourite: I loved how it looked at both humans' relationships with other humans as well as how that places them in the natural world.
February 6, 2014
nice group of short stories (and a few excerpts from novels) about wildness, wilderness, nature, and mostly humans. i particularly liked kent meyers 'heart of the sky" about a soybean farmer who dismantles his tile system to re-flood parts of his farm and turns it back into slough, because he loves canada geese, and his 17 year old daughter is pregnant. those kinds of stories. has the heavy hitters, francine prose, lorrie moore, simon ortiz, margaret atwood. percival everett has a great story about a veterinarian torn up with ennui and mob-killer mentality and a hot neighbor, swirling around his memory of killing a wolf when he was a lad. etc. donna seaman seems really multi-talented and interesting. i wonder what she is doing now? this is a DK book, back when they did fiction too. the good ol days of 2000. 3 stars for the inevitable unevenness.
September 21, 2013
Enjoyable enough, though a couple of the stories seemed to be stretching the theme pretty far--which was especially odd considering they were all selected from previously published works, not written for this anthology.
Most of these are hits, though. My favorites were Prose's "Everything Is About Animals" and Moore's "Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens" (though the latter made me bawl through most of it even while laughing).
Most of these are hits, though. My favorites were Prose's "Everything Is About Animals" and Moore's "Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens" (though the latter made me bawl through most of it even while laughing).
January 5, 2022
While the 14 stories "explore" the idea of wilderness and civilization most are rather meh. In my humble opinion the best one is the last - "The Heart of the Sky" is endearing as it shows the psychological healing effects nature can provide. Others, such as "Weeds" and "Erzulie" concern ecological damage the former an apocalypse the latter barely addressing pollution. "The Open Lot" brings urban blight to the fore. "Wolf at the Door" has a country veterinarian lamenting the killing of innocent wild animals. The other stories have animals in them but peripherally.
May 7, 2021
This is a wonderful collection of stories by a variety of authors. I have never read any fiction by Rick Bass. His story is very moving. I have very seldom read such a consistent group of short stories in an anthology.
August 1, 2019
This is an excellent collection.
January 30, 2021
Excellent collection.
ESP:
Swamp Boy
Barred Owl
The Open Lot
Weeds
The Heart of the Sky
ESP:
Swamp Boy
Barred Owl
The Open Lot
Weeds
The Heart of the Sky
September 3, 2013
Was assigned some of the stories to read in college and decided to go back and read them all. Some lost my attention, but others were awesome. My favorites were "my life as a bat," "everything is about animals," and "weeds." I would recommend this collection for anyone who lives in the wild, lives for the wild, or is wild themselves.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews