Genesis: A Story from Wolf Willow

by Wallace Stegner

2 pages, Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Wallace Earle Stegner was an American historian, novelist, short story writer, and environmentalist. Some call him "The Dean of Western Writers." He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 and the U.S. National Book Award in 1977.

Reviews

[Michael Price]

A young Englishman, determined to prove himself heroic, leaves his impoverished family, comes to southwestern Saskatchewan for adventure and, green as spring willow, gets hired on as a greenhorn cowboy. He and his outfit are sent out onto the prairie to round up cattle sheltering in the coulees and bring them back to spend the winter in the corrals. Then the first blizzard hits in October, first of many in the legendarily mortal winter of 1906-07, with its great storms not ceasing until April. What begins as adventure becomes a job, then with advent of that winter's incessant blizzards and the lethal cold which follows them, becomes a desperate fight for survival, and our young English lad discovers that, sometimes, true heroism consists of simply making it to the next day alive.

Stegner lived in these parts of the West, and wrote of them as one completely familiar with blazing summers and long, hard winters, and the people (of European ancestry) who survived both. This novella-length story demonstrates his great skill as a writer. There is the laconic dialogue and dead-pan humor of the cowboy, the vast skies filled with cold, sharp stars and the spooky curtains of the Aurora, the exhausting work, and, always, the cold, the cold, the cold.

BTW, Genesis is excerpted from his book Wolf Willow, which contains three sections: autobiography, historical essay and, finally, fiction.

[Ronald Koltnow]

Wallace Stegner wrote history, biography, essays, and fiction. Embedded in his non-fiction work WOLF WILLOW is the novella "Genesis" A young Englishman signs on to a cattle ranching outfit to learn the trade. The novella details, in more ways than one, an ill-fated cattle round-up in the late fall. The cowboys must get the cows in before the harshest of weather hits. Too late! The tale is so steeped in realism that you can see, hear, and feel the whole ordeal. Ultimately it is a study of what it mean to be a man. The characters's lives continue in related stories "The Wolfer" and "Carrion Springs." One of the most vibrant western tales ever.

[John Gr]

The short story - Genesis - seems like such a realistic and accurate account of "cowboying" in a Saskatchewan blizzard. I thought this was excellent.

[Doug]

This may be the best short story I ever read. I recently discovered the book that it came from, Wolf Willow, which is also a great read. I guarantee if you read this story you will want to read more Wallace Stegner and you will be glad you did.

[Greg Western]

Very good. Stegner is so descriptive of the life of a cowboy, but also lean in the way he uses the words. Really a good book.