Bitches Ride Alone

by Laura Chester

Stories by Laura Chester.

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Laura Chester has published many volumes of poetry, prose and non-fiction. Most recently, "Holy Personal: Looking for Small Private Places of Worship," was made available from Indiana University Press, and a selection of prose-poems, "Sparks," was published by The Figures. Both books include extensive photographs by Donna DeMari. Station Hill Press released an updated version of "Lupus Novice," an account of Chester’s personal struggle and breakthrough with the auto-immune disease SLE, while Black Sparrow Press, published three of Chester’s early books of fiction. Chester has edited four important literary anthologies, including Deep Down and The Unmade Bed. She is currently completing a fifth, "Eros & Equus," a passion for the horse. Having grown up in Wisconsin, lived in Albuquerque, Paris, and Berkeley, she now travels between Patagonia, Arizona and the Berkshires of Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Coles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had picked this book up because I will inspect most Black Sparrow authors' work and because I love the cover and the title, but I had interpreted the title to be more of an independence-based aloneness rather than what mostly ended up feeling like a "nice guys finish last" kind of solitude.
I would probably read this book before I read a shampoo bottle while stuck on the toilet, and I'm sure there are people I admire and whose opinions I respect that would enjoy this book, but... no thank you. You might enjoy this book if you are a sad, relationship-qualmed straight white woman with a lake house and some horses, or if you want the perspective on that kind of woman's thoughts on dicks and orgasms and men. Most of what fueled me through reading this was the sheer curiosity as to whether or not it would all start to "click" soon or if it would get laughably worse. Eventually I just had to throw in the towel. Truly not all of it was awful but the bad parts were really bad, few moments were good, and "who cares?" summed up the bulk of the rest.
That's my opinion on this book, although not necessarily for Laura Chester's writing as a whole. I have a copy of In the Zone: New and Selected Writing, which I still plan to read and to give a fair chance. Until then, my recommendations are: if you want to read poetry about flawed women with failed relationships, pick up fellow Black Sparrow Press-er Diane Wakoski. If you want short stories about sad straight white women who have vacation homes(??), pick up Joy Williams.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has all the parts of lit fiction that I find grating. Stories about folks living in NY, divorces, horses, and cheating.

These seem like topics for people who are living a different life if these are the important things. The writing is good. I enjoy the mechanics, I just don't care for the topics. I have another one by Chester left and I will read it with an eye to having something that feels more ordinary and therefore more meaningful for me.

[Rafael Pajaro - Rafa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very very girly. Very upper-class.