Salton Sea

by George McCormick

Fiction. "These are stories of the American West, a 21st century West where everyone works a shit job; whose denizens know all too well that the dreams they've dreamt of that place are just that, dreams; where the natural world has all but disappeared--often because we refuse to look up and see it. Like the inland sea that gives this collection its name, whose algae blooms 'cumulous, bloody forms just under the surface, ' there is beauty in their ruin."--Bayard Godsave"George McCormick's writing as clear and direct as a fast-moving river, but the lives of his characters never run straight. As his narrator tells us, 'In the West what we love most are lies. What we love are images of a stampede, of animals running; of what we think are the right stories of stealing away.' Don't let these marvelous stories slip past you."--Jesse Lee Kercheval

Genres: Short Stories

103 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2012

Reviews

[Nick Holmberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not read as many short stories as I ought to these days, given that I strive to publish my own short fiction. I do know, however, that this is empirically good storytelling. McCormick’s use of the Western interior states’ landscape—sparse, desolate, subtly menacing, yet strangely beautiful when taken together—deftly represent the inner life of the characters that inhabit it. This sentiment is summed up nicely in my favorite of the stories, “Birdy”: “…and I thought about how in this part of the country, no matter what the season, winter was always a little bit with you.”

I would be hard-pressed to see how McCormick is not indebted to Cormac McCarthy and Wallace Stegner. Having said that, the craft is uniquely McCormick’s. I look forward to reading his novella and hope for new tales in the future.

[Lydia · Rating 2 out of 5]

rich in symbolism, imagery, desolation, and nostalgia. character development is poor and predictable; reeks of misogyny and unoriginality (see: cormac McCarthy)

[Tuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

matter of fact short stories taking place mainly in western usa, socal, idaho, oklahoma, montana, running dope from washington st and califa back east. stories mostly about couples disintegrating or fixing to or destined to, or maybe even not.