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A Wooded Shore: And Other Stories
From the award-winning “master of the short story” (The New York Times Book Review)—nine shattering, hilarious tales of men on the outskirts of America, habituating the motels, hot dog stands, and dive bars time forgot, grappling with a world that is swiftly changing and dreaming of a return to the wooded shores of their youths
In these nine peerless stories, a family boating trip veers into emotional disaster while very narrowly avoiding the physical; A would-be cheater hands over his car—his prized possession—for a shot with a pretty girl; A furniture magnate and his filmmaker daughter visit his impoverished hometown; A doctor’s long-ago affair returns with a bitter pill. Crackling with wry humor, shot through with both wisdom and pain, these are stories of grifters and dreamers, of the lovelorn and the lawless, stories of the ongoing dissonance between the lives we want and the lives this world will allow.
In these nine peerless stories, a family boating trip veers into emotional disaster while very narrowly avoiding the physical; A would-be cheater hands over his car—his prized possession—for a shot with a pretty girl; A furniture magnate and his filmmaker daughter visit his impoverished hometown; A doctor’s long-ago affair returns with a bitter pill. Crackling with wry humor, shot through with both wisdom and pain, these are stories of grifters and dreamers, of the lovelorn and the lawless, stories of the ongoing dissonance between the lives we want and the lives this world will allow.
192 pages, Hardcover
Published October 14, 2025
58 people are currently reading
3302 people want to read
About the author
Thomas McGuane
75 books461 followersThomas Francis McGuane III is an American writer. His work includes ten novels, short fiction and screenplays, as well as three collections of essays devoted to his life in the outdoors. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, National Cutting Horse Association Members Hall of Fame and the Fly-Fishing Hall of Fame.
McGuane's early novels were noted for a comic appreciation for the irrational core of many human endeavors, multiple takes on the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s. His later writing reflected an increasing devotion to family relationships and relationships with the natural world in the changing American West, primarily Montana, where he has made his home since 1968, and where his last five novels and many of his essays are set. He has three children, Annie, Maggie and Thomas.
McGuane's early novels were noted for a comic appreciation for the irrational core of many human endeavors, multiple takes on the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s. His later writing reflected an increasing devotion to family relationships and relationships with the natural world in the changing American West, primarily Montana, where he has made his home since 1968, and where his last five novels and many of his essays are set. He has three children, Annie, Maggie and Thomas.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 20, 2025
The best thing about men never changing is that sometimes we get great art about men refusing to change
November 6, 2025
This is my introduction to the writing of McGuane, through nine stories of people whose lives are going nowhere, set in the mid-West, and mainly in Montana.
I enjoyed the bleakness of his prose, but even more the dark humour which punctuates it. He reminds me Willy Vlautin, though not quite as dark.
Thataway - A chain-store furniture magnate living in Palm Springs returns home for the funeral of a sister he hasn’t had any contact with for many years. The disastrous visit makes him realise that he has no home, and then sees as pointless his return trip to California.
Crazy About A Mercury - A hot-rod enthusiast who built wire fences in Iraq during the war on a civilian contract now inspects nursing homes for code infractions. He is very much in love with his partner, Coral, a big girl who ‘uses her beauty like a weapon’. She dislikes the narrator’s name, Clark, and instead calls him Clyde.
Take Half, Leave Half is a western, and it is clear McGuane is really at home here. Grant and Rufus are rounding up cattle in true cowboy fashion. Tough men though they are, this facade breaks down as they reminisce about when they were young teenagers and some of the characters that stood out, notably the old man Bror Edison, who claimed he’d invented electricity back when there were few people around to say he hadn’t. A couple of years later his father told him that Edison had parked his ‘flivver’ on the tracks of what many still called the Great Northern line, ‘and kissed all them doctor bills goodbye.’ Edison was uncharitably criticised for parking in such a way that Gladys’s side would be struck first. ‘Bror was a detail man,’ Grant’s father said. ‘He invented electricity.’
His protagonists, usually male, on the wrongside of middle age, typically forgetful and often clueless. Their glamorous ideal of their American West has been undermined by frauds, ‘Life in the West was a beautiful idea, best left in that state, a conviction not easily conveyed.. The place was infested with land speculators: house flippers, ranch flippers, and river flippers.’
I enjoyed the bleakness of his prose, but even more the dark humour which punctuates it. He reminds me Willy Vlautin, though not quite as dark.
Thataway - A chain-store furniture magnate living in Palm Springs returns home for the funeral of a sister he hasn’t had any contact with for many years. The disastrous visit makes him realise that he has no home, and then sees as pointless his return trip to California.
Crazy About A Mercury - A hot-rod enthusiast who built wire fences in Iraq during the war on a civilian contract now inspects nursing homes for code infractions. He is very much in love with his partner, Coral, a big girl who ‘uses her beauty like a weapon’. She dislikes the narrator’s name, Clark, and instead calls him Clyde.
Take Half, Leave Half is a western, and it is clear McGuane is really at home here. Grant and Rufus are rounding up cattle in true cowboy fashion. Tough men though they are, this facade breaks down as they reminisce about when they were young teenagers and some of the characters that stood out, notably the old man Bror Edison, who claimed he’d invented electricity back when there were few people around to say he hadn’t. A couple of years later his father told him that Edison had parked his ‘flivver’ on the tracks of what many still called the Great Northern line, ‘and kissed all them doctor bills goodbye.’ Edison was uncharitably criticised for parking in such a way that Gladys’s side would be struck first. ‘Bror was a detail man,’ Grant’s father said. ‘He invented electricity.’
His protagonists, usually male, on the wrongside of middle age, typically forgetful and often clueless. Their glamorous ideal of their American West has been undermined by frauds, ‘Life in the West was a beautiful idea, best left in that state, a conviction not easily conveyed.. The place was infested with land speculators: house flippers, ranch flippers, and river flippers.’
November 23, 2025
This was a huge disappointment, after reading and admiring Gallatin Canyon. McGuane may be showing his age -curmudgeonly, dyspeptic, misanthropic, mean-spirited - he mocks his down-and-out characters with pitiless scorn - no sympathy is spared - he knowingly winks at his readers to share his condescension.
That said, McGuane’s skill as a writer shines through: the stories are well-constructed, the language is sharp
Wide Spot - “The small-bore politics I’ve been caught up in for the past thirty years has provided, beyond the usual attractions of graft and corruption, a vivid lesson in regional geography, as I’ve had to make sure my constituents would keep showing up to vote.” The narrator travels to the town formerly known as Wide Spot Montana, has an awkward encounter with the lead singer of a band in which he long ago played piano, and skedaddles out of town after trying to hook up with the old singer’s daughter.
Balloons - Town doctor cuckolds Roger Krebs, who then turns to him for help after his wife dumps him and leaves town. When Roger commits suicide, the doctor “soon learned that the note he left behind thanked me by name for ending his life. So it seems he knew after all, and made sure I would be repaid accordingly.”
Retail - Roy, a sad-sack insurance salesman lusts after Dale, a scheming lady looking for her next “arrangement” following the death of the elderly doctor she lived with.
Slant Six - An oblique tale of Drew and Lucy drifting through life and a drab marriage, in Drew’s hometown: “Whatever kept him hanging on to his old car was probably what kept him in this town, clinging to something that wasn’t there anymore.” (Slant 6 refers to the engine of Drew’s old Dodge Dart). A smorgasbord of eccentric characters, dialogues full of non-sequiturs, and a haphazard storyline leave the reader with a sense of random pointlessness to life in the changing small towns of Montana. Mike, a blustering newcomer to town is obsessed with a deed restriction to his property that leaves a right of interment to family members of the previous owner.
Thataway - Cooper left his prairie home for Southern California, found moderate success as a cowboy actor, and monetized his notoriety in a chain of used furniture stores based in Palm Springs. His daughter Bonny is filming a documentary of his life. They return to his hometown on the death of his sister Mildred, for a mutually embarrassing clash of low cultures. A surviving spinster sister follows him back to Palm Springs to Cooper’s dismay.
Not Here You Don’t - After his father died, Cary returned his ashes to the old family homestead in Montana, which is now owned by an out-of-state settlor who accosts Cary for trespassing. Unmoored from his roots, and living in an eastern city with a broken marriage and unfulfilling office job, Cary suffers depression.
Crazy About a Mercury -
Take Half, Leave Half -
A Wooded Shore -
That said, McGuane’s skill as a writer shines through: the stories are well-constructed, the language is sharp
Wide Spot - “The small-bore politics I’ve been caught up in for the past thirty years has provided, beyond the usual attractions of graft and corruption, a vivid lesson in regional geography, as I’ve had to make sure my constituents would keep showing up to vote.” The narrator travels to the town formerly known as Wide Spot Montana, has an awkward encounter with the lead singer of a band in which he long ago played piano, and skedaddles out of town after trying to hook up with the old singer’s daughter.
Balloons - Town doctor cuckolds Roger Krebs, who then turns to him for help after his wife dumps him and leaves town. When Roger commits suicide, the doctor “soon learned that the note he left behind thanked me by name for ending his life. So it seems he knew after all, and made sure I would be repaid accordingly.”
Retail - Roy, a sad-sack insurance salesman lusts after Dale, a scheming lady looking for her next “arrangement” following the death of the elderly doctor she lived with.
Slant Six - An oblique tale of Drew and Lucy drifting through life and a drab marriage, in Drew’s hometown: “Whatever kept him hanging on to his old car was probably what kept him in this town, clinging to something that wasn’t there anymore.” (Slant 6 refers to the engine of Drew’s old Dodge Dart). A smorgasbord of eccentric characters, dialogues full of non-sequiturs, and a haphazard storyline leave the reader with a sense of random pointlessness to life in the changing small towns of Montana. Mike, a blustering newcomer to town is obsessed with a deed restriction to his property that leaves a right of interment to family members of the previous owner.
Thataway - Cooper left his prairie home for Southern California, found moderate success as a cowboy actor, and monetized his notoriety in a chain of used furniture stores based in Palm Springs. His daughter Bonny is filming a documentary of his life. They return to his hometown on the death of his sister Mildred, for a mutually embarrassing clash of low cultures. A surviving spinster sister follows him back to Palm Springs to Cooper’s dismay.
Not Here You Don’t - After his father died, Cary returned his ashes to the old family homestead in Montana, which is now owned by an out-of-state settlor who accosts Cary for trespassing. Unmoored from his roots, and living in an eastern city with a broken marriage and unfulfilling office job, Cary suffers depression.
Crazy About a Mercury -
Take Half, Leave Half -
A Wooded Shore -
October 8, 2025
This was my first time reading Thomas McGuane, and I’ve heard incredible things about his work over the years. I thought introducing myself to his writing through a collection of short stories would be the perfect way to start, and A Wooded Shore certainly gave me a clear sense of his distinctive voice.
McGuane’s prose has a distinct sharpness; spare, dry, and sardonic, with a kind of austere precision that’s instantly recognizable. There’s no lyricism here, no flowery introspection. Instead, his sentences are economical and deadpan, often infused with a wry sense of humor. It’s the sort of writing that demands patience and appreciation for craft over comfort, and I can see how this style will absolutely resonate with a certain type of reader.
That said, I realized this kind of prose just isn’t quite for me. The stories in A Wooded Shore feel like an intricate study of men of different ages and circumstances who are lost, searching, or quietly unraveling in the margins of their own lives. There’s a ruggedness to these narratives that reflects McGuane’s long-standing fascination with solitude, masculinity, and the absurdity of everyday existence.
I also appreciated the bits of slang and the light touches of political perspective that surface throughout the book. They added a refreshing and ironic edge to several stories and even made me laugh in unexpected moments.
Ironically, the story I loved most was “Thataway,” which steps slightly outside that mold. It follows a pair of siblings, threading together witty humor, memory, and death in a way that felt more alive and resonant to me. It had warmth beneath the dryness, a glimpse of humanity that lingered after I finished reading.
Overall, A Wooded Shore showcases McGuane’s mastery of a plainspoken, no-nonsense voice, but it’s also a collection that will likely speak most strongly to readers who appreciate his austere and understated approach to storytelling, those drawn to life’s absurd corners rather than its comforts.
McGuane’s prose has a distinct sharpness; spare, dry, and sardonic, with a kind of austere precision that’s instantly recognizable. There’s no lyricism here, no flowery introspection. Instead, his sentences are economical and deadpan, often infused with a wry sense of humor. It’s the sort of writing that demands patience and appreciation for craft over comfort, and I can see how this style will absolutely resonate with a certain type of reader.
That said, I realized this kind of prose just isn’t quite for me. The stories in A Wooded Shore feel like an intricate study of men of different ages and circumstances who are lost, searching, or quietly unraveling in the margins of their own lives. There’s a ruggedness to these narratives that reflects McGuane’s long-standing fascination with solitude, masculinity, and the absurdity of everyday existence.
I also appreciated the bits of slang and the light touches of political perspective that surface throughout the book. They added a refreshing and ironic edge to several stories and even made me laugh in unexpected moments.
Ironically, the story I loved most was “Thataway,” which steps slightly outside that mold. It follows a pair of siblings, threading together witty humor, memory, and death in a way that felt more alive and resonant to me. It had warmth beneath the dryness, a glimpse of humanity that lingered after I finished reading.
Overall, A Wooded Shore showcases McGuane’s mastery of a plainspoken, no-nonsense voice, but it’s also a collection that will likely speak most strongly to readers who appreciate his austere and understated approach to storytelling, those drawn to life’s absurd corners rather than its comforts.
August 23, 2025
Thomas McGuane: A wooded shore
Knopf
Advance copy via Netgalley; Uncorrected eBook file
Publication date October 13, 2025
ISBN 978-0385350235
I was provided an early uncorrected e-proof of the text. I encountered no writing errors.
Six stories appeared earlier in The Paris Review or The New Yorker.
My previous exposure to the author’s work includes story collections (Crow Fair; Cloudbursts), entries in Best of … collections, and stories appearing in The Paris Review. In each of these older offerings, the author excelled in providing a consistently enjoyable reading experience. Sentences in every McGuane story offer an abundance of satisfying nuance. I was quite excited to receive an ARC for A Wooded Shore.
The new collection is quite short, offering stories usually centered in Montana. The title story, based on the East Coast, is much longer and would have made a fascinating short novel. In this title story, content covers events in a family’s life span and exposes both humorous and calamitous elements.
The stories set in Montana remind me of YouTube videos that travel through small towns, highlighting people’s lives through data drawn from census reports. The difference in McGuane’s stories is that he brings these data into brilliant life, illustrating the actions and thoughts of his interesting characters.
The shorter stories in this collection were just as much fun to read as the longer ones. McGuane is a gifted writer, one who captures the human experience in compassionate detail, and guides readers to deeper truths as they navigate his writing.
Highly recommended!
*****
Knopf
Advance copy via Netgalley; Uncorrected eBook file
Publication date October 13, 2025
ISBN 978-0385350235
I was provided an early uncorrected e-proof of the text. I encountered no writing errors.
Six stories appeared earlier in The Paris Review or The New Yorker.
My previous exposure to the author’s work includes story collections (Crow Fair; Cloudbursts), entries in Best of … collections, and stories appearing in The Paris Review. In each of these older offerings, the author excelled in providing a consistently enjoyable reading experience. Sentences in every McGuane story offer an abundance of satisfying nuance. I was quite excited to receive an ARC for A Wooded Shore.
The new collection is quite short, offering stories usually centered in Montana. The title story, based on the East Coast, is much longer and would have made a fascinating short novel. In this title story, content covers events in a family’s life span and exposes both humorous and calamitous elements.
The stories set in Montana remind me of YouTube videos that travel through small towns, highlighting people’s lives through data drawn from census reports. The difference in McGuane’s stories is that he brings these data into brilliant life, illustrating the actions and thoughts of his interesting characters.
The shorter stories in this collection were just as much fun to read as the longer ones. McGuane is a gifted writer, one who captures the human experience in compassionate detail, and guides readers to deeper truths as they navigate his writing.
Highly recommended!
*****
October 12, 2025
I would have appreciated these short stories more if I had read them individually. Each story about a lonely/lost man is unique and interesting, but it's just a lot to read them all right in a row. The settings of most of the stories were also a bit jarring because the cover picture references the final story, but most of the stories are set in landlocked states. ARC courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.
November 13, 2025
An excellent collection by one of the finest American writers. McGuane is equally good at describing the western landscape and the interior mind of an orphan. The novella that gives the book its title was narrated well, but the ending seemed like he was just done with the characters. Overall, the writing is so good that I have to read some non-fiction as my next book, because no writer is going to come close to this.
November 14, 2025
As a reader I appreciate characters who provide comic relief.
What tries my patience are works in which every character provides humor, all the time. That's comedy, but it's not relief, it's exhausting.
Juxtapose short story after short story where no characters are stable but all are written to be funny, weird, abnormal, have an addiction, are miscreants, you get the idea, it's not only annoying, it's boring.
What tries my patience are works in which every character provides humor, all the time. That's comedy, but it's not relief, it's exhausting.
Juxtapose short story after short story where no characters are stable but all are written to be funny, weird, abnormal, have an addiction, are miscreants, you get the idea, it's not only annoying, it's boring.
Read
October 29, 2025Not his best, but better than most. So many good one liners in here, like “He’s like many locals who think they’re country when all they are is rural.” and, following a characters bad accident, “It wasn’t the end of the world, but you could see it from there.”
November 5, 2025
First time reading any McGuane, it won’t be my last! What can I say? I just love stories about flawed men. These stories were just the right amount of sad, and the subtle humor throughout made me chuckle out loud several times.
July 23, 2025
It was a good read.
October 23, 2025
the title story is a masterpiece.
November 14, 2025
Only kept reading because I wanted it to be over
December 12, 2025
Hmmm… DNF. A few stories were good/fine. Writing was so much much train of thought, much like the little I’ve read of Cormac McCarthy. It just doesn’t speak to me.
December 15, 2025
felt formulaic at times.
December 22, 2025
Not exactly what you'd expect but very, very close.
December 25, 2025
my favorite short story writer. every laugh comes with a cry. he ventures away from the wilds of the plains and rockies to DC in the longest title story
June 26, 2025
Another gem from Thomas McGuane, this will appeal to men who wallow in the hilarity of failure and drink; men existing on the periphery of America, and not really giving a damn about anything. Hot dogs, motels, whiskey-sodden bars, somehow McGuane writes trailer park, white-trash life into exhilarating, inspirational literary fiction. And then the final story offers something completely different.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews