The Oregon Variations

by William L. Sullivan

Oregon's bestselling author celebrates the state's quirks with this entertaining and often irreverent collection of short stories.
Hang on for the ride as we meet Beaverton roller derby queens, Hells Canyon Hot Shot fire crews, cantankerous Newport fishermen, and a Portland bookstore owner who buys the mystic Oregon Vortex on a hunch.
Modeled after Bach's Goldberg Variations, the stories reel from flash fiction to parody, all the time revolving around deeper themes of love, loneliness, and art.

342 pages, Paperback

First published February 12, 2014

About the author

Sullivan completed his B.A. in English at Cornell University, studied linguistics at Germany's Heidelberg University, and earned an M.A. in German at the University of Oregon.
In 1985 he backpacked 1000 miles across Oregon's wilderness. His journal of that adventure, "Listening for Coyote", topped the New York Times' year-end review of travel books and was chosen one of the 100 most significant books in Oregon history.
Since then he has written many novels, hiking guidebooks, and historical works. His memoir, "Cabin Fever", describes the 25 summers he and his wife Janell spent building a log cabin by hand along a roadless river in the wilds of Oregon's Coast Range. Each summer he still lives and writes at the cabin.
Sullivan reads in seven languages, plays the pipe organ, undertakes backcountry ski expeditions, and volunteers to support libraries.

Reviews

[John Avery · Rating 3 out of 5]

My star rating is an average. Some stories are really well written and I enjoyed them. Others included seemingly (to me) unnecessary sexual content, including lesbian behavior, so I stopped reading. A few chapters are poems and they were lost on me. A few stories seem to end rather abruptly and oddly in magical or mystical moments.
Mr Sullivan is an experienced writer of hiking guides and, more recently, some great mysteries. This book is a different approach. Each story is set in Oregon. By the end of the book, every county in Oregon has been mentioned. A more complex layering of meaning throughout the chapters is explained by the author at the end of the book. The layering is certainly clever, and it works, but again I missed it while reading.
Overall, the best stories make the book worthwhile.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the twists and turns of these stories and the local spin...

[Sara Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of short stories all based in various parts of Oregon. Beside each story's title was a little map of Oregon with the counties relevant to that story shaded in grey. A lot more sci-fi / magic realism stuff than I was expecting. The sense of place throughout all the stories was a comfortable anchor. I'd like revisit this collection in another few years after I've hopefully seen more of the places he writes about.

[RYD · Rating 3 out of 5]

My dad, who lives in Eugene, Oregon, got me this book of short stories as a gift. They are alright, though I think you can tell why William L. Sullivan is a regional, and not a nationally-known, writer. Some of the stories are real clunkers. The best was "Hemlock," about a woman's battle with dementia, which I thought was both touching and creative.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable ride through every county in Oregon, Bill Sullivan tells slightly off the wall stories, from Hotshots in Redmond to Roller Derbies in Portand.