The Weather and Women Treat Me Fair

by Percival Everett

These stories by Percival Everett, teacher at the University of Kentucky and author of Suder, Walk Me to the Distance and Cutting Lisa, are unified by spare dialogue, tight plot development and the outdoors written in deadpan, ironic and almost casual prose.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

115 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1987

About the author

Percival L. Everett (born 1956) is an American writer and Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California.

There might not be a more fertile mind in American fiction today than Everett’s. In 22 years, he has written 19 books, including a farcical Western, a savage satire of the publishing industry, a children’s story spoofing counting books, retellings of the Greek myths of Medea and Dionysus, and a philosophical tract narrated by a four-year-old.

The Washington Post has called Everett “one of the most adventurously experimental of modern American novelists.” And according to The Boston Globe, “He’s literature’s NASCAR champion, going flat out, narrowly avoiding one seemingly inevitable crash only to steer straight for the next.”

Everett, who teaches courses in creative writing, American studies and critical theory, says he writes about what interests him, which explains his prolific output and the range of subjects he has tackled. He also describes himself as a demanding teacher who learns from his students as much as they learn from him.

Everett’s writing has earned him the PEN USA 2006 Literary Award (for his 2005 novel, Wounded), the Academy Award for Literature of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award (for his 2001 novel, Erasure), the PEN/Oakland-Josephine Miles Award for Excellence in Literature (for his 1996 story collection, Big Picture) and the New American Writing Award (for his 1990 novel, Zulus). He has served as a judge for, among others, the 1997 National Book Award for fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction in 1991.

Reviews

[Betsy Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is early, 1987, Percival Everett work and he has matured considerably since it was published. Yet there was not one story or slice-of-life sketch that did not make me resonate with a personal memory, feel, think, laugh, gasp, contemplate, or pause for a while to digest the bigger meaning.

This is my sixteenth Percival Everett book and the first I've read since finally seeing the man in person at a panel about literature's role in empathy held at New York City's Helix Center (see video). When I asked him to sign my copy of Erasure, I told him that my head exploded when I first discovered his work, and his eyes danced. He was still—he doesn't move around a lot, or at least he sat quietly during the panel discussion—but his energy never stops dancing. I was not surprised. It was that energy as much as the writing that initially exploded my gray matter. But now that I have seen the man in person, I find all this even more amusing and exciting. As a writer who believes the work should be enough, I hate admitting that. But seeing the man in body heightened my enjoyment.

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightfully spry and fun collection. This is right after Cutting Lisa so you get a young Percival, which, in this case, offers a wider scope than the thematic collections to come. One, essentially an extended riffing off a very funny joke, is outright glorious in its commitment to absurdity.

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Percival Everett's short stories draw you immediately in and leave you satisfied -- even those that are only a couple of printed pages. This collection was published in 1987, and I read it after reading many of his subsequently published novels. It was interesting to see some of these stories appeared as brief segments in or formed the beginning threads of those later long-form novels. That's one of the many cool things I enjoy with authors who have published expansively over decades.

[Patty]

Many of these earlier stories lack the subtlety that I love so much in his more recent work. Some of them that don't have it are strong stories anyway, but they are more "ordinary" shorts, for lack of a better word. Some of the stories that do have that subtlety are more like sketches than stories, and a couple of them are kind of disturbing. Well worth reading, if you are a PE fan and can get your hands on this book. I was able to get the e-book from the new york public library.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing my survey of Percival Everett, I read this short story collection by Everett, his first. The stories are not a subtle as his later work, but still uniformly excellent (and short). "The Bear as Symbol" is one of the funniest short stories I have read in awhile about a paranoid man in Arkansas who decides he must fight a trespassing bear with a knife, with all his neighbors watching. If you want to get away from the usual tired neurotic fiction, check out Everett - any Everett.

[Clara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75
I really enjoyed this collection, especially the first three quarters. The characters were very distinct and fleshed out, which is really hard to do with stories that are so short. I just love how Percival writes.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

The town of Coy was one which rallied behind its citizens in any endeavours, and the pursuit of premature and imbecilic death would not go unobserved.

Why isn't this Everett more well known? Short stories just the way I like them. Short, funny, occasionally unsettling. What's not to love? Looking forward to his novels.

[Jennifer Kanke · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories have taught me that sometimes you can just leave it at that.

[Carol Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

That took no time at all. The author used occasionally descriptive language, had minimal staging for his stories, and offered abbreviated dialogue. Still, his characters are memorable.

[cc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been wanting to read Percival Everett for a while now, and this was a nice introduction. Would make a nice companion to Denis Johnson.

[David Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of 15 short stories.

Having read (and having disliked, for the most part) Percival Everett's first two novels, I had rather low expectations for this book.

Good News! I liked exactly one of the stories, so my expectations were exceeded!

In all seriousness, there were moments through this book when I was able to appreciate the writing and could at least discern his attempts at humor. Unfortunately, whether it's subject matter in general or his storytelling itself, (I would call his style 'loose' and consider that a generous critique.) I am still left feeling like his stories are missing the mark...or at least MY mark.

Oh, the story I liked? I can't give that information away here. That might lead to judgments about me!

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice collection of short stories tightly constructed, with an authentic voice and sense of timing. Stories with endings that are satisfying on many different levels. Such a good time exploring these tales!

Food: BLT and chips; beer.

[Holly]

Read 4 or 5 stories. DNF

[Timbo · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times the reader feels as if Everett is trying too hard to be impressive, but this is just the indication of a burgeoning great writer pushing against limitations.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

An early collection of Everett’s short stories (1987). These are more like vignettes than those of his later stories I have read, which are all brilliantly crafted. It seems like he has just recorded the essence of many promising characters or happenings here.

[Rob Harvilla]

The town of Coy was one which rallied behind its citizens in any endeavors, and the pursuit of premature and imbecilic death would not go unobserved.