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The Tall Uncut: Stories
Stories deal with hunting and fishing, long car trips through open landscape, and relationships in the American West
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
25 people want to read
About the author
Pete Fromm
32 books221 followersPete Fromm is a five time winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Literary Award for his novels IF NOT FOR THIS, AS COOL AS I AM and HOW ALL THIS STARTED, a story collection, DRY RAIN, and the memoir, INDIAN CREEK CHRONICLES. The film of AS COOL AS I AM, starring Claire Danes, James Marsden, and Sarah Bolger was released in 2013. He is the author of four other short story collections and has published over two hundred stories in magazines. He is on the faculty of Oregon’s Pacific University’s Low-Residency MFA Program, and lives in Montana with his family.
http://www.petefromm.com
http://www.petefromm.com
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 21, 2022
Pete Fromm’s love affair with Montana and the outdoors shines through in this volume of short stories, but it’s magnified by his observation of human relationships and emotions.
April 8, 2012
This slim volume of stories by a young Montana writer focuses on the perspectives of youth - first romances, newlyweds, relationships between parents and children. His mastery of the craft of storytelling makes them sparkle with precision, and his knowledge and apparent love of hunting and fishing give them a dimension not often found in fiction.
My favorite in this collection, "Broken Flock," weaves together the story of a boy and his divorced father, duck hunting together, and a lesson about life that draws an analogy between shooting into a flock of flying birds and the excitement of romantic conquests. A close second, "Bone Yard," concerns a game warden whose nights in a cemetery watching for poachers are an excuse to stay away from a failing marriage.
Tyrannical, self-absorbed, and absent fathers figure in several stories, like the uncle in "Trash Fish," whose rage has made him the black sheep of the family, finally alienating his nephew while they are fishing. The spirit of a dying father attends his son and the old man's friend as they hunt turkeys in "Spring," and an already dead father leaves a bitter legacy to his three sons in "Eulogy."
Infidelity is the subject of other stories, as the wife of an unfaithful husband in "Bean Time" waits patiently for him to end an affair and only then experiences a change of heart about him. The discovery of an unfaithful wife sends her buttoned-down husband on a cross-country trip to New Orleans in "Mardi Gras." A young fisherman struggling with guilt and remorse over an extramarital dalliance is caught in a storm-tossed lake in "Storm Clouds."
Meanwhile, the sweetness of young love finds plausible and quirky expression in "Eloping," as a lawman welcomes his L.A. bride-to-be to Montana. In "Breathing On the Third Stroke," a swimmer comes to terms with his basketball playing young wife. In "Shooting Stars," a broke but optimistic couple has car trouble at night on an Indian reservation. And in "Mighty Mouse and Blue Cheese From the Moon," a young wife copes good humoredly on a fishing trip with her not-so-bright husband.
A well-written book filled with many small pleasures, a depth of compassion for people of sometimes limited resources, an understanding of heartbreak and resolve, and a love of the outdoors.
My favorite in this collection, "Broken Flock," weaves together the story of a boy and his divorced father, duck hunting together, and a lesson about life that draws an analogy between shooting into a flock of flying birds and the excitement of romantic conquests. A close second, "Bone Yard," concerns a game warden whose nights in a cemetery watching for poachers are an excuse to stay away from a failing marriage.
Tyrannical, self-absorbed, and absent fathers figure in several stories, like the uncle in "Trash Fish," whose rage has made him the black sheep of the family, finally alienating his nephew while they are fishing. The spirit of a dying father attends his son and the old man's friend as they hunt turkeys in "Spring," and an already dead father leaves a bitter legacy to his three sons in "Eulogy."
Infidelity is the subject of other stories, as the wife of an unfaithful husband in "Bean Time" waits patiently for him to end an affair and only then experiences a change of heart about him. The discovery of an unfaithful wife sends her buttoned-down husband on a cross-country trip to New Orleans in "Mardi Gras." A young fisherman struggling with guilt and remorse over an extramarital dalliance is caught in a storm-tossed lake in "Storm Clouds."
Meanwhile, the sweetness of young love finds plausible and quirky expression in "Eloping," as a lawman welcomes his L.A. bride-to-be to Montana. In "Breathing On the Third Stroke," a swimmer comes to terms with his basketball playing young wife. In "Shooting Stars," a broke but optimistic couple has car trouble at night on an Indian reservation. And in "Mighty Mouse and Blue Cheese From the Moon," a young wife copes good humoredly on a fishing trip with her not-so-bright husband.
A well-written book filled with many small pleasures, a depth of compassion for people of sometimes limited resources, an understanding of heartbreak and resolve, and a love of the outdoors.
June 27, 2011
Switching from a successful nonfiction book (Indian Creek Chronicles) to a first fiction collection is difficult as a young writer.
Obviously, Fromm is gifted. And he becomes an excellent fiction writer later with How All This Started. But he's just not there yet - not when he writes The Tall Uncut - and that's okay.
There are moments. Perfect moments of the land and the dark and cars winding through the plains.
Then there is the title story, "The Tall Uncut," that shows his talent. And it's placement in the book, last, foreshadows a career to come.
Obviously, Fromm is gifted. And he becomes an excellent fiction writer later with How All This Started. But he's just not there yet - not when he writes The Tall Uncut - and that's okay.
There are moments. Perfect moments of the land and the dark and cars winding through the plains.
Then there is the title story, "The Tall Uncut," that shows his talent. And it's placement in the book, last, foreshadows a career to come.
November 30, 2010
I'm not a fan of short stories, but I enjoyed all of these. None of them were very long, some were only a few pages, but they managed to make thier point and left me thinking about them for a long time afterwards. I like Pete Fromm's non-fiction and I still like it better than these fiction stories, but his writing is excellent in both genres. The stories aren't overly happy, but partly because of that they seem more real.
April 13, 2017
There are some short story treasures here.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews