Lâchons les chiens

by Udall Brady

247pages. poche. broché.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary

Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories to read out loud. And laugh out loud. There are elements of beauty and sadness and characters that are real and left me caring and hoping they would fare well after the stories had ended.

[Dorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite authors, and this set of short stories is one more reason to love this guy. I esp loved the title story, "Letting Loose The Hounds". In a dry but funny way, he captures the essence of the spirit of his characters, and his stories always have somewhat of a surprise ending. Quirky, sarcastic, real and unforgettable.......

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit that I have never been a huge fan of short stories. I find that the effort required to “get into” the story often doesn’t bear enough fruit by the time the story ends (usually unsatisfyingly, often even abruptly). Udall’s short stories, on the other hand, are a lot like his novels: they make the reader WANT to slow down, enjoy the writing, and just get lost in the story and, as such, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a short one or a long one—the reader will enjoy every page anyway.

This collection of eleven short stories entertains. I won’t say that there weren’t one or two that I thought could have been a little longer, or had a slightly better ending, but I didn’t find myself “shortchanged” as I often do when reading short stories (even those by other favorite authors of mine). The vivid scenes evoked by each story, the ease in which they were told, all added up to some really enjoyable time with Udall’s imagination, and this is probably my favorite collection of short stories that I've ever read.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

These were great. I didn't have many quibbles. Maybe one or two stories, the characters were a little one-dimensional, or there wasn't any resolution, but that was rare. Mostly, I didn't want this book to end. I really loved this collection. I enjoyed The Lonely Polygamist, but didn't LOVE it.. So I gave this a chance. I'm so glad I did. I'm gonna seek out anything else of his.

[John Addiego · Rating 5 out of 5]

Udall has a perfect voice for his subject matter. I loved the Lonely Polygamist, and these stories have some of the same texture, humor, craziness and sadness. I can't think of anybody who writes of the Rocky Mt states as well as he does. Such an environment of harsh beauty and sorrow and just bizarre behavior.

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of short stories, funny and sad with characters who are a lot like real people. It would be great to have another collection of short stories from Udall who is an acquaintance of mine.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basically a near perfect collection of short stories. All the details are right. All the wordplay. The pacing. The characters. Over and over. As consistent and as masterfully composed as any American collection I've ever read.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Der Autor erzählt in elf Kurzgeschichten vom Leben im amerikanischen Südwesten. Weit weg vom amerikanischen Traum und ohne wirkliche Perspektiven erleben seine Protagonisten scheinbar Alltägliches.

Es beginnt mit einem Indianer, der seinem Sohn mitten in der Nacht eine Zwergziege bringen will. Der Sohn lebt bei der Exfrau und eigentlich darf der Vater sich seinem Sohn nicht nähern. Aber was soll man machen, wenn der Junge sich nach seiner Ziege sehnt? Dass der Vater die ursprüngliche Ziege aus Frust über die Trennung hat verhungern lassen und jetzt viel zu viel Geld für einen ähnlich aussehenden Ersatz ausgegeben hat, ist Nebensache.

Aber diese Nebensache ist das, was die Geschichten ausmacht. Nichts geht glatt für die Protagonisten. Immer kommt irgendetwas dazwischen und lässt auch den besten Vorsatz scheitern. Dabei fällt auf, dass sich niemand wirklich darüber aufregt sondern die Dinge fast schon resigniert hinnimmt.

Trotzdem ist das Buch keine Sammlung von Geschichten über Verlierern. Vielmehr sind es Geschichten über Menschen, die gescheitert sind und trotzdem weitermachen, weil ihnen nichts anderes übrig bleibt.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection turned me into a Udall fan. Some gems in here.

Udall writes “He Becomes Deeply and Famously Drunk" from the point of a view of a 17-year-old cowboy, who admits right away that he is often told he needs to “pipe the hell down.” The writing is comic and poignant and efficient. Here's an example from a scene at the Mexican border:

"Everyone shouted at once and the grandma put up a high-pitched wail, the kind you hear at third-world funerals. The car fishtailed in the mud and lumbered over clumps of cactus and mesquite; I kept the lights off so I had no idea where I was going. I’m a veteran of chases like these, but this time I was scared out of my mind… Somebody in back prayed to the Virgin Mary, the kids screamed, Grandma wailed, and for once in my life I kept perfectly quiet." (215)

[Noemi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection of short stories. This is my first time reading Udall's work, and although I wasn't a fan of all the stories, a majority definitely struck me as either good or great reads. The sequence in which the stories are presented gives the experience a nice rhythm. The narration style was rich and easy to move through. I loved the way most of the characters were written. You could love them or hate them, but there was something deeper there to connect with. I recommend this collection if you're looking for dark humor, unpredictability, and a whiplash of emotions.

[Lachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite Chapters: Beautiful Places, The Opposite of Loneliness (this should be made into a movie), and The Wig. I also enjoyed the part where I ran into Kate, whom the book was dedicated to, in Winco.

[Doug Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love short stories and this book is a new favorite. Very real seeming characters- bighearted, sometimes hapless, and often getting in their own way. Some really funny moments, too.

[Courtney · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Stacy Kern · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t love short stories but got this in my “used nook of the month” subscription. These stories are a little grim or dark so not too uplifting. It did read fast though.

[Connie Hansmeyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a book of short stories. Some were humorous, sad, different. It wasn't my cup of tea but not terrible.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Letting Loose the Hounds is my first encounter with Brady Udall's work. His name kept popping up in here and there, and I read somewhere that Benjamin Percy really liked his work, this collection in particular, so I decided to check him out.

This collection came out in 1997, and it reads to me like a young man's collection, and I mean that as a compliment. There's a certain energy to these stories that comes through not only in the prose but in the stories themselves.

Of the 11 stories in the collection, 10 of them are written in the first person, and only one of the 10 is from a female perspective. Of course, I point this out not as a judgement, but merely to help give you the feel of the collection. These stories, generally, deal with young men trying to find their place in the world. Most have encountered hard times, but a sense of hope permeates virtually the entire collection, and it never feels cheese or forced. Another thing I admire is the way Udall isn't afraid to take the reader on a ride. Some strange--nearly implausible--things happen in these stories, but I was never taken out of the story because of it. For example, in "Midnight Raid," a six-foot-three Apache Indian carries a goat into his ex-wife's back yard in the middle of the night; in "Ballad of the Ball and Chain," a man leaving his bachelor party with a Civil War-era cannon ball chained to his ankle drives his convertible into a reservoir and drowns because the ball and chain make him sink; and in "Letting Loose the Hounds," Goody Yates has just gotten shoddy dental work done and is wandering along the side of the road, bleeding, out of his mind on laughing gas.

I don't think there is a single story I didn't enjoy, but among the best were "Letting Loose the Hounds," "Vernon," "Beautiful Places," "He Becomes Deeply and Famously Drunk," and an excellent, touching flash fiction piece, "The Wig," about a young boy who gets a wig out of the garbage and wears it to the breakfast table.

In all, I really enjoyed the collection. Though I probably won't get to it anytime soon, I look forward to reading Udall's newest novel, The Lonely Polygamist.

For more, see my blog: http://thestoryisthecure.blogspot.com/

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title story is a killer. I like the way it starts without saying exactly what situation the character is in or how he came to be that way. I also like that he can't talk, which creates a lot of tension in the story. "Snake" is good also, perhaps a bit too pat, because everything is telegraphed, although it does deliver the payoff. "Midnight Raid" is another powerful story full of surprising details and a great ending. Although beautifully written—in that prize-winning kind of way—I ultimately didn't buy "The Opposite of Loneliness." I didn't buy the ending, just wasn't convinced that the character could feel that way, even for that brief moment in time, and even if it were meant to be ironic, the irony wasn't deserved after the setup. I liked "Junk Court" too, particularly the way he fused the sports story with a life story, and especially the way the ending moves in several directions at the same time.

[Lee Ann Solo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of well written short stories. Not my particular brand of tea but loved the recurring themes and Udall's style throughout. If you like AZ, busted ass cars, dogs, and/or Native American themes this is your bag. Characters are amusingly flawed or nails on chalkboard or a bucket of boring...so many to choose from!

Wish they were less depressing and I wanted to strangle most MCs but c'est la vie.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book of many short stories. Udall has a funny sense of humor in his stories and I sometimes wanted to laugh out loud at the ridiculous situations his characters get into, but there's also very tragic things that happen and sometimes shocking events that go on in the stories. Sometimes they never reach any kind of resolution and it bothered me some. A few are also a little too depressing. But what I found was the most interesting about his stories was the way he would address everything was so nonchalant that it made even sad things sort of humorous. It felt like walking suddenly into someone's life and observing their behavior as a human being and then just as abruptly leaving it. It was something that it took me a longer to get through than I had anticipated, since it's a book of short stories... but I felt like by the end of it, I didn't feel like reading any more.

[Michaelclearwater Clearwater · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yick. Flat, predictable writing. This is what people complain about when the they complain about MFAs... which is a funny sentence, I think. There was one nice story about an armadillo, but I knew about that story before I read the rest of this. What I want to know is why there is such insistence in so many books on this voice that identical as it runs rampant from author to author. I blame Carver. But I also blame Cheever because he should be more popular, more widely read. That's what I think.

[Natasja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elf geweldige kortverhalen met volwaardige personages die gerust - elk op zich - een hele roman hadden kunnen vullen . Udall maakt enorm goed gebruik van zijn woorden en zinnen, alles draagt bij tot het definiëren van de karakters en de setting. Ik heb het boek gelezen in vertaling en die was ook zéér goed, zo wordt He becomes deeply and famously drunk bijvoorbeeld vertaald als Zwaar en roemrucht dronken worden, wat ik eigenlijk nog beter vind. De titels zijn trouwens altijd ongelooflijk raak gekozen, ze gaven me telkens een aha-ervaring.
Een auteur die blijft verrassen...

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic short story collection. Every story is amazing, but I think my favorite is "The Wig." It's what's commonly referred to in the literary world as a short-short. It's about a page and a half long. And it amazes me every time how much emotion can be put into that little page and a half. Really great collection--and this coming from a gal who gets irritated by short stories simply because they're so short!

[Tim Storm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny stories with somewhat pathetic, down-on-their-luck characters who find themselves in some bizarre situations, like the first story Midnight Raid, which is about a drunk guy sneaking through a wealthy suburb to find his son, who lives with the ex-wife and her new husband, so that he can deliver a goat. Udall is a master at the emotional climax, and his stories usually end with some genuine redemption and hope.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very engrossing stories. Several have exciting plots, but not all; some stories are more about giving voice to a character and seeing that character's world through a more mundane episode, which is just as engrossing. Though most of these stories take place in the American southwest, each has a distinct setting and narrator that keep the book fresh throughout. Brady Udall is a masterful writer of heartfelt stories. I highly recommend this book.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Brady Udall's work. I've read his books in backwards order, so have come to his first work, this short story collection, last. But it just confirms what I've already known - Udall is a fantastic writer who is deserving of a far wider audience. His writing is a joy to read. It's funny, sad, moving, quirky and a whole load of other things. If you've not read any of his stuff, what are you waiting for?! Go on, you won't regret it!

[Simon A. Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read Udall's great story "Buckeye the Elder" in an Iowa Workshop Reader first and then picked up this nice little collection. He's also been on the wonderful "This American Life" radio program a few times. He's a very intoxicating reader and from what I understand, an accomplished teacher. His style comes across as effortless.

[Kathryn Parmeter · Rating 4 out of 5]

TBD. The first story scared me, because a goat was harmed in the making of it in a particularly subliminally ghastly way--our narrator failed to feed it and it was picked apart by vultures.

I'm not sure if I can make it through Brady's desensitized use of animals as props in his er exploration of the male psyche etc and so on. The story is good, though.

[Marita]

Ok so I can't say I actually read this whole book. But it is a book of short stories and I did read some of them, but I can't claim to be reading it either. It has been a few months since I picked it up. But, I bet I pick it up again and read a few more stories as time goes on. The stories are pretty darn good.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice collection of 11 short stories. Some of the stories are funny, some dark, some touching. But every one of them rings of real situations, real characters and real life. I can't wait to read The Lonely Polygamist. Mary, thanks for the suggestion and for some of the stories behind these stories.

[Cassandra. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Up front, I have to confess that I am not a fan of short stories. However, I am a fan of Brady Udall. His writing is captivating. His characters are so well developed, I feel as though I know them. If you live in Arizona, or have visited & love the state - you MUST read his books.
My only complaint is he has not written any new books in a long time!