Unbridled Spirits: Short Fiction about Women in the Old West ed. by Judy Alter, A. T. Row

Abstract

226 WesternAmerican Literature life, death, dreams and sex are pasted bit by bit to suggest the ambiguity inherentin the reconstruction offamilyhistory. Shigekuni’smasterful handling of multiple narrative voices, ranging from a young second-grader’svoice to a senile, cranky old woman’s, helps us navigate through her exploration of mother-daughter relationships. The novel has little to offer those looking for something ethnic: no haiku and no sushi. Rather, it offers a sharp picture ofthe mess thatwe call life, and it signals the emergence ofaverytalentedwriter, a much needed presence in the Japanese American literary scene after Hisaye Yamamoto, David Mura, and SylviaWatanabe. SEIWOONG OH Rider University Unbridled Spirits: ShortFiction about 'Women in the Old West. Edited byJudy Alter and A. T. Row. (Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press, 1994. 365 pages, $17.95.) UnbridledSpiritscollects short fiction which depictswomen during pioneer days in the old West. The volume is divided into three parts: “Classic”women writers (Mary Hallock Foote, Willa Cather, Mari Sandoz, DorothyJohnson); “Other” women writers: (Gertrude Atherton, Mary Austin, Jeanne Williams, Carla Kelly,JudyAlter, MarciaMuller) and “Some”malewriters (BretHarte, O. Henry, Owen Wister, Charles Esten,Jack London,Jack Schaefer, Elmer Kelton, RobertFlynn, and Elmer Leonard).The divisionsreflectthe editors’suncertain aims: they seem to be unable to decide if the volume should make a political statement, orjust be a good read. And it is a good read, bringing briefly to life a spectrum of bright women. There’s Kathryn, the protagonist of Marcia Muller’s “Sweet Cactus Wine.” Instead ofgiving us awhodunit, as isher custom, Muller tellswhy the indepen­ dent widow commits murder by saguaro. Also, there’sMaryAustin’sTizessina, who defies tribal tradition and takes awhite lover. However, the title, Unbridled Spirits, is misleading. Women characters such as Elmore Leonard’s “Tonto Woman”—and others as well—are caught in the maw ofgenre, and most still relyupon men to rescue them from their predica­ ment, and relyupon marriage as the one happy ending. The book iscaught in expectation: who isa “classic”woman writer? How did Marcia Muller and Carla Kelly get “othered?”Why are the guys the most othered of all, consigned to a section wherein there are not even any “classics?” Maybe a simple arrangement byauthor’sbirth datewould have avoided the ghettoizing ofmale writers, or, ifthis volume were indeed to explore women in the West more deeply, the introduction should have explained itself and the Reviews 227 anthology carefully and at length to us. As it stands, the book is something less than ideal and indeed seems to project not the world of the old West but the less-than-ideal world of book publication or perhaps of book consumption, where compromise isthe watchword. UnbridledSpiritsremains a modest anthol­ ogywhich contains, nevertheless, some good yarns. CATHYDOWNS The University ofNorth Carolina BRIEF NOTICES Gunga Din Highway. ByFrank Chin. (Minneapolis: Coffee House Press, 1994. 400 pages, $24.95.) With this novel Frank Chin returns to the theme ofhis debut novel Donald Duk (1991) of Chinese Americans wanting to shake off their heritage. Gunga Din Highway is situated in Hollywood and centers on Longman and Ulysses Kwan. Longman, “the Chinaman Who Dies”in countless movies, is despised by his son for his ambition ofsomeday playing Charlie Chan. Ulysses lives through four decades ofchange, coming across Hollywood legends and Chinese mythol­ ogy. Filledwith references to recent history, movies, and TV, this isa funny and entertaining novel. DesiringFlight. By Christianne Balk. (West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 1995. 96 pages, $12.95.) This, Christianne Balk’s second book of poems, was the winner of the Verna Emery Poetry Prize. The poems by this northwestern writer capture the spirit of nature mixed with human emotions. For instance, “The Road to Marshfield Lake” tells the story of the birth and subsequent death of her daughterjuxtaposed with images of nature; “Why I Did It”is about an abusive husband who at the same time taught her to love and admire hawks. This collection isfull ofgrief, but also full of love for the landscape. Another Green Grass Lover. By Sue Wallis. (Lemon Cove, California: Dry Crik Press, 1994. 70 pages, $9.95.) This collection of poetry is about nature and life and myths. In the latter part, Wallis uses Celtic...