Where Past Meets Present: Modern Colorado Short Stories

Spanning the 1940s to the present, these selections have the rough feel of the frontier. The 15 stories (and two poems) are filled with characters endlessly searching for the next horizon. Perhaps Jason in ``Backtracking'' puts it best: ``Maybe, he thought, there is nothing so false or stupid as the idea of the second chance, the fresh start. It had sent a whole people chasing across a continent.'' Richard Broderick's ``The Chinook'' vividly characterizes the feelings of anxiety and chaos that come with a chinook wind. ``The Can Men'' by Robert O. Greer Jr. tells of the loyalty between two down-on-their-luck rodeo cowboys as they navigate the streets of Denver. Joanne Greenberg's ( I Never Promised You a Rose Garden ) ``The Lucero Requiem'' illustrates the intricate relationship between members of a choral group about to perform an unconventional piece by a Colorado composer. There are definite weaknesses in the collection, but many of the stories are captivating. As one writer, Kent Haruf, says, ``You will tell me: Okay. But it isn't very pretty out there. And I will tell you: No, it isn't pretty at all. It's beautiful. You just have to know how to look at it.'' (Aug.)