Kentucky Straight by Chris Offutt (1992, Paperback)

Chris Offut was born in eastern Kentucky and is the son of a Professor of English at Morehead State University. This book, published in 1992, was his first collection of short stories. He now lives in Iowa, but his subject matter continues to be the rural hills of eastern Kentucky.

Jim Harrison, who has written a blurb on the back cover says these stories are "...set in a nameless Appalachian Community too small to be called a town, a place where wanting an education is a mark of ungodly arrogance and dowsing for water a legitimate occupation; where hunting is not a sport but a means for survival, pursued with the desperation of a grudge".

The stories are masterfully written. Offut is capable at times of bringing the reader with him to the rugged beauty of Appalachia where he turns up rocks exposing the hillfolk in their native habitat. They left this reader with the nagging suspicion that the "grudge" spoken of belongs to the author himself.

He sets the tone for the stories with his choice of quote on the flyleaf:

this is the mirror
in which pain is asleep
this is the country
nobody visits
-Mark Strand "Another Place"

In my opinion the author of "Kentucky Straight" should stay in Iowa till he gets over his mad spell. By all means read this book, but follow it soon after with a good dose of Lee Smith or Harriet Arnow to counteract the side effects.