Cowboys Are My Weakness: Stories [Paperback]

Pam Houston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 17, 2005

"Exhilarating, like a swift ride through river rapids with a spunky, sexy gal handling the oars."—Washington Post Book World

In Pam Houston's critically acclaimed collection of strong, shrewd, and very funny stories, we meet smart women who are looking for the love of a good man, and men who are wild and hard to pin down. "I've always had this thing for cowboys, maybe because I was born in New Jersey,” says the narrator in the collection’s title story. “But a real cowboy is hard to find these days, even in the West.” Our heroines are part daredevil, part philosopher, all acute observers of the nuances of modern romance. They go where their cowboys go, they meet cowboys who don't look the part – and they have staunch friends who give them advice when the going gets rough. Cowboys Are My Weakness is a refreshing and realistic look at men and women – together and apart.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A good man is hard to find, but a good cowboy practically impossible. At least that's what the women in this accomplished, witty and engrossing debut short-story collection discover when they fall 10-gallon-hat-over-spurs for the kind of men who go in for roping cattle, not for romance. In "Selway," among the most gripping of these 12 tales, an intrepid young woman rafts through treacherous white water to keep up with her boyfriend, who is as untamed as the river that nearly kills them. Accompanying Boone ("a hunter of the everything-has-to-be-hard-and-painful-to-be-good variety") through the Alaskan wilderness during sheep hunting season, the unnamed narrator of "Dall" learns about male camaraderie, violence and herself. The cowboy enthusiast in the title story, listening to country music, observes, "The men in the songs were all either brutal or inexpressive. . . . The women were victims, every one." But the women featured here aren't victims: they are smart, funny and likable. A gifted storyteller and a fine writer, Houston brings insight and an original perspective to the heavily trafficked gender divide. Literary Guild selection.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Houston, whose short stories have appeared in such periodicals as Mirabella and Mademoiselle , now has her first collection, the highlights of which are "How To Talk to a Hunter," a story selected for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories, 1990 ( LJ 10/1/90), and "Selway." Though these two stand out, the collection as a whole showcases a fresh, original, strong feminine voice. Houston is almost Hemingway-esque in her spare prose, yet richly eloquent in her descriptions of the Western sensibility. "How To Talk to a Hunter" oozes sensuality and masculinity, while at the same time getting inside the feminine mind in love with a man of few words. Likewise, "Selway" brilliantly shows what the experience of loving an adventurer is like. Houston is a part-time guide in Alaska. This is a strong woman who is wise and cynical but refreshingly optimistic. Her view of man-woman relationships is realistic: wise women get involved with "cowboys" they should know better, but they don't. Recommended.
- Rosellen Brewer, Monterey Bay Area Cooperative Lib. System, Cal.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (January 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393326357
• ISBN-13: 978-0393326352
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.4 x 7.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #377,836 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Published as fiction, but does anyone believe THAT? October 28, 2003

By Peggy Vincent

Format:Paperback

Pam Houston's fictional characters somehow to always seem like the great lady herself, eccentric, strong, athletic, daring, and tough. And then there are the men. They have it tough in Houston's world, and no wonder. Sometimes even she agrees that she probably treats her dogs better than she does her men.
However, while her women are gutsy, they are still vulnerable, still learning, still making mistakes, and the biggest seems to be falling for inaccessible men. As her character says in the title story of this collection, "I've always had a thing for cowboys...but they're hard to find these days, even in the West."
Full of gender-heavy wisecracking, Cowboys are My Weakness will have you laughing, groaning, and crying. Enjoy yourself.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Outdoorsy Romance Transcends Usual Corset Busting June 20, 2000

By Renee Thorpe

Format:Paperback

Given to me by the same friend who sent me "Girl Interrupted," "Anywhere But Here," and "Sin," I figured this must be something worth reading.

Starting out, I began to think this was going to be a Rosamonde Pilcher type book, and "Cowboys..." does share Pilcher's usual theme: independent-woman-finds-love-in-the-arms-of-someone-cooler-and-smarter-than-Fabio. And the title of the collection implies a lot: the protagonists are all generally strong women who lose it over the Marlboro Man.

But there is an underlying pathos in the collection, an electric charge of wild man and level-headed woman. I am sure you could turn out a killer essay exploring the sexual politics in these stories, but they are also just good fun.

The tales are very well-written, and the settings are very nicely described. If the reader wants to feel what it'd be like to escape to the high desert with a trapper like Jim Bridger or to the mountains with a cute outlaw like Jesse James, reading this book is a good way to do that.

The writer's obvious familiarity with exciting, rugged skills like snow camping and game scouting is impressive, and this knowledge gives the stories extra substance.

Warning to animal lovers: contains hunting.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Strong writing, strong voice, strong & weak women October 4, 2000

By "fleajuice"

Format:Paperback

I'd enjoy meeting the people who didn't enjoy this collection of strong, entertaining stories. Houston has a good ear for language and the emotions she evokes with her rythmns. She is good at writing about strong women who make bad choices out of weakness, and weak women who make strong choices out of fear.

My 30-year old husband devoured this book, as did my 19-year old female neice (who only reads soccer magazines). It's not just a Gen-X chick thing as some may say.

This is Pam Houston at her strongest! (If you loved it, stay with it, steer clear of "Waltzing the Cat".)