Customer Reviews

The Legend of Billy Jenks: and Other Wyoming Stories

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In the Fifties, which have become pretty much invisible years to many people, my family traveled a lot -- economy-style in a folding tent trailer except for one trip to the east coast when we stayed in "auto camps" as motels were then called. We ate cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and for supper we'd stop in some small town on a blue highway (that's the only kind there was in those days) and have either hamburgers or hot beef sandwiches at the local cafe. My dad had trouble taking his foot off the gas, so sometimes we ate in places that were more bar than cafe, because that's all that was open after seven pm. We traveled mostly in the rural West.

I was between eight and twelve in those years, old enough to observe and even introspect, but without any very powerful ways to interpret what we saw: small town, ranch and farm people struggling to keep their families together and fed, men drinking to numb their trauma, women frustrated by boredom, and what would now be called poverty though we didn't think of it that way then. None of the glitz and sheen that even the smallest towns flaunt now, but on the other hand, not near so many boarded up buildings and deserted streets. If there was a bar, it always had a red neon martini glass with a green neon olive. The Korean and Cold Wars gripped us, teaching that conformity and group identification offered the only safety.

In those years Robert Roripaugh was there in Wyoming, knowing the people and their stories, which he kept in his heart until he was adult enough to spin them into poetry (he was the poet laureate of Wyoming from 1995 through 2002) and fiction, both short stories and novels ("A Fever for Living" and "Honor Thy Father." After service in Japan, post-war, he returned with his wife, Yoshiko, to the University of Wyoming where for thirty-five years he taught creative writing and Western American Literature. He has worked hard to serve and develop Wyoming literature through workshops and seminars around the state.

Reading Roripaugh's stories is a little like reading Richard Ford, who writes about Montana and lives here sometimes but is not really from the state, or Raymond Carver, who turns out not to have intended to be famous for minimalism after all. (Evidently it was a style imposed by his editor, Gordon Lish, whether or not that was a good thing.) They are not exciting romantic Zane Grey epics.

But they are not like the indigenous writers who are best known at present: Ivan Doig is much more inclined to gentle humor and lapidary prose. Mark Spragg, a Wyoming native, is quite a bit younger, which shows in his stories. Roripaugh is often described as "grounded in reality." But maybe that's not the most interesting thing about this collection of short stories.

These stories include some of his earlier works as well as recent stories: each has head-notes that let us know the source of the story and its fate through many rewrites. This anthology amounts to a "story" about being a conscientious writer not inclined to be Hemingway or Kerouac. Perhaps the most important lesson of all is how willing Roripaugh has been to accept advice and criticism while never losing his own core of integrity and conviction about what he was writing. He says frankly that the best way to become a writer is to read and read and read. Clearly a good story is not ruined by rewriting, though rewriting to make his stories shorter tended to paradoxically end up making them longer! Still -- often better. This is about the actual writing -- not "being" a famous personality.

It's clear that Roripaugh's a Westerner when he writes about Native Americans, taking for granted what they are and understanding what they are up against. One remarkable story is simply a set of faux "compositions" written by an Indian girl and supposedly turned in as assignments for the course he taught. It's easy to see what's coming -- esp. if you know this territory -- which doesn't lessen the impact when it does happen. He tells stories quietly and a bit on the slant, so it's possible that Easterners wouldn't be able to absorb what just happened under their noses. But the notorious Gordon Lish, then an editor at Knopf, recommended the story for a Pushcart Prize in 1981.

Though Roripaugh is well known by the Western Writers of America and has received awards from the Cowboy Hall of Fame, he is not on the Manhattan radar and that may have been an advantage. He's had the place and opportunity to "grow" his stories quietly. Most of them were begun in the era of the TV Westerns, a time when writers were feeling around for a new moral center between war and passivity, and to find a new balance between the epic inflations of early outlaws and the grinding reality of day-to-day survival in the droughty West. "The Legend of Billy Jenks" puts the Billy-the-Kid kind of myth-making over against a mere delinquent who gets pushed out to the margins and then cut off at the knees, so to speak.

In small conformity-based Western towns, there is a special fascination for the young in the different, rebellious, un-containable, renegade outlaw. Differing in degree and kind of exceptionalism, from young woman carrying Indian blood to old man trapper living primitively, they interest a thoughtful young man who writes. Stories tend to be about them, trying to explain or come to terms with their lives.

A second common theme is that of the relationship of father and son as father tries to teach what he knows. "Morning Flight," the most recent story, seems to be one of those accounts where little happens except that the boy shoots his first duck. There's no fuss about killing birds. Rather there's a confusing web of war/sex/death/competence for a boy, even one with a protective and guiding father. It is the accuracy and justice of observation that makes the story real, rather like Walter van Tilburg Clark or Wallace Stegner.

I often puzzle about how there can be so many first-rate writers, especially locally, who produce such fine work without much fuss or hoopla while at the same time the media and even the academics spend all their energy re-examining the same dozen latest stars who have already been analyzed a dozen times. When someone like Roripaugh quietly offers examples from his life work, we're fools not to reflect closely on what he says.

Robert Roripaugh delves into the depths of what it is like to live in the west. His stories are nothing like the cliché, old western novels, he describes the `real' west a place that everyone can relate to in mind if not geographically.

In The Legend of Billy Jenks, Roripaugh delivers a vivid picture of the harsh life in Depression-era Wyoming. We follow Billy a man in turmoil with himself and the world. Billy is consumed by revenge, which makes for a tragic ending. Roripaugh reminds us that the West is not only about cowboys, Indians and shootouts but real life.

In Winter's End, Roripaugh presents a unique vision of the West through a series of composition papers that reveal the inner life of a Native American woman in college. Tragedy and isolation fill the pages of her compositions but not everything is revealed, leaving gaps that the reader must fill.

Leave's End has the classical struggle of forbidden love. Runner is a Native American in love with a white woman. Her mother ignites at the sight of Runner and tries everything in her power to separate the young lovers. A secret is revealed that could change everything.

Roripaugh gives a vivid view of small town living in Wyoming and anyone who has lived here, or even visited for an extended period will relate to his descriptions. Though some of the lifestyles, in the stories, seem mundane to an outsider, these are reality for many people from small towns. What seems to some as a small adventure or event in each story is an event that will be talked about for years or felt by a character for the rest of their lives. With each thoughtful word Roripaugh walks you through the lives of many diverse characters and allows you to feel as though you may actually be there with the townspeople seeing the story unfold.

In this book, Roripaugh manages to paint a romantic picture of Wyoming using mundane characters and catastrophic events. He examines issues of race, economy, passion, and rage. It is a unique collection of stories that I recommend to anyone looking to diversify their readings of classical westerns as well as those who love Wyoming. I love that this author takes more recent events (approx. 1950's) and ties them into traditional views of western happenings (i.e. gunfights and cold-blooded murders). The result is a refreshing twist to the clichés, while still embracing all the romance of them.

I have lived my entire life in Wyoming. I found Robert Roripaugh's description well lined with wonderful imagery and characters I could connect with on a personal level.

I have chosen three short stories to review from this book. The first one is "The legend of Billy Jenks."
This short story is chalked full of historical reference. The author both romanticizes a small country town in Wyoming and made realistic observations of the past, memory, and how people choose to see life during hard times.

The story itself follows an outside "town" point of view of Billy Jenks. Billy was a young man born and raised in poverty with a father who tried to kill a rich man who slept with Billy's mother. Billy's mother took off when he was young and as far as the entire town new, never saw Billy again.

Billy holds a grudge against the town, who made excuses for him, and Pink, the rich man his father tried to kill.

This short story is about stories, the west as a culture, and how small town people embellish reality. Yet it holds the idea of truth always questioning why something is made into myth and set up for the reader to decide for themselves.

The second short story is "Winter Days Are Long." This short story touched me as a reader on an emotional level I wont soon forget. The piece is about an Indian girl, Virginia Sheild, who goes to college. Her professor asks her to write about specific things in her life like her best friend and her home. As she writes, the reader discovers Virginia as a person. She has lived through poverty, death, and truly wants her family to be proud of her as she goes through college to become a teacher.

Virginia's best friend, Michelle, is portrayed as a teen who is very pretty. Throughout the story, Virginia writes of her more like a sister and blames herself for Michelle's disasters. It's a touching element for the reader which helps them discover more about Virginia as if she were a real person and not a character in a book.

The author did a wonderful job describing the places the narrator wrote about for class. The idea of a writer writing about a narrator who is writing for college about her life is powerful in imagery.

The third story, "Leave's End" had a tear jerking impact by the end. This piece is about a half Indian, John Runner, who serves his country in Vietnam. While on leave, John has to face himself and the place he grew up and make some difficult decisions about how his own life will go and how he feels about it.

The author did an amazing job at helping the reader connect to the main character. By the end of the story hope had peeked its head into the story. The piece struggles with Runners past, a brother who killed two people while drinking and driving. It focuses on Runner's present life before going to Nam by allowing Runner to face the life he might live. Then it focuses on the ideas people face about themselves and feelings of being trapped.

The story starts out slow then a darker tone takes over towards the end only to find hope rearing in the background and the story ending with a bang the reader wasn't expecting.

To sum it up, this collection of short stories would make a terrific addition to anyone seeking more than land in Wyoming.

Having never read Robert Roripaugh, I was very impressed with his collection of short stories. Thinking about Wyoming conjures up pictures of majestic mountains, cowboys riding for the brand, and a harsh, unforgiving environment. Roripaugh gives us a piece of Wyoming that most people have never seen or are even aware of. There are no Robert Redford or Clint Eastwood movies that even come close to showing the raw face of the least populated state.
Roripaugh tells stories of what could be real Wyoming residents. From Billy Jenks and his father's six shooter, to a Native American home on his last leave, the stories make you wonder that so much can happen in such a barren place. Roripaugh's style of writing makes you want to read more, and he switches things up from time to time to make things a bit more interesting.

Roripaugh tells several short stories about people and their lives in Wyoming. Some stories are serious, some are funny, and some are a little confusing, but overall the book was an excellent read.

Wyoming has been my home since I was a baby and I enjoyed how Roripaugh accurately captured the spirit of Wyoming citizens. Time doesn't affect us here like it would in a big city, and we don't have any hustle and bustle. His depiction of the people of Wyoming was heart-felt and beautiful. It felt like he was writing a story about a very dear friend, and you could feel the emotion.

Roripaugh's book is a wonderful read. For people who live in rural areas, you will relate to this book in every sentence. For those of you in urban areas, you will feel what it is like to live in Wyoming.

The Legend of Billy Jenks, by Robert Roripaugh takes readers on a journey through different eras in Wyoming.

He fills this book with stories that are eventful, descriptive, and beautifully written. Some of them are filled with humor, while others give the reader a raw insight into growing up in Wyoming in different circumstances.

The variety of perspectives that the characters have gives you a glimpse of different times, ways of life, and cultures throughout Wyoming's history. This makes them charismatic, unique and intriguing.

The language will captivate you and the characters will draw you in and leave you wanting more!