I read the Cowboy short story for a class and read the others for context. Definitely not my kind of writer, unfortunately. ( )

Thomas McGuane is one of my favorite short story writers, and favorite writers in general. His novels are superb, but in the confines of a story, he's at his best. This is a typically strong collection.

Aliens is the stunningly depressing tale of familial miscommunication and plain bad feelings. Miracle Boy is another dysfunctional family story, but funnier and easier to take. A couple of stories feature John Briggs, a Yale educated, world traveling "independent negotiator" in Montana who deals with an alcoholic girl and her father in one story and a white-collar fugitive friend from college in the other.

In The Refugee, a former smuggler of Cuban refugees in the midst of an existential crisis leaves his job managing citrus groves, "a working alcoholic," and sails to Key West to consult a now old woman who used to mentor him and other young Key West seeker/vagrants in years past. It doesn't pan out and he sets off on a sailing cure, which also doesn't really work out. ( )

I read McGuane's first three novels back in the seventies, then nothing for years, until I ran across his essay collection, SOME HORSES, several years back, which I enjoyed tremendously. His GALLATIN CANYON stories were a pleasant diversion and went down easy for the most part, although "Refugee" got tedious, so I didn't finish that one. My personal favorite was "Cowboy," about an ex-con who finds a kind of home on a ranch run by two old siblings, a crusty old bachelor and his even crustier sister. It contained some of the same charm and humor I'd enjoyed in his essays of ranch life. If you're a McGuane fan, you'll like these stories. I did. Very highly recommended.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER ( )