Letters From the Horse Latitudes - Hardcover

Smith, C. W.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0875651313 ISBN 13: 9780875651316

Publisher: Texas Christian University Press, 1994

Synopsis

In the "horse latitudes" of the Gulf of Mexico, that zone where long periods of high pressure keep the winds away, becalmed sailors sometimes tossed the horses overboard to conserve water. In these unapologetically traditional and realistic stories, characters find themselves in circumstances which demand similar difficult and undesirable acts.
Because the stories are set in the Southwest and Mexico, from about 1920 through 1990, they often hinge on the suspicions, antagonism and ignorance the region's different cultures, races and classes bear against each other.
C. W. Smith is an accomplished fictionalist whose vision rings true and whose characters are familiar in the best sense of the word. Although he has published four novels this is his first collection of short stories.

About this title

About the Author:

C. W. Smith is currently professor of English at Southern Methodist University.

From Kirkus Reviews:

These stories by Smith (Buffalo Nickel, 1989, etc.) set in the southwestern US and Mexico evoke their steamy setting ably, but they won't make readers sizzle. Smith has a strong command of traditional short-story forms- -letter, fable, straight narrative--from which he does not waver. He creates round characters, whose types vary widely, but all of whom remain realistic. His plots are consistently imaginative and well-executed. In short, he is sturdy and moderate, an excellent artisan. In many of the stories, differences of culture, race, and class lead characters to epiphanies. ``The Plantation Club'' contrasts two white-boy wannabe musicians with the serious black jazz culture of a small town. ``Child Guidance'' compares American professors on sabbatical in Mexico to their 14-year-old hustler tour guide, Enrique, or Henry. ``Plane'' and ``Domestic Help'' create drama by solving small mysteries. In ``Plane,'' a father tries to fathom how his loser of a son paid for an expensive birthday present, then wrestles with the dilemma of whether or not to keep it. ``Domestic Help'' depicts an odd love triangle between Vera, a gringa in Mexico, her maid, and the maid's husband: What is Vera's relationship to the husband? Will the outsider prevail in a close-knit village? The most impressive story is ``Tickler,'' about a boy's perception of his parents' not-our-kind-dear friends, the Kneus, and their impending divorce. It filters the complexities of adult social rituals through the boy's eyes, resulting in a detailed, contemplative, and clear portrait of an interaction that is subtle, comic, and selectively misunderstood. Smith eschews brilliance for competence and reliability. His stories are like the nice boy you date while looking over your shoulder for a rebel. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Texas Christian University Press
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0875651313
• ISBN 13: 9780875651316
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 204