Laura PritchettCritiques

A wreath of stories set in the winter of a Colorado community which spreads along a country road between a hamlet with a few villages and Blue Moon Mountain. It starts with the suicide of the vet who has long suffered from schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder, and the death echos out among his family and those close to him and those close to them and to other residents, new and long term of the town. These are depictions of longing and loneliness and love, desire and disappointment and moving on.

“He had something poetic to say, but it wouldn't form in his mind. Something about how intimacy and love were the only sanctuaries, safe places for the human soul, like this mountain was a sanctuary in the rest of the crazed world, and the only road to intimacy was communication...”

“They had been hiking, individually in Montana, and both had stopped for lunch and to make cairns on a large bolder field, stacking rocks to show themselves the way. They saw each other doing that, and spoke of cairns and directions, and then fell in love. I was conceived in a meadow. I too was supposed to show them the way, which, they said, I did.”

I have fallen hard for Laura Pritchard. Yes, I loved Hell's Bottom Colorado, but this novel, really kicked it into high gear. I included a couple of quotes, but those were just 2 of many passages, I had tagged along the way. Her writing is breath-taking, but also tough, edgy and profane. She knows and understands the human spirit.

This story follows the residents of a rural community in Blue Moon Mountain, Colorado. Heartache, loneliness, kindness and passion, rules their everyday lives, like it does all of us. Fans of the late, great Kent Haruf, now have someone to follow. Rejoice!

Hell’s Bottom, Colorado is a collection of ten interconnected stories about three generations of a ranching family in eastern Colorado. The author who was raised on a ranch, writes knowingly and beautifully about the ranching life. The stories include forest fires, still born animals, violence and both family dysfunction and family togetherness.

Each story reveals a part of this family’s history and their connections to each other. They are both a clear-eyed look at living close to nature and dealing with all that entails and a fiercely tender revelation of connections. Each story would stand alone and all reveal one or two characters but it’s by taking the collection as a whole that the reader comes to know the family.

Many of the stories are highly emotional yet all give an expressive view of this family’s dynamics. One word of warning however is that some readers may be disturbed by the casual cruelties of ranching life. I personally was spellbound by the author’s strong, rich writing and her use of the evocative and vivid Colorado ranch-lands to deliver such authentic and memorable stories.

I really loved the way this book was structured--multiple POVs in the voices of the people living on a remote mountain in the Rockies.

I made it to page 19 and had to stop. At first the story seemed promising, a man with a mental disease kills himself. However the second chapter started talking about sex and more sex and just sex. I don't care how many orgasms the character had and how good they were. I really don't care. Needless to say I had to stop reading it.

Poignant story of complex marriage, love, family, and revenge set in vividly-drawn Rocky Mountain close-knit community, skilfully, lyrically, written.

This little book, in spite of its tough events, was a pleasure to read. It links together the stories of various members of an extended family on or about the ranch that the grandparents still live on- albeit at opposite ends. The children, grandchildren, in-laws, animals and hangers on are described sparely and always with reference to the landscape that they live on, and find so much meaning in. Each chapter would make a stand alone short story, but together it is worth more than the sum of its parts.

Laura Pritchett's latest book transported me to Blue Moon Mountain in Colorado where a small community of an eclectic group of people learn to cope with tragedy and turn to each other for support. Ms. Pritchett can get right down to the nitty gritty with her characters and show their strengths and weaknesses in her lean prose style that speaks volumes. It is one of the coldest winters the residents can remember…so cold even the resident bears are acting oddly. Life must go on after unexpected losses and the disparate cast of characters do their best to reach out to one another for help and comfort. The blue theme of the title continues through the book with poetic descriptions of the sky, snow, and earth. The author is in tune with nature in all its phases including human nature and passion. This is a beautiful book to savor as the tone shifts playfully back and forth from romantic to humor while the grief of loss is always in the background.

It's not necessary to read the two preceding books that shed light on a few characters in The Blue Hour, but I guarantee that Hell's Bottom, Colorado and Stars Go Blue are both as thought-provoking and artfully written as her latest. Pritchett's books may be on the slight side as number of pages go, but they are full of compassion for nature and fellow human beings and create memorable slices of life in rural Colorado.½

On Hell's Bottom Ranch, a section of land below the Front Range, there are women like Renny who prefer a "little Hell swirled with their Heaven" and men like Ben, her husband, who's "gotten used to smoothing over Renny's excesses." As I was reading, I recalled often a quote from Stars Go Blue that Renny knew the ranch like a chart, but Ben knew it like a poem. That theme is apparent here, too. The ranch has been the site of the births of the Cross children, and of Rachel’s tragic death – just as it has been the site of untold births and deaths of livestock.

Pritchett’s format here is a collection of related short stories which read like a novel. Hell’s Bottom, Colorado is a tribute to life on the Cross ranch – its harmony, its vision, and its heartache. Beautifully written, with characters so relatable I feel I know them personally – Pritchett has established herself as a favourite author, and Hell’s Bottom Ranch a favourite place. Highly, highly recommended.

There were flashes of the later brilliance Pritchett exhibits in Hell's Bottom, Colorado but overall, this was obviously a first novel - overwritten in parts, with unbelievable characterizations, and Very Important Messages delivered with the subtlety of a jackhammer. Don't make this your first Pritchett, as you might never return to her, and she definitely deserves more readers. Just maybe not of this book.½

"It comes to her then: She knows the ranch like a chart. But Ben knows it like a poem. She hopes he's the wiser one, because it gives her permission to leave it up to him to make the right decision." (51)

Ben and Renny Cross have lived all of their married life, some five decades, on Hell’s Bottom Ranch, twelve hundred acres of pastureland below the Colorado Rocky Mountains – a slice of heaven. Theirs has been a fine life, whole and beautiful and strong. Until Rachel. Their daughter’s murder rips them apart, and, while they decide to remain on the ranch, they separate, each living at one end of the sprawling property. When time has finally begun to assuage the pain, and Ben wonders whether they might once again have a life together, he is struck with Alzheimer’s. Renny cares for him, but it is, ironically, his teenage granddaughter, Jess, who best understands both Ben and his disease. When news comes that Rachel’s murderer, a man well known to the family, is to be released from prison, more turmoil ensues. And with the turmoil comes yet more pain – but alas, this time it is not without hope:

“I love that we had a life together on Hell’s Bottom Ranch, and I love the stories that took place there. All except the story of Rachel, which was a sad one, too sad to bear. But the rest were good and beautiful. I love that we had a history together. But I want to go out knowing who I am. That, I am sure you can understand. Please bury me by the willows. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to have the bald eagle or the owls watching.” (181)

Stars Go Blue is beautifully written, its storyline compelling. Ben and Renny Cross, for all of their flaws (or more likely because of them), are unforgettable, and I love that Hell’s Bottom Ranch, like its family, is part of the cast. Pritchett very effectively uses Jess, a minor character, to narrate the final Part of the novel – Ben has disappeared into his disease by this time, and the fact that Jess sees life with her grandfather’s quiet gentleness makes her narration particularly soothing. I was reminded often as I read of Kent Haruf, his characters, and Holt, Colorado – all of whom I love. Highly recommended!½

Red Lightning is billed as being both a stand alone story as well as somewhat of a sequel to Sky Bridge. My impression is that Red Lightning would be a somewhat confusing and a less meaningful read if you had not read Sky Bridge. Tess returns to the small town in Colorado, where the child she abandoned at birth lives with Tess's sister, Libby. Tess has been running illegal immigrants and drugs at the US/Mexican border for the past 10 years. By the time she returns home to her sister and her birth child, Tess is coming apart physically and mentally from the life that she has led. She is being pursued by the law, and a migrant / drug run gone wrong. Tess must face her sister, her birth child and her dying mother and past life , as well as what is happening in her current life.

Perhaps because Tess is mentally fragile, the story is at times a bit dream like and does not have the same tone as Sky Bridge. That may have been to serve a purpose, but I did not enjoy the style of writing as much.

Still, well worth the read as a follow up to Sky Bridge.½

Sky Bridge is set in a small, impoverished rural town in Colorado. Libby and Tess are sisters, who live with an angry, alcoholic mom, Kay. Tess, the younger sister, finds herself pregnant just as she is ready to leave high-school. Libby, the elder sister, convinces Tess not to have an abortion and promises to take care of the baby after she is born. The day young Amber is born, birth-mother Tess leaves town and Libby is left to raise baby Amber. Libby works part time in a supermarket and helps her mom , Kay , as a farm hand. At the age of 20 or so, Libby finds herself raising the young baby of her sister, while still living with her angry and often abusive mother , Kay.

It's a heartbreaking story of poverty and abuse, yet the author still is able to convey some hope and love .

The story is spare and reminds of the sort of writing that Kent Haruf was able to do so well. This is Laura Pritchett's debut novel and I think she deserves to be more widely read. I know I'll be reading more by Laura Pritchett.

4 stars.

An author that I feel does not get the recognition she deserves. Read her [book:Stars Go Blue|18596558] and was blown away by the story and the characters. Same in this one, her prose is so darn beautiful but powerful at the same time.

The plight of the immigrants are at the forefront of this story, as when Tess left her newborn baby for hr sister to raise, she became a levantona. A word I had never heard of before this book. This is a very gritty, in your face book of redemption, forgiveness and the importance of home and family. Tess has forgiving to do and she needs many to forgive her and give her another chance. Amazing book, especially since it is so short and so much is covered. Maybe home is the place where they have to take you in, or at least to be there and try. Loved reading about Tess and her story as well as her daughter Amber and her quiet wisdom for one so young.

Wonderful author, unforgettable story.

ARC from NetGalley.

Sky Bridge is the story of Libby, a young grocery clerk who lives with her embittered mother, Kay, and younger sister, Tess, outside of a small town on the dusty plains of southeastern Colorado. The story is narrated by Libby, who offers to raise Tess’s impending baby and is then stunned when Tess leaves town, abandoning not only her new baby, but Libby as well. Libby is overwhelmed by her new responsibility and kind of muddles through life. Her mother, Kay, is awful and it’s no wonder Tess thought motherhood would not be for her. A life of poverty in small town Colorado is a rough deal but luckily there are caring neighbors. Also, luckily, Pritchett is a fine writer (and this is her first book) who can gracefully see the reader through a story chock full of despair and poor decisions to a more hopeful light.

Fans of Kent Haruf should give Laura Pritchett a try, although I’d recommend reading her stunning Hell’s Bottom, Colorado first.

Renny and Ben are an older couple, ranchers in Colorado, who have already experienced tragedy. A big, explosive one. Now they are dealing with one much quieter and more insidious - Ben's Alzheimer's which is progressing steadily. This novel is told in alternating chapters narrated by Renny and Ben and what is most striking is how well Pritchett writes Ben and the affects of his disease. It's very powerful, as is her rendering of Renny's anger and sense of helplessness.

This is an intimate story and as such, I wanted to feel more connected to both characters. For much of the novel, they seemed distant even though fully real. Towards the end, the connection grew, and I raced through the last 50 or so pages with my heart in my throat. It's a beautiful story of misunderstanding and miscommunication, loss and grief, and strength and love. Read it, but do read Hell's Bottom, Colorado first as it provides some important background and contributes to the fullness of Renny and Ben.

Focusing on one family, ranchers in Colorado, each story gives us profound truths - about the pain others can cause through violence and simple misunderstanding, about our capacity to nurture both anger and joy, about contentment and desire and the conflict between the two. Pritchett's writing is spare and the stories short but not lacking. The back of the book says it well, "Her characters convey the universal truth that family relationships, like Hell's Bottom Ranch itself, are marked by moments of pain and glimpses of paradise."

This slim collection of under 150 pages can be read in a single sitting but don't race through it. There is much to be savored and reflected upon.

I raced through Stars Go Blue by Laura Pritchett in two days, because I could hardly put it down. One of the best novels I've read recently, it's the story of a ranching couple in old age, their personal history and family. Like all families there are skeletons in the closet, which keep popping out, and conflict between people who basically love each other. The novel highlights the challenges we all face when growing old and approaching death and leaving the places and people we love. Particularly challenging is the "first death" of Alzheimer's, which has clouded the memory of Renny's husband, Ben. Renny herself is a hard-bitten and tough woman whose sharp ways conceal strong emotions. Neither Ben nor her family are quite the way Renny would like--and a terrible family event has driven the husband and wife apart. But Ben has something important to do before he dies, if only he can remember it. He tracks this goal with the tenacity of a rancher who has killed and saved many animals in his life. What follows changes everyone's lives. Written in rhythmic and powerful prose, the novel not only captures the inner thoughts and emotions of Ben and Renny, but also the harsh and beautiful world of the Colorado plains--the fierce snow, the orange willows, the spring greening, and the stars that turn blue. If you read no other novel this year, read this one.

Laura Pritchett's Hell's Bottom, Colorado was one of my top reads last year and I was thrilled to learn that her latest book returns to the same characters whom I'd come to care about so much. Stars Go Blue revisits the Cross family several years after we left them in Hell's Bottom. Renny and Ben are older and still estranged, but now the two biggest obstacles they face are Ben's Alzheimer's diagnosis and the upcoming release of their daughter's ex-husband from prison. Pritchett alternates the first person narration between Renny and Ben, tricky with Ben's increasing loss of memory. The final chapter is told by another character and I read the last few pages through tears.

I went to see the author speak last spring where she talked about her own father's recent Alzheimer's diagnosis. Writing from Ben's point of view must have been emotionally wrenching for her but somehow the novel is not ground down by that but is instead full of love - ornery love, oftentimes, that Renny is a tough bird - but also true and unrelentingly heartfelt and ultimately satisfying.

If you like contemporary western stories, think Haruf for instance, give her a chance.½

I seem to be drawn to stories set in small towns where the protagonist has to overcome some kind of obstacle. In this case, the small town is on the plains of eastern Colorado. It is not Holt, but it is written much in the style of Kent Haruf with well-drawn characters and lovely descriptions of the stark setting. Libby is raising the infant daughter of her younger sister with the "help" of her grudging and unsympathetic mother. She wants to do the right things but is thwarted by the colicky Amber and the challenges of single parenting.

This was Laura Pritchett's debut novel. She has that ability to allow the reader to connect with and care about her characters with all their flaws. While she writes about hard times, the values and authentic intensity of lives shaped by harsh surroundings come to the forefront of a book which deserves more attention.

Wow. A stunningly beautiful collection of linked short stories chronicling episodes in the lives of Colorado ranchers, Ben and Renny Cross, and their children and grandchildren. Spare, heartbreaking, and definitely not for the faint of heart.

Fans of Kent Haruf, Annie Proulx, and Larry Watson (and like Watson's Montana 1948, Hell's Bottom, Colorado was also a winner of the Milkweed National Fiction Prize) should give this one a look. Published in 2001, it seems to have been sadly overlooked.

"Billy was trying to teach me how to shoot last week. I didn’t get very close to any prairie dogs, but we laughed hard then and that makes me smile."


This award winning first novel is a moving collection of stories told in the perspective of members of a ranching family who live under the shadow of the Rocky Mountains.

SLJ Reviews 2005 May
Website: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com
Adult/High School-This captivating first novel is the story of Libby, a 22-year-old checkout clerk who has been a mother figure to her younger sister. Now pregnant, 18-year-old Tess wants to have an abortion, but Libby convinces her to have the baby, saying that she herself will raise the infant. Within days of delivering, Tess indeed takes off to pursue her own dreams outside their small Colorado town, and Libby finds herself raising Amber while trying to deal with an alcoholic, abusive mother and make sense of her own life. Libby is a protagonist who is not afraid to confront her fears and loneliness; this very openness gives her a depth and strength that others draw on. At the same time that she is trying to make a life for herself and Amber, the baby's father reenters the picture, promising a custody battle, and Libby discovers that Tess has gotten involved in smuggling drugs and illegal immigrants. The primary and secondary plots captivate readers and ensure an ending that is anything but trite. Reminiscent of Billie Letts's Where the Heart Is (Warner, 1995), this book offers a gritty but redeeming picture of a family that never quite lets go of hope, and characters who are not soon forgotten.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Library System, VA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.