Cowboys Are My Weakness

Rating:
Summary: Outdoorsy Romance Transcends Usual Corset Busting
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: weak writing about cowboys
Review: Glowing reviews to the contrary, this is the thinnest, most insipid writing I've ever tried to read. Superficial characters and cliched plots make Houston my nominee for most-hyped, least-deserving author of the decade.

Rating:
Summary: A writer we can relate to
Review: I enjoyed Ms. Houston's book. Yes, she writes about women who fall for inaccessible men. I see that some readers criticize her for this, but I know that as strong and clear-seeing as I believe *I* am, I have done the same thing. More than once. I read her and I understand. I understand myself more clearly, I relate, and I feel I've *been* her. Being a good writer is not only about correct grammar and well-structured sentences. It's also about connecting with one's readers, and Pam Houston succeeds in connecting with us. I look forward to a novel from Ms. Houston.

Rating:
Summary: I'm giving it to all of my girlfriends - and boy friends too
Review: I first read this book well over a year ago, and loved it from page one. Strong, independent women with smarts, ambition, pride - who make mistakes when it comes to men - who can't relate to that? And no whining "I'm a victim" attitudes. Simply a great read. One of my guy friends told me he felt like he was reading notes from behind enemy lines - but he loved it!

Rating:
Summary: There's nothing wrong with some weakness.
Review: I first read this in college and fell in love with Houston's characters' strength. Strength doesn't have to mean toughness, it can also mean being able to accept one's weaknesses. Houston's voice is honest, smart and funny, and while we might not always agree with what her characters do or think, we should always be able to see a little of ourselves in each of them.

I've since had many people I know read it, from my ex-82nd-Airborne-tough-guy husband to my I-don't-like-to-read-anything-but-soccor-scores neice. They all have enjoyed "Cowboys are My Weakness."

Rating:
Summary: A collection of stories or a circular self-portrait?
Review: I liked this book, because of its realism. It is a painfully real portrayal of women who hurt themselves by being with men who treat them badly. I most liked the parts about her dogs, and about her girlfriend, better than the parts about the men, because I got tired of hearing about the same frustrating behaviors. However even in its repetitiveness it remained real, because it was like therapy. She had to keep telling herself the same story, to pound it into her head. In this way the end was satisfying, because she got herself out of the rut and got deeper, more creative, and the life-meanings fleshed out.

Rating:
Summary: Even An Irish Gal Can Connect With These Stories!
Review: I loved these stories, they're so true to life emotionally speaking, I can't vouch for the viability of the hunting aspects of the book! A really excellent read, especially the painfully beautiful "In My Next Life".

Rating:
Summary: fantastic!
Review: I loved these stories. A friend in graduate school told me about this book, and I just devoured it. As a "20-something" woman who has had more than her share of commitment-shy losers, I really could relate to the characters in these stories. I especially loved "Highwater," the imagery is just wonderful (especially where the main character looks at the baby's umbilical cord and wonders if it would set off some type of alarm if she were to run from the hospital with baby in her arms).

Rating:
Summary: good stories. not mostly good men.
Review: I read the first story here and I thought "I know this man." Charming, fun, totally evasive of serious discussion, running all over town, sexy in his absolute foreignness. But as I went on, I decided that (thank goodness) the men I know may seem to be like Houston's men at first, but there's more kindness and intelligence beneath the surface of mine. I don't know if her vision is flawed, or mine is, or she just knows some really lousy (but definitely attractive) men. I guess there are a few deep-down good ones here, but they kind of fade in comparison to the others. Whatever the case, these stories are really good -- often side-splittingly funny (especially when you're thinking you know the men), insightful, sometimes sad, and in love with the outdoors and the beauty of the world. Probably, though, you shouldn't do what I did and read them all in an afternoon. By the end they start to seem a little less true, a little more like rote repetition of a view of the world in which men really are, by nature, unable to commit, untrustworthy, unavailable. And if they are that way by nature, then you can't hold it against them, can you? So it lets them off easy. I'd have liked to see Houston simultaneously be more generous to men and hold them a little more to account for their misbehavior.

Rating:
Summary: A delight that seems to be misunderstood by some reviewers
Review: I was reading with pleasure Pam Houston's "Cowboys.." and after finishing 'Jackson is Only One of My Dogs' decided to order more of her work and went into Amazon.com to check what else she had written. As always I check other readers reviews, so I looked at what they said about "Cowboys...", and now I realize how off these reviews can be. It is amazing. Houston is smart, funny and a very elegant writer. She is having a ball telling us these stories. It is well written FICTION folks. Of course she exaggerates...It is sad that you failed to get the humor, and the underlying stories she tells.
I thoroughly enjoyed her work so far, and look forward to reading more from her.