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.
Rating:
Summary: Strong writing, strong voice, strong & weak women
Review: I'd enjoy meeting the people who didn't enjoy this collection of strong, entertaining stories. Houston has a good ear for language and the emotions she evokes with her rythmns. She is good at writing about strong women who make bad choices out of weakness, and weak women who make strong choices out of fear. My 30-year old husband devoured this book, as did my 19-year old female neice (who only reads soccer magazines). It's not just a Gen-X chick thing as some may say. This is Pam Houston at her strongest! (If you loved it, stay with it, steer clear of "Waltzing the Cat".)
Rating:
Summary: Best American fiction writer
Review: I've attended three readings by Pam Houston over the past several years, and my opinion doesn't change: she is the best fiction writer in America today. (Sorry "New Yorker"; your recent list of America's best fiction writers missed the most obvious choice.) I recommend this hilarious book to Everyone I meet. Linda Donelson, author of "Out of Isak Dinesen: Karen Blixen's untold story"
Rating:
Summary: I loved this book for the strong, outdoorsy woman's voice
Review: If you enjoy the outdoors, adventure, and women's relationships with men, you will love this book! The stories are well-written and capture the intimacy and anxiety that can exist in relationships between the sexes. It is a delightful read.
Rating: 
Summary: Redundant
Review: If you think you might want to read this book, at least get it from the library, then all you will have wasted is a few hours of your time. The stories are fairly redundant about philandering men and the women they use as speedbumps.
Rating:
Summary: Redundant
Review: If you think you might want to read this book, at least get it from the library, then all you will have wasted is a few hours of your time. The stories are fairly redundant about philandering men and the women they use as speedbumps.
Rating:
Summary: QUITE POSSIBLY THE BEST STORIES EVER WRITTEN!
Review: Living the life that I have always always wanted to live....imperfect, real and sometimes tragic but with more romance than most people have in them or will experience in a lifetime, the women in these stories. An East Coast girl, (Jersey, no less!) with a heart of the West, looks like Pam Houston followed her heart and wears it well. If you have ever dreamed of Cowboys, you will love this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Cowboys don't have to be jerks!
Review: My friends recommended this book to me, and I was really prepared to LOVE it. But, as much fun as it is to read these stories over a weekend, by Sunday night, I found myself disappointed with the whole sort of flat/one sided depiction of relationships. Yes, I can relate to the line, "I've always had this thing for cowboys, maybe because I was born in New Jersey. But a real cowboy is hard to find these days, even in the West." And as someone who grew up in Connecticut and moved West, I agree that there's a truth to the concept of a western type of guy that you don't find on the East coast. I thought this book would be about that difference. But after about 4 stories, all these men start to sound the same-- and no different from the wrong men anywhere. Charming, evasive, manipulative, self-centered. So it turns out Houston isn't writing about cowboys--guys who are truly passionate about the outdoor life and adventure. This book, it turns out, is about the wrong guy, over and over! And I find that boring. Also-- I don't know, maybe it's the guys Pam Houston knows.... but in my experience, many "bad boys" have a sensitive, decent side to them... which comes through in a pinch. The guys in these stories, are just totally stereotypical immature womanizers through and through, and that doesn't really ring true to me. I also found myself getting impatient with the narrator, who seems very similar in each story. Initially, she seems independent and gutsy, but soon you notice that her complete energy and thought is taken up with "the care and feeding of the man." And in many stories, she is a victim. Does she really love adventure, or is she just trying to keep up with these men and be what they want her to be? The stories are really well written and the premise intriguing, but don't think this book offers an accurate depiction of either cowboys or the women who are attracted to them. It's really about a woman who needs to figure out why she wants to hang around men who are not trustworthy or respectful of her.
Rating:
Summary: For the Single Woman
Review: Or any woman. She articulates the struggle with our demons better than most.
Rating:
Summary: All-time favorite!
Review: Pam Houston is one of those rare writers who can capture the essence of the moment in just a few worlds. My copy of "Cowbows. . ." is practically falling apart, I've read it so many times! Independent women searching for the kind of love you only hear about in country songs. Wonderful!
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