Product Description

Fourteen incisive stories bring to life characters who speak in a rich variety of voices, New England Yankees and Southern aristocrats, gay and straight, serious and joyful. Reprint. Tour.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1805313 in Books
• Published on: 1994-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Dorris ( A Yellow Raft in Blue Water ) offers 14 carefully etched portraits of just plain American folk puzzling through their roles as parents, children, husbands, wives, neighbors, friends and, as the title says, working men (and women). Not macabre, sensational or faddish, his stories are propelled by the persistent, half-spoken tension between the characters' everyday existence and their greater aspirations. In commonplace surroundings--a yard sale, a front room, a roadside Sheraton--Dorris's people meet with unexpected and often unwelcome epiphanies that jar their lives into perplexing clarity. Even the most secure ties to family and home begin to unravel when protagonists face themselves or when they feel a call to wander to that peculiarly American destination--no place in particular. Dorris has an uncanny ear for the ways people derive self-definition and consolation from the routines of labor and social convention--consider the simple attestation of the narrator of "The Benchmark," reflecting on the empty years after his son's drowning in the pond he built with his own hands: "every hour occupied, and I did quality work." No journeyman himself, Dorris displays his craftsmanship in each edgy, understated tale of this first-rate collection. 50,000 first printing; author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA-Students familiar with his nonfiction title, The Broken Cord (HarperCollins, 1989) and his novel, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water (Holt, 1987), will find that Dorris continues to tell a good story. Although the selections here aren't exclusively about men or about working, they should appeal especially to male readers. There are the deft details and nuances of relationships that ring true to life. The settings vary from the Northeast, to the South, to the Northwest, and often the themes and plots hinge on the unexpected significance of a chance encounter or event. Enjoyable, quality short fiction.
Ruth Melvin, Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
As one expects, the skillfully dramatized first-person narrators in this collection include several working men, but Dorris ( A Yellow Raft in Blue Water , LJ 5/1/87; and, with Louise Erdrich, The Crown of Columbus , LJ 3/15/91) is equally adept at speaking in the voice of a grieving mother, a girl who receives two marriage proposals, or an itinerant elephant thief. Some of the best stories ring with the varied melodies of love--young and old, straight and gay, marital and extramarital--or allow us to hear the lingering resonance of death. "Groom-Service," for example, is a comic account of an arranged marriage in a matriarchal society. In "The Benchmark," an aging surveyor contemplates those things that remain forever true in his craft and in life; through his work building small dams, he also constructs a bulwark against grief. Whether set in an Alaskan fishing village, a rural Indiana cemetery, or an army PX in Vietnam, Dorris's remarkably varied stories are uniformly excellent. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/93.
- Albert E. Wilhelm, Tennessee Technological Univ., Cookeville
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

A gem: each facet a sparkling short story.
Ever since I read Dorris' Yellow Raft in Blue Water I have wanted to read more of his magical prose. And finally I have. I carefully meted out a quota of one story a day to make the experience last its longest. And, I look forward to rereading this collection again and again when I need to quench one of those reading dry spells that settles in now and again

A rare and gentle treat...
Working Men is a varied yet cohesive volume of short stories that left me breathless. Dorris unfolds each story and character flawlessly. Each emotion is crystalline and each presentation is a rare and gentle treat. Working Men is meant to be read and reread.

Many men and a few surprises
Interesting collection of short stories. Here are some thoughts:

1: The Benchmark: Was Dorris an expert in pond construction? If not, how does an author research such a topic in order to sound so knowledgeable? What a skill!

2: Earnest Money: a guy who escaped to Canada to avoid the draft comes back to the US and meets the critical eye of the old and new women in his life. I did not like the very abrupt ending.

3: Qiana: Inertia can break up a marriage. Funnily, Irene finds solace elsewhere (her garden), while Normand is left out on a limb.

4: Name Games: Who are Noel and Alex? Noel needs to find out the inevitability of his sexual preference. Very well crafted story, where you only find out what's going on at the very end.

5: Groom Service: In an imaginary (?) matriarchal society, the groom is put through the ringer setting up a food dowry for the coveted bride.

6: Anything: Psychic George the DJ... I did not like this story all that well. It did not have much of a pointy.

7: The Vase: Dealing with aging, bitter parents can be quite the chore, especially when you've never been the favorite child. What is the son atoning for? Is he paying for his sins by putting up with his cranky mother?

8: Me and the Girls: This story is based on a NYT article, about a guy who kidnapped a couple of elephants and lived in the lam in NJ for a while. Too contrived, although this story truly proves the case that reality is stranger than fiction.

9: Jeopardy: Now, this one I didn't see it coming. What impacted me the most is how terrible it must be to continuously be living a semi-lie.

10: The Dark Snake: With some changes, this became part of the novel Cloud Chamber. Well done, but I can't stand that woman, who cuts her nose to spite her face.

11: Oui: My favorite story in the book. The ending was such a warm surprise! I love the voice of the narrator, which reminded me to the easy-speak that Jim Harrison uses too. Wonderful story full of hope.

12: Layaway: I did not understand this story, and would love for someone to read it and explain it to me!

13: Shining Agate: Starts with an Alaskan legend, and continues with the story of an anthropology student and superstition.

14: Decoration Day: This is another prequel to Cloud Chamber. Edna, who drives as a man, according to her sister, is the designated "man" in the story.