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The Outlaw Album
Twelve timeless Ozarkian tales of those on the fringes of society, by a "stunningly original" (Associated Press) American master.
Daniel Woodrell is able to lend uncanny logic to harsh, even criminal behavior in this wrenching collection of stories. Desperation - both material and psychological - motivates his characters. A husband cruelly avenges the killing of his wife's pet; an injured rapist is cared for by a young girl, until she reaches her breaking point; a disturbed veteran of Iraq is murdered for his erratic behavior; an outsider's house is set on fire by an angry neighbor.
There is also the tenderness and loyalty of the vulnerable in these stories - between spouses, parents and children, siblings, and comrades in arms - which brings the troubled, sorely tested cast of characters to vivid, relatable life.
Daniel Woodrell is able to lend uncanny logic to harsh, even criminal behavior in this wrenching collection of stories. Desperation - both material and psychological - motivates his characters. A husband cruelly avenges the killing of his wife's pet; an injured rapist is cared for by a young girl, until she reaches her breaking point; a disturbed veteran of Iraq is murdered for his erratic behavior; an outsider's house is set on fire by an angry neighbor.
There is also the tenderness and loyalty of the vulnerable in these stories - between spouses, parents and children, siblings, and comrades in arms - which brings the troubled, sorely tested cast of characters to vivid, relatable life.
167 pages, Hardcover
First published October 5, 2011
About the author
Daniel Woodrell
25 books1,278 followersGrowing up in Missouri, seventy miles downriver from Hannibal, Mark Twain was handed to me early on, first or second grade, and captivated me for years, and forever, I reckon. Robert Louis Stevenson had his seasons with me just before my teens and I love him yet. There are too many others to mention, I suppose, but feel compelled to bring up Hemingway, James Agee, Flannery O'Connor, John McGahern, Knut Hamsun, Faulkner, George Mackay Brown, Tillie Olsen, W.S. Merwin, Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Andrew Hudgins, Seamus Heaney, Derek Wolco.
Daniel Woodrell was born and now lives in the Missouri Ozarks. He left school and enlisted in the Marines the week he turned seventeen, received his bachelor's degree at age twenty-seven, graduated from the Iowa Writer's Workshop, and spent a year on a Michener Fellowship. His five most recent novels were selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year, and Tomato Red won the PEN West award for the novel in 1999. Winter's Bone is his eighth novel.
Daniel Woodrell was born and now lives in the Missouri Ozarks. He left school and enlisted in the Marines the week he turned seventeen, received his bachelor's degree at age twenty-seven, graduated from the Iowa Writer's Workshop, and spent a year on a Michener Fellowship. His five most recent novels were selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year, and Tomato Red won the PEN West award for the novel in 1999. Winter's Bone is his eighth novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 313 reviews
November 18, 2021
Don't think for a minute that Daniel Woodrell can't go dark and deep, despite these being short stories. The desperation of the characters is believable, as is the weary resignation and dull acceptance of a life that is trapped, stuck where no one would want to be. The hills and hollers of the Missouri Ozarks complete the picture, there are lost souls in them thar woods. There are some things you just don't mess with.
May 3, 2020
the first two stories in this collection are perfect, to my mind. they are both revenge stories, where the revenge is played out in very original ways, which i do not wish to spoil here.
after that, the collection veers from its highs to its lows. many of these stories end right when they are starting to get interesting to me. this is what used to make me so frustrated with short stories as a form: i just want more. for example: florianne is about three pages long. and it is a fine short story, but i like woodrell's voice and the voices of his characters too much to be satisfied with such an abrupt leavetaking.it seems cruel to immerse me into something wonderful, and then remove me and thrust me into something else wonderful when i am still thinking about the first thing.
i am having difficulty expressing myself today.
woodrell is such a great writer, even when he is disappointing me, that i longed to give this four stars, but in the spectrum of books i have read from him, this one is my least favorite. this is his only collection of short stories, and it is probably a failing in me that i didn't love these as much as i have loved his full-length works, but there it is.
love dream spot, love returning the river, but too many just got blurred together in the middle. i heart wood(rell), i just want some more sustained wood(rell).
come to my blog!
after that, the collection veers from its highs to its lows. many of these stories end right when they are starting to get interesting to me. this is what used to make me so frustrated with short stories as a form: i just want more. for example: florianne is about three pages long. and it is a fine short story, but i like woodrell's voice and the voices of his characters too much to be satisfied with such an abrupt leavetaking.it seems cruel to immerse me into something wonderful, and then remove me and thrust me into something else wonderful when i am still thinking about the first thing.
i am having difficulty expressing myself today.
woodrell is such a great writer, even when he is disappointing me, that i longed to give this four stars, but in the spectrum of books i have read from him, this one is my least favorite. this is his only collection of short stories, and it is probably a failing in me that i didn't love these as much as i have loved his full-length works, but there it is.
love dream spot, love returning the river, but too many just got blurred together in the middle. i heart wood(rell), i just want some more sustained wood(rell).
come to my blog!
February 9, 2012
Yet another thrilling installment of Kemper’s Bouchercon adventures:
I haven’t read a lot of Daniel Woodrell, but Winter’s Bone and Woe to Live On* had impressed me so much that I made a point to attend a panel that he was on along with Megan Abbott and some others regarding crime stories set in isolated or closed communities.
* (Woe to Live On was turned into a pretty good movie by Ang Lee called Ride With the Devil. Parts of that movie were filmed around the small Kansas town I grew up in, and I told Mr. Woodrell that when he was signing my book. He shot the shit with me about the movie for several minutes, and I got so wrapped up in talking about it that I completely forgot to say anything about the movie version of Winter’s Bone. You know, the one that was nominated for an Oscar for best picture….. Anyhow, like every author I met at Bouchercon, Mr. Woodrell was great with his fans and very interesting to listen to.)
On the panel, he told a funny story about how he had always prided himself that his fiction explored the basic humanity of even those who broke the law. Until he came home one time to find that he’d been robbed. (Probably by tweakers in the area.) Then he described how he ranted and raved about what he’d do to the people who’d done it once he got his shotgun loaded. At this point his wife gently reminded him about how he always said he tried to find the basic humanity in the worst criminals and that'd it'd probably be bad form to shoot someone for breaking into the house.
Daniel Woodrell grew up in the Ozarks and lives there today. If you’ve read or seen Winter’s Bone, you've figured this out already, but the man knows his rednecks. Seriously, the man KNOWS rednecks. He absolutely nails that weird mix of self-sufficiency, pride, suspicion and willful ignorance that make up the Americanus Redneckius. Then he creates the stories that can be incredibly brutal, but that still have a kind of stark beauty to them.
My only complaint about this book is that it’s too short. Each story is a quick stab to the heart that left me wanting more. And this guy can write openings like nobody else. Check out some of these first lines for the stories:
The Echo of Neighborly Bones - “Once Boshell killed his neighbor, he couldn’t seem to quit killing him.”
Florianne - “If they ever catch who took my daughter, I’ll probably know him.”
Night Stand - “Pelham came awake one night to find a naked man standing over his bed, growling.”
And great opening lines is only a small part of what Daniel Woodrell does so well in this collection.
I haven’t read a lot of Daniel Woodrell, but Winter’s Bone and Woe to Live On* had impressed me so much that I made a point to attend a panel that he was on along with Megan Abbott and some others regarding crime stories set in isolated or closed communities.
* (Woe to Live On was turned into a pretty good movie by Ang Lee called Ride With the Devil. Parts of that movie were filmed around the small Kansas town I grew up in, and I told Mr. Woodrell that when he was signing my book. He shot the shit with me about the movie for several minutes, and I got so wrapped up in talking about it that I completely forgot to say anything about the movie version of Winter’s Bone. You know, the one that was nominated for an Oscar for best picture….. Anyhow, like every author I met at Bouchercon, Mr. Woodrell was great with his fans and very interesting to listen to.)
On the panel, he told a funny story about how he had always prided himself that his fiction explored the basic humanity of even those who broke the law. Until he came home one time to find that he’d been robbed. (Probably by tweakers in the area.) Then he described how he ranted and raved about what he’d do to the people who’d done it once he got his shotgun loaded. At this point his wife gently reminded him about how he always said he tried to find the basic humanity in the worst criminals and that'd it'd probably be bad form to shoot someone for breaking into the house.
Daniel Woodrell grew up in the Ozarks and lives there today. If you’ve read or seen Winter’s Bone, you've figured this out already, but the man knows his rednecks. Seriously, the man KNOWS rednecks. He absolutely nails that weird mix of self-sufficiency, pride, suspicion and willful ignorance that make up the Americanus Redneckius. Then he creates the stories that can be incredibly brutal, but that still have a kind of stark beauty to them.
My only complaint about this book is that it’s too short. Each story is a quick stab to the heart that left me wanting more. And this guy can write openings like nobody else. Check out some of these first lines for the stories:
The Echo of Neighborly Bones - “Once Boshell killed his neighbor, he couldn’t seem to quit killing him.”
Florianne - “If they ever catch who took my daughter, I’ll probably know him.”
Night Stand - “Pelham came awake one night to find a naked man standing over his bed, growling.”
And great opening lines is only a small part of what Daniel Woodrell does so well in this collection.
October 19, 2017
Lyrically Haunting and Absorbing Shorts
Gas, Grass or Ass. Nobody Rides for Free
No author is better at showing the life of the white trash hillbilly clans living in the Ozarks, a highland region in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri.
This book of short stories is captivating. Each successive story makes you want to come back for another. Woodrell brilliantly consumes the reader with darkly atmospheric prose (think, McCarthy without the loquacity) to project the fear one must suffer living among several clans of in-bred possum faces.
A Ha Ha Funny
Daddy DonDon playin' like he's gonna chop off Sissy's booby, but why's his big paw there? Mommy Fay ain't nuff for him? O, in Arkansas, your brother might be your pa.
I recommend this collection if you love Woodrell's writing, you live in the Ozarks, or someone in your family constantly clenches and grinds his/her teeth whilst consuming 9-12 Coca-Colas per day.
Bobby Pistol and Phil A-show, laughin after makin a score
Gas, Grass or Ass. Nobody Rides for Free
No author is better at showing the life of the white trash hillbilly clans living in the Ozarks, a highland region in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri.
This book of short stories is captivating. Each successive story makes you want to come back for another. Woodrell brilliantly consumes the reader with darkly atmospheric prose (think, McCarthy without the loquacity) to project the fear one must suffer living among several clans of in-bred possum faces.
A Ha Ha Funny
Daddy DonDon playin' like he's gonna chop off Sissy's booby, but why's his big paw there? Mommy Fay ain't nuff for him? O, in Arkansas, your brother might be your pa.
I recommend this collection if you love Woodrell's writing, you live in the Ozarks, or someone in your family constantly clenches and grinds his/her teeth whilst consuming 9-12 Coca-Colas per day.
Bobby Pistol and Phil A-show, laughin after makin a score
November 7, 2021
I read this because I was taking a road trip through the Missouri Ozarks. When I choose this kind of reading for a trip, I'm looking for a sense of place. This collection has that, and great characters with unique voices too -- characters that, for the most part, don't like outsiders.
I didn't meet any of these characters. Not even when we stopped for lunch on a two-lane blue highway in a rural farming community in Missouri (population 1068, and seemingly declining). The overalled customer waiting for his takeout at the counter told us city folks to sit anywhere when he saw our hesitation. The young waitress brought me vinaigrette for my salad, commenting that it smelled good though she'd not ever tasted it. The trip was filled with pleasant encounters with genuinely friendly, polite people; but then we didn't shoot anyone's beloved dog or with a newly built house block their dying daddy's view of the river.
*
These are good stories and the one I was most affected by, as far as violence goes, was "Woe to Live On," set in 1916 and earlier, during the Civil War when anarchy seemed to reign in Missouri and both sides killed casually due to prejudice of all kinds. The story must be the precursor (though published later) to Woodrell's novel of the same name.
*
Also, I found in these stories what I felt was lacking in Donald Ray Pollock's Knockemstiff: heart amidst the grittiness.
I didn't meet any of these characters. Not even when we stopped for lunch on a two-lane blue highway in a rural farming community in Missouri (population 1068, and seemingly declining). The overalled customer waiting for his takeout at the counter told us city folks to sit anywhere when he saw our hesitation. The young waitress brought me vinaigrette for my salad, commenting that it smelled good though she'd not ever tasted it. The trip was filled with pleasant encounters with genuinely friendly, polite people; but then we didn't shoot anyone's beloved dog or with a newly built house block their dying daddy's view of the river.
*
These are good stories and the one I was most affected by, as far as violence goes, was "Woe to Live On," set in 1916 and earlier, during the Civil War when anarchy seemed to reign in Missouri and both sides killed casually due to prejudice of all kinds. The story must be the precursor (though published later) to Woodrell's novel of the same name.
*
Also, I found in these stories what I felt was lacking in Donald Ray Pollock's Knockemstiff: heart amidst the grittiness.
January 15, 2022
Given that this book was advertised as about being “outlaws”, and given that it was written by Daniel Woodrell, I probably shouldn’t have been taken back by the level of casual violence in The Echo of Neighborly Bones, the opening story in this collection. I was taken aback though, and after reading it I wasn’t sure this collection was going to be for me. It was a revenge story, and is followed in this collection by another of the same type, Uncle, but in contrast I thought this second tale was one of three outstanding stories from the twelve featured. Perhaps it was because my mind had adjusted, or perhaps because the revenge taken in Uncle seemed more proportionate to the original crimes, at least according to my sense of natural justice.
The shortest story in the book, Florianne, is only a few pages long but is extremely powerful. For me the other outstanding story was Woe to Live On. Part-way through reading it I suddenly thought “Hang on, I’ve seen a film version of this” - that film being Ride with the Devil, which I thought was really, really, good. After checking the Internet, I found the film had been based on a Woodrell novel also called Woe to Live On. Presumably therefore the novel started life as the short story reproduced in this collection, and was later expanded to a novel? However it began, I’m definitely going to try and find a copy of the full novel to read. Another one for the mountainous TBR!
The characters in these stories are drawn from long-established Ozark families. Newcomers and visitors are tolerated simply by being ignored, as something separate from the network of those who have been there for generations. If for any reason newcomers clash with the “outlaws”, they end up as victims, and this fate can also befall those from the established families. There is much madness described in these pages, and plenty of talk of people who are “off their meds”. All of the stories are well-written, but apart from the three I’ve highlighted, I found them difficult to relate to.
The shortest story in the book, Florianne, is only a few pages long but is extremely powerful. For me the other outstanding story was Woe to Live On. Part-way through reading it I suddenly thought “Hang on, I’ve seen a film version of this” - that film being Ride with the Devil, which I thought was really, really, good. After checking the Internet, I found the film had been based on a Woodrell novel also called Woe to Live On. Presumably therefore the novel started life as the short story reproduced in this collection, and was later expanded to a novel? However it began, I’m definitely going to try and find a copy of the full novel to read. Another one for the mountainous TBR!
The characters in these stories are drawn from long-established Ozark families. Newcomers and visitors are tolerated simply by being ignored, as something separate from the network of those who have been there for generations. If for any reason newcomers clash with the “outlaws”, they end up as victims, and this fate can also befall those from the established families. There is much madness described in these pages, and plenty of talk of people who are “off their meds”. All of the stories are well-written, but apart from the three I’ve highlighted, I found them difficult to relate to.
July 19, 2012
This slim volume is a collection of short stories by the author best known for his novel, Winter's Bone. As in most of Woodrell's work, the people in these stories are rural characters. Most of them are vulnerable and wounded. Some of them are very sympathetic; others are repellant, but they are all virtually unforgettable. Woodrell writes beautifully about the people and the land that he obviously knows and loves. The only problem with this book is that it is not at least three times as long.
November 8, 2021
To those who have read Daniel Woodrell’s “The Outlaw Album” and/or any of his novels, and as a result are dubious about traveling in the Ozarks, I am going to let the author help ease your mind:
“I write about a slice of life here [the Ozarks] that does exist but is not dominant by any means …. In public I always try to work into my talk that I am very well aware of the fact that many [of my] books present a narrow slice of our world and could be “used against us.” Too bad if that is so, but it won’t slow me down, either. I follow my tune wherever it goes ….”
On "The Outlaw Album":
“It’s called ‘The Outlaw Album,’ not ‘The Ozarks Album.’ These are stories that delve into different kinds of outlawry, from criminal acts to interior, or psychological, outlawry. The book is not meant to be a tapestry of the Ozarks.”
“One of the interesting things about the Ozarks is you just don’t have street crime …. It’s strictly between people who know each other. It really isn’t indiscriminate; it’s kind of between themselves.”
I wanted to include Woodrell’s disclaimer because I live in the Ozarks and I know that he is speaking the truth about the region. During all the years that I have lived here neither I nor any member of my family has ever been the victim of a crime. And the crimes that are committed are by a wide margin the kind that he describes in the last paragraph.
But (there’s always a but, isn’t there?), these stories are stories about outlaws and the first sentence in the first story sets the tone for the twelve stories in the collection:
“Once Boshell finally killed his neighbor he couldn’t seem to quit killing him.”
So, if you do take a trip through the Ozarks, don’t be shootin’ no dogs.
On the other hand, there is a story about a man from Nebraska who moves to the Ozarks and buys the Twin Forks Store and Campground. He learns to admire and respect many of the locals who come to his store:
They aren’t all outlaws.
These twelve stories are tough stories, about culturally isolated tough characters living in tough poverty, attempting to survive, and often dealing with their circumstances aided by booze and drugs. There are warped family relationships, people with major problems of mental instability, as well as three stories dealing with the problems of PTSD, including one Civil War veteran, which proves that it has a long history.
Tyler Cabot writing in "Esquire Magazine" wrote that “there is a moment in all of Daniel Woodrell’s novels when he belts you across the face.” I would agree, but would add that he does the same when you read these short stories.
Woodrell is a story teller in the tradition of Flannery O’Connor, whose stories are populated with misfits, acts of violence and revenge, but often, just as O’Connor does, he surprises the reader with a dose of humor, though dark it might be and more than a little on the warped side. However, if one has a warped sense of humor, one might not be able to suppress a smile while reading some passages (Am I right, Teresa?).
******
“Woodrell writes high Greek tragedy about low people and he never panders or looks down on the people he writes about.” – Dennis Lehane
“I write about a slice of life here [the Ozarks] that does exist but is not dominant by any means …. In public I always try to work into my talk that I am very well aware of the fact that many [of my] books present a narrow slice of our world and could be “used against us.” Too bad if that is so, but it won’t slow me down, either. I follow my tune wherever it goes ….”
On "The Outlaw Album":
“It’s called ‘The Outlaw Album,’ not ‘The Ozarks Album.’ These are stories that delve into different kinds of outlawry, from criminal acts to interior, or psychological, outlawry. The book is not meant to be a tapestry of the Ozarks.”
“One of the interesting things about the Ozarks is you just don’t have street crime …. It’s strictly between people who know each other. It really isn’t indiscriminate; it’s kind of between themselves.”
I wanted to include Woodrell’s disclaimer because I live in the Ozarks and I know that he is speaking the truth about the region. During all the years that I have lived here neither I nor any member of my family has ever been the victim of a crime. And the crimes that are committed are by a wide margin the kind that he describes in the last paragraph.
But (there’s always a but, isn’t there?), these stories are stories about outlaws and the first sentence in the first story sets the tone for the twelve stories in the collection:
“Once Boshell finally killed his neighbor he couldn’t seem to quit killing him.”
So, if you do take a trip through the Ozarks, don’t be shootin’ no dogs.
On the other hand, there is a story about a man from Nebraska who moves to the Ozarks and buys the Twin Forks Store and Campground. He learns to admire and respect many of the locals who come to his store:
The locals who came in were often people of a kind he hadn’t truly believed still existed but found rewarding to meet: pioneer-lean old men, who poached deer whenever hungry and wouldn’t pay taxes, their wives wearing gray braids and cowboy hats, clasp knives sheathed in their belts; men with the beard of prophets who read the Bible at a certain slant and could build anything, their women smelling of lavender in gingham and work boots …. A few of these customers lingered to chat, but most said all they had to say with a slow nod hello and a jerk of the chin on the way out.
They aren’t all outlaws.
These twelve stories are tough stories, about culturally isolated tough characters living in tough poverty, attempting to survive, and often dealing with their circumstances aided by booze and drugs. There are warped family relationships, people with major problems of mental instability, as well as three stories dealing with the problems of PTSD, including one Civil War veteran, which proves that it has a long history.
Tyler Cabot writing in "Esquire Magazine" wrote that “there is a moment in all of Daniel Woodrell’s novels when he belts you across the face.” I would agree, but would add that he does the same when you read these short stories.
Woodrell is a story teller in the tradition of Flannery O’Connor, whose stories are populated with misfits, acts of violence and revenge, but often, just as O’Connor does, he surprises the reader with a dose of humor, though dark it might be and more than a little on the warped side. However, if one has a warped sense of humor, one might not be able to suppress a smile while reading some passages (Am I right, Teresa?).
******
“Woodrell writes high Greek tragedy about low people and he never panders or looks down on the people he writes about.” – Dennis Lehane
July 18, 2016
I enjoyed this story collection by respected author Daniel Woodrell but it unfortunately suffers from the thing that threatens to plague many collections: the stories might not be very consistent in quality. There were several tales that really stood out, will definitely appeal to fans of his work, and really encompassed the themes Woodrell tackles throughout the whole collection. "Florianne" and "Uncle," two great tales of rural revenge, as well as "Black Step" and "Night Stand," two stunning sketches of PTSD in veterans, were very impressive, but many of the other stories were simply not that memorable. Also, many of the characters in this collection don't engage and stick with you the way other Woodrell creations do, like Shug or Glenda in
The Death of Sweet Mister
, or Ree in
Winter's Bone
. Fans of the author's poetic prose and the way he conjures environment and atmosphere should give this a go though!
Her chest had been cut away from her first, both sides, but she fell sick in other parts too, and the sick didn't rest; it prowled her body, salting her with ruin you couldn't see in her face for a good long while. Now the ruin just stares out at me, all the time, from those eyes that know about hope and that body that can't offer any.
December 31, 2011
These are stories of the darkness of the heart, in which he writes so well about. He has conjured up a motley crew of characters here, some you will find are brutal and dysfunctional. Immerse yourself in the bleak and black abyss as dark as sin itself. There is also tenderness and loyalty in these stories between husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters, and comrades in arms.
His prose is unique. Characters memorable.
The stories that stood out for me more for their darkness and characters are these that follow.
The Echo of Neighborly Bones
It's nice to have good neighbors. In this story it's not the case, plus one is a foreigner a northerner to the main protagonist. And oh boy does he dish out violence and brutality. But you got to say he had it coming.
Uncle
A tale of retribution. An evil uncle who abuses one too many girls gets payback at the hands of a niece.
Florianne
Florianne is Henrys daughter he tells us of her gone missing or probably dead. He is hoping to find her and suspects all, in a paranoid way, as guilty who give slightly different look of the eye.
Dreamspot
A dysfunctional couple driving along spot a hitch hiker and decide to stop. Something irreversible happens.
Review also on my webpage here
His prose is unique. Characters memorable.
The stories that stood out for me more for their darkness and characters are these that follow.
The Echo of Neighborly Bones
It's nice to have good neighbors. In this story it's not the case, plus one is a foreigner a northerner to the main protagonist. And oh boy does he dish out violence and brutality. But you got to say he had it coming.
Uncle
A tale of retribution. An evil uncle who abuses one too many girls gets payback at the hands of a niece.
Florianne
Florianne is Henrys daughter he tells us of her gone missing or probably dead. He is hoping to find her and suspects all, in a paranoid way, as guilty who give slightly different look of the eye.
Dreamspot
A dysfunctional couple driving along spot a hitch hiker and decide to stop. Something irreversible happens.
Review also on my webpage here
July 5, 2023
Daniel Woodrell is best known for writing the novel Winter's Bone (which was turned into a movie that was Jennifer Lawrence's break-through role), but there is more, much more, worth exploring in his catalog. That includes this small collection of short stories, many published originally in them fancy literary journals, about scallawags and small tragedies. All are set in the Ozarks, where he's from and still resides.
Like other reviewers, I felt like the beginning was the strongest, but there wasn't a story I didn't like (maybe "The Horse in Our History" came close.) Here are some of the best, with quotes to set the Woodrell mood.
Uncle--a young woman takes justice into her own hands to save herself and her mother from a rotted relative, leading her to ponder the nature of evil. This was my favorite.
He was helpless, and I took to wondering if Uncle was still evil now that he'd become a helpless baby. Do babies learn evil in the run of their days, or bring it with them from the other side of all that you can see?
Black Step--a Gulf War veteran ponders life back home and finds it wanting. Not the life he has so much as being alive in general.
They tell me Dad committed suicide for reasons he dreamed up. His mind was too active. He had a round mind and it roamed. He could imagine the many miseries of this world flying over from everywhere to roost between his ears, but he couldn't imagine how to get away.
Florianne--while most of his stories have their funny moments (black humored though they may often be), this is a wrenching tale about a father living with the long time unsolved disappearance of his daughter.
At some point every old friend sensed my suspicion aim their way and several couldn't get over that moment of recognition, even after my suspicion rotated to the next ol' buddy, or slightly creepy cousin, that mailman with the pencil mustache.....I've often thought about that: If she'd stayed chunky would she be here now? Some questions popping up keep the hurt fresh.
Like other reviewers, I felt like the beginning was the strongest, but there wasn't a story I didn't like (maybe "The Horse in Our History" came close.) Here are some of the best, with quotes to set the Woodrell mood.
Uncle--a young woman takes justice into her own hands to save herself and her mother from a rotted relative, leading her to ponder the nature of evil. This was my favorite.
He was helpless, and I took to wondering if Uncle was still evil now that he'd become a helpless baby. Do babies learn evil in the run of their days, or bring it with them from the other side of all that you can see?
Black Step--a Gulf War veteran ponders life back home and finds it wanting. Not the life he has so much as being alive in general.
They tell me Dad committed suicide for reasons he dreamed up. His mind was too active. He had a round mind and it roamed. He could imagine the many miseries of this world flying over from everywhere to roost between his ears, but he couldn't imagine how to get away.
Florianne--while most of his stories have their funny moments (black humored though they may often be), this is a wrenching tale about a father living with the long time unsolved disappearance of his daughter.
At some point every old friend sensed my suspicion aim their way and several couldn't get over that moment of recognition, even after my suspicion rotated to the next ol' buddy, or slightly creepy cousin, that mailman with the pencil mustache.....I've often thought about that: If she'd stayed chunky would she be here now? Some questions popping up keep the hurt fresh.
January 22, 2013
Woodrell writes poetic prose about the people and the land known as the Ozarks, I've never been but I feel like I know it well enough to keep it off of my travel itinerary.
Twelve short pieces of literature with a distinct noir flavour, featuring harsh, brutal and criminal behaviour, told in a way that attempts to capture the simple beauty of even the most offensive strain of humanity. These stories feature plenty of murder, fear, compassion, loss and misunderstanding. Not for the feint of heart.
There are a lot of great things in this collection, as Kemper points out opening lines are one of them, but the only real problem with these stories is that they are not longer. I enjoy short stories, I believe I am getting a grip on understanding and appreciating the form and so I am critical of Woodrell for the first time, these are not stories that are too short because I was enjoying them too much but too short because they are often, in a way, unsatisfying in their conclusion.
Are short stories ever a good introduction to an authors work, Raymond Carver aside? In this case I would say no, Daniel Woodrell writes remarkable novels, captures human nature like no other, is unafraid of exploring the darker side of reality and has an eye for what makes a fascinating story but if you have yet to enjoy those novels please wait before devouring this collection whole.
Twelve short pieces of literature with a distinct noir flavour, featuring harsh, brutal and criminal behaviour, told in a way that attempts to capture the simple beauty of even the most offensive strain of humanity. These stories feature plenty of murder, fear, compassion, loss and misunderstanding. Not for the feint of heart.
There are a lot of great things in this collection, as Kemper points out opening lines are one of them, but the only real problem with these stories is that they are not longer. I enjoy short stories, I believe I am getting a grip on understanding and appreciating the form and so I am critical of Woodrell for the first time, these are not stories that are too short because I was enjoying them too much but too short because they are often, in a way, unsatisfying in their conclusion.
Are short stories ever a good introduction to an authors work, Raymond Carver aside? In this case I would say no, Daniel Woodrell writes remarkable novels, captures human nature like no other, is unafraid of exploring the darker side of reality and has an eye for what makes a fascinating story but if you have yet to enjoy those novels please wait before devouring this collection whole.
March 29, 2012
I know Daniel Woodrell can write -- his pen is his sword and he wields it with deathly and thrilling precision. Nowhere is that on display more than with his novel Winter's Bone which left me breathless and humbled and panting for more. The story of young Ree and her perilous hunt for her missing meth-making father is one of rage and pain and beauty, and knocked me flat I loved it so much. It instantly made it onto my all time favorites list. With this collection of mostly very short stories, Woodrell is unable to cast the same lyrical spell over me, and so it is with huge and devastating regret I give The Outlaw Album a paltry two stars.
The collection contains some bright moments of fierce-eyed intensity, but overall, the experience feels muted and unsatisfying. Woodrell has proven to be such a vivid, emotive, and wrenching writer, yet here the effect is just too subtle to do its job (a fault that likely lies more with me than with him). I am not the best reader (or critic) of short stories. It is a problematic format for me that I don't swoon over easily. Just getting a whiff of a story is usually not enough; I want more, more, and more! I realize that yes, in some instances less can often translate into so much more and that's where the short story's power lies, I just didn't feel it here.
In his collection Crimes in Southern Indiana, Frank Bill is ruthless, his prose savage. There is a shocking, almost overdone, Southern grotesquerie to it all and I loved it!. In contrast to wild Bill, I came to Woodrell's writing hoping for a tempered, mature, evocative approach to essentially the same subject matter, and while there are hints of that, there are more misses (by a mile) than hits.
May 30, 2023
Either I'm outgrowing one my favorite authors (please no) or this wasn't his best. Some of these styles are experimental and they didn't entirely work for me, maybe it was the mood I was in. Maybe my ear is becoming tinny or I was just distracted. Some stories sounded like brief snatches created during writing class (or as I imagine those might be, truthfully). Some good places in these stories, middle south Missouri, my native state. Glad I read it though, the bite size chapters were a good fit for my late night reading after busy days in a busy life.
January 4, 2016
For you Grit people out there, this is grit-with-ground-glass-in-it. For the noir(ists) this is hard-boiled. For the rest, this is hard core, cover your eyes.*** These are phenomenal short stories that must have been a Woodrell writing exercise to practice SHOCK VALUE. The flawless writing lures the reader into dark rooms and unsavory places. Curiosity might not be your best ally on this one. No one with weak stomachs or overwhelming gag reflexes should pursue this.
October 9, 2011
This slim volume of a dozen stories should appeal to the fans of literary fiction with a decidedly noirish twist and rural flavor. My favorite was "Nightstand," a tale about two generations of veterans from their different wars who share the same primal, raw feelings. Like in most of the stories, there's physical violence and spilled blood. Mr. Woodrell has a unique, distinctive voice which I believe really shines in the historical short story, "Woe to Live On," about a Confederate bushwhacker who rode with the brutal William Quantrill. I got a big charge out of Winter's Bone, both the novel and the subsequent movie. Glimpses of WB can be seen in these 12 stories (rural settings, visceral emotions, etc.), so The Outlaw Album serves as a sastisfying bridge until the next novel arrives.
July 30, 2013
One of my complaints (or the biggest complaint) I had while reading Tomato Red was that the story and the characters felt too familiar to me, and I didn't care for that. It's nothing against Woodrell. In fact, I could tell that I would like Woodrell - his writing really is hypnotic in a strangely complex minimalist way. I'm slowly making my way through his writing because I have a feeling reading too much of it at one time, being immersed in the Ozarks life again, could be not such a great thing for me.
This collection was a good way to get back into Woodrell's writing. These short stories are most definitely short - there's not a lot of story to comment on, but that's not to say there's nothing going on within the stories. There are actually a lot of layers to Woodrell's stories which I could appreciate it, even if I was frustrated that some of the stories ended too quickly.
These are not the stories of Breece D'J Pancake, sadly; no one is like Breece D'J Pancake. But Woodrell is close, and since Pancake left us all too soon, I'll settle for Woodrell. And now that I have some of his short stories under my belt, and know what he can do with them, I'm ready to read some more of his novels. Slowly, carefully. With lots of other books between them. Because it's summer, and summer in Missouri was not usually a good time for me, and I don't need to remember all of that.
I will say that the best two stories are the first two - which makes me think that revenge stories are Woodrell's forte. I'm not sure what that means about us - him for writing them so well and me for liking them.
This collection was a good way to get back into Woodrell's writing. These short stories are most definitely short - there's not a lot of story to comment on, but that's not to say there's nothing going on within the stories. There are actually a lot of layers to Woodrell's stories which I could appreciate it, even if I was frustrated that some of the stories ended too quickly.
These are not the stories of Breece D'J Pancake, sadly; no one is like Breece D'J Pancake. But Woodrell is close, and since Pancake left us all too soon, I'll settle for Woodrell. And now that I have some of his short stories under my belt, and know what he can do with them, I'm ready to read some more of his novels. Slowly, carefully. With lots of other books between them. Because it's summer, and summer in Missouri was not usually a good time for me, and I don't need to remember all of that.
I will say that the best two stories are the first two - which makes me think that revenge stories are Woodrell's forte. I'm not sure what that means about us - him for writing them so well and me for liking them.
April 27, 2020
What a collection of stories! All of them pack a punch of humanity through crackling prose and surprises. Woodrell's writing is an absolute joy to read as his affection for the Ozarks rings passionately genuine from story to story. In my opinion, he is what you call a "writer's writer."
If only there were volumes of these stories...
If only there were volumes of these stories...
August 17, 2016
An enjoyable collection of short stories I've been dipping in to over the past week. They felt familiar yet new and it wasn't until I finished that I realised that it wasn't just because of the author or the style or the mileau that I've read before but that I'd actually read this book before. I can't say whether that's a positive for the writing or not, or if I'm just losing it a little bit, or what, but it certainly can't hurt for a book to feel comfortable and enjoyable, if not truly memorable can it?
September 19, 2018
(3.5) Based on the first six stories, I was planning a 5-star rating. (How can you resist this opening line? “Once Boshell finally killed his neighbor he couldn’t seem to quit killing him.”) But the second half of the book ended up being much less memorable; I wouldn’t say it wasn’t worth reading, but I got very little out of four of the stories, and the other two were okay but somewhat insubstantial. By contrast, the first two stories, “The Echo of Neighborly Bones” and “Uncle,” are gritty little masterpieces of violence and revenge, the former in the third person and the latter in the first person. I also particularly liked “Black Step” and “Night Stand,” about traumatized soldiers back from war (Woodrell himself was a Marine). Each has a creepy segment where the veteran gives sarcastic answers to the unspecified typical questions they always get; we have to infer that these are: How many people did you kill? What’s it like to kill someone? and What do you do with the bodies? There’s a nice balance between first- and third-person voices; lyrical and unlearned prose; and speech marks and none. I will definitely read more by Woodrell.
A favorite passage: “Summer had its fangs out sharp and long that year, sucking the joy from every sunny hour. The heat led to erupting meannesses between intimates, bursts of spite that bubbled the truth up top to be hurled from one sweated sopping side of the bed to the other, never to be truly forgotten or gotten over.”
A favorite passage: “Summer had its fangs out sharp and long that year, sucking the joy from every sunny hour. The heat led to erupting meannesses between intimates, bursts of spite that bubbled the truth up top to be hurled from one sweated sopping side of the bed to the other, never to be truly forgotten or gotten over.”
January 9, 2012
Look at the cover art. What do you see? Barren landscape. Dead grass and dead trees beneath a darkening sky. When you look at the interior landscapes of Woodrell's characters, what will you see? About the same. Storms, bleakness, dead things.
Woodrell is a child of the Ozarks. He writes what he knows, and he writes it well. But after a handful of stories, he starts to sound like One-Note Johnny. He may play it on different instruments, but it's still the same note -- Ozark Dark.
Once you figure out it's never going to end well, you begin reading with mental breath bated. This seems like a nice little story...wonder when the girl's going to hack her mother's neck open with a meat cleaver... Which, I suppose, is the purpose of the genre.
Fans of the bleak and the noir have written laudatory reviews of this collection. If this is not your usual fare but you want to see what Woodrell can do, I'd steer you toward his novel, Winter's Bone. It showcases his writing chops and has more appeal for mainstream readers.
Woodrell is a child of the Ozarks. He writes what he knows, and he writes it well. But after a handful of stories, he starts to sound like One-Note Johnny. He may play it on different instruments, but it's still the same note -- Ozark Dark.
Once you figure out it's never going to end well, you begin reading with mental breath bated. This seems like a nice little story...wonder when the girl's going to hack her mother's neck open with a meat cleaver... Which, I suppose, is the purpose of the genre.
Fans of the bleak and the noir have written laudatory reviews of this collection. If this is not your usual fare but you want to see what Woodrell can do, I'd steer you toward his novel, Winter's Bone. It showcases his writing chops and has more appeal for mainstream readers.
March 25, 2019
Although not all these stories were my taste, the skills and prose of Daniel Woodrell was a genuine delight. Don't get me wrong, there were some kick ass stories in this collection, especially the opener!
Anyone considering this collection should preview the first story on your Kindle or PC. It's a gem!
Anyone considering this collection should preview the first story on your Kindle or PC. It's a gem!
January 2, 2012
Daniel Woodrell is an author gifted with extraordinary descriptive talents and an imagination so dark and murky I would not want to go wading through too deeply lest I end up a meal for the alligators and snakes that surely flourish in such conditions. It shouldn't be as easy as it is for him to call to life the haunting beauty of the forests and rivers of wild Appalachia while at the same time people it with characters for whom complete and spontaneous violent outbursts are always an acceptable method of conflict resolution. Whether you're bashing your rapist Uncle over the head with a log or driving your car over a cliff while attempting to run over a hitchhiker, you fit in well in Woodrell's world.
These short stories are not all bloodlust and Southern-fried violence, however. Into the mix, Woodrell scatters some of those bittersweet moments of earnestness that made Winter's Bone such a compelling read and make Woodrell's debt to Cormac McCarthy all the more obvious. Two offerings in particular stand out among this collection. The first, "Black Step", is a painful tale of alienation and hurt as it recounts a recently-returned-from-Iraq veteran taking care of his ailing mother's farm while also coping with his PTSD and emotionally-shallow friends whose version of commiseration is finding out how people's heads look when they explode. The next, "Woe To Live On", is the stand-out winner in this collection. Set in the early days of WWI it features an elderly wood-carver who had served as a bushwhacker during Reconstruction, ambushing and killing Union troops intent on pacifying the still-roiling South, dealing with moving into a new global era and the changing American worldview. I think this story should be required reading for Tea Partiers, but doubt most would get the point.
Making for an entertaining afternoon of reading, this is a short and quick collection of stories that I could not put down once starting to read. Each surprising twist ending propelled me further, I needed to see what would happen next. Next thing I knew I had torn through the meager 167 pages and wanted more. Some of these stories are clear throw aways, writing exercises that probably should have stayed on his hard drive rather than being used to pad this collection, but which are still entertaining. I'm uncertain whether most of these tales will stay with me as I move on to other reads, but I'm still incredibly glad I read it.
These short stories are not all bloodlust and Southern-fried violence, however. Into the mix, Woodrell scatters some of those bittersweet moments of earnestness that made Winter's Bone such a compelling read and make Woodrell's debt to Cormac McCarthy all the more obvious. Two offerings in particular stand out among this collection. The first, "Black Step", is a painful tale of alienation and hurt as it recounts a recently-returned-from-Iraq veteran taking care of his ailing mother's farm while also coping with his PTSD and emotionally-shallow friends whose version of commiseration is finding out how people's heads look when they explode. The next, "Woe To Live On", is the stand-out winner in this collection. Set in the early days of WWI it features an elderly wood-carver who had served as a bushwhacker during Reconstruction, ambushing and killing Union troops intent on pacifying the still-roiling South, dealing with moving into a new global era and the changing American worldview. I think this story should be required reading for Tea Partiers, but doubt most would get the point.
Making for an entertaining afternoon of reading, this is a short and quick collection of stories that I could not put down once starting to read. Each surprising twist ending propelled me further, I needed to see what would happen next. Next thing I knew I had torn through the meager 167 pages and wanted more. Some of these stories are clear throw aways, writing exercises that probably should have stayed on his hard drive rather than being used to pad this collection, but which are still entertaining. I'm uncertain whether most of these tales will stay with me as I move on to other reads, but I'm still incredibly glad I read it.
July 8, 2013
Okay, so... I never thought I would read a book of short stories about murderers, rapists, thieves, and/or the victims who are seeking revenge on their murderers, rapists, and thieves, let alone ENJOY said book, but I did and... I did. I don't even know, man. I don't even KNOW. Most of it was kind of disturbing, but it was oddly compelling at the same time. There were a few images that I really didn't need stuck in my head forever, but mostly... yeah, I enjoyed it. Weird!
October 20, 2011
It's quite stunning how much better Daniel Woodrell gets with every book. In The Outlaw Album he's thinner, leaner and meaner than he ever was. His stories talk about the Ozark Mountains, but resonate of so many universal themes that it speaks to every single one of us. He's right up there with Cormac McCarthy as one of the best language virtuosos that write in English. Truly amazing.
March 25, 2018
Many little gems here that remind me of Donald Ray Pollack.
July 23, 2017
I enjoyed 'Outlaw Album,' but sometimes felt the characters were slightly forced, or the violence and poverty unrealistically heightened for dramatic effect.
November 23, 2016
The Outlaw Album is a collection of short stories by one of my favorite authors in Daniel Woodrell. The vast majority are very short (5 to 10 pages) and in some instances this is too short, but the length generally works.
The Echo of Neighborly Bone is a tale of a deranged and violent individual in a rural setting who becomes a serial killer of one. murdering his neighbor time and time ago. The ending was a little of for me, and threw the story making it not feel complete.
One of my favorites, Uncle is about a sexual predator; a menacing figure who has his way with young women on vacation. He's a predator who not only takes what he wants from strangers but family too. Woodrell writes a clever and evocative tale of revenge with prolonged satisfaction for the sufferance of the man who ultimately gets his comeuppance.
Twin Forks is a small town campers delight that touches upon the rural noir Woodrell writes so well without quite giving up the goods to satisfy this reader. The story itself felt like it was just getting started before ending.
Florianne is an emotional tale which lacks depth of a missing daughter not found. More of a thought provoking narrative than deep and meaningful mystery.
The Night Stand was strange and engaging. Woken by a man standing over a couple as they slept, the recently startled awake male contributes to a seemingly premeditated intruder suicide. Good depth and back-story - it would make a great novel.
Some of the stories in the middle of the collection felt flat; one about a Chinese whisper that grew and got murky over time and another about a man in prison with a knack for poetry, while well written didn't really engage the reader. The later stories also didn't do it for me which is disheartening as the collection got off to a relatively strong start.
Fans of Woodrell will no doubt have read this. I was left with mixed feelings - perhaps my exceptions were too high but for some reason the majority of the stories just didn't connect with me; I'd rate this book a 2 out of 5.
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The Echo of Neighborly Bone is a tale of a deranged and violent individual in a rural setting who becomes a serial killer of one. murdering his neighbor time and time ago. The ending was a little of for me, and threw the story making it not feel complete.
One of my favorites, Uncle is about a sexual predator; a menacing figure who has his way with young women on vacation. He's a predator who not only takes what he wants from strangers but family too. Woodrell writes a clever and evocative tale of revenge with prolonged satisfaction for the sufferance of the man who ultimately gets his comeuppance.
Twin Forks is a small town campers delight that touches upon the rural noir Woodrell writes so well without quite giving up the goods to satisfy this reader. The story itself felt like it was just getting started before ending.
Florianne is an emotional tale which lacks depth of a missing daughter not found. More of a thought provoking narrative than deep and meaningful mystery.
The Night Stand was strange and engaging. Woken by a man standing over a couple as they slept, the recently startled awake male contributes to a seemingly premeditated intruder suicide. Good depth and back-story - it would make a great novel.
Some of the stories in the middle of the collection felt flat; one about a Chinese whisper that grew and got murky over time and another about a man in prison with a knack for poetry, while well written didn't really engage the reader. The later stories also didn't do it for me which is disheartening as the collection got off to a relatively strong start.
Fans of Woodrell will no doubt have read this. I was left with mixed feelings - perhaps my exceptions were too high but for some reason the majority of the stories just didn't connect with me; I'd rate this book a 2 out of 5.
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November 5, 2014
Woodrell's story-telling is skilled and persuasive. I enjoyed reading these stories that were sometimes like overheard conversations, survivors telling their stories of death, grudge, mental illness and disorientation. Several are of traumatized veterans of wars ranging from the civil war to the current war in Afghanistan. Murder, arson, and reckless stupidity claim lives. Land and water issues, substance abuse, sexual and physical abuse are at the heart of others. What they have in common is the land—both the physical geography and the economic and political leavings of a culture of consumption and slavery—and extreme poverty. A few of the stories seemed unnecessarily vague and confusing and at times I think Woodrell overwrites and the sentences get too chunky with words and I had to stop and parse apart what was happening. I see that as a flaw, an unnecessary breaking of the spell. But his ability to get inside the minds and behind the eyes of his characters more than makes up for it. I will definitely be reading more of Woodrell's work.
Favorites: Night Stand, Two Things, Twin Forks.
Favorites: Night Stand, Two Things, Twin Forks.
December 14, 2011
Deep woods Ozarks hold a people and a morality not readily known to civilization as we know it in the greater world! There's a lawlessness and a psychosis that is such that only the people who live there or were born there are privy to, or dare to venture in amongst.
Daniel Woodrell, famous for the recent movie taken from his award-winning book "Winter's Bone," doesn't hesitate one sentence to shock and horrify the reader with his guts-'n-grit writing about the Ozark characters that populate his stories. These are the people of which we speak when we talk about the truly inbred and immoral...those who make up their own morality as they go along, and don't suffer fools or outsiders lightly.
Woodrell's stories will haunt you. They'll keep you coming back for more. They'll keep your mind coming back to chew on them again and again in inquisitiveness and horror.
A book like this only comes along once in a great while...
Daniel Woodrell, famous for the recent movie taken from his award-winning book "Winter's Bone," doesn't hesitate one sentence to shock and horrify the reader with his guts-'n-grit writing about the Ozark characters that populate his stories. These are the people of which we speak when we talk about the truly inbred and immoral...those who make up their own morality as they go along, and don't suffer fools or outsiders lightly.
Woodrell's stories will haunt you. They'll keep you coming back for more. They'll keep your mind coming back to chew on them again and again in inquisitiveness and horror.
A book like this only comes along once in a great while...
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