Outside

by Barry Lopez

The six stories in Outside showcase Barry Lopez’s majestic talent as a fiction writer. Lopez writes in spare prose, but his narratives resonate with an uncanny power. With a reverence for our exterior and interior landscapes, these stories offer profound insight into the relationships between humans and animals, creativity and beauty, and, ultimately, life and death. Again and again, whether describing a Navajo rug possessing the essence of its maker, a boy who can change places with his half-coyote dog (named Leaves), or a teacher whose presence brings into question the meaning of friendship, Lopez portrays elemental and sacred places. His prose transcends its simplicity to enter spaces of wonder and mystery. As James Perrin Warren says in his compelling introduction, “Lopez’s narrators bear witness to extraordinary patterns and purposes . . . The storyteller is vital to the community and to a healthy landscape, but the vital relationship is also reciprocal. . . . We participate, along with Lopez, in the long history of storytelling. We become part of the atmosphere in which wisdom shows itself.”

Genres: Fiction, Nature, Short Stories, Art

111 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Barry Holstun Lopez is an American author, essayist, and fiction writer whose work is known for its environmental and social concerns.

Lopez has been described as "the nation's premier nature writer" by the San Francisco Chronicle. In his non-fiction, he frequently examines the relationship between human culture and physical landscape, while in his fiction he addresses issues of intimacy, ethics and identity.

Reviews

[Ahmed Addnan Negim · Rating 4 out of 5]

such wild anecdote in the frontiers of the human mind, Barry Lopez is we familiar with his unique use of metaphors , outdated words, random shows of native cultures, manage to cocooned his audience in lopezesque surrealism

[Andrew Kasten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate the spiritual connection to nature that Lopez' writing successfully achieves, making it a peaceful and reflective journey of a read. However, the obscurity and lack of plot in most of his writing made it somewhat insufferable at times. The final two stories made it worthwhile.

[Paul Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Cottonwoods along the river, stained with your white excrement, are young enough to volunteer complaint about you. They have grown so fast and so high with such little effort that they can understand neither failure nor triumph. So they will say anything they think might be to their advantage. I, after a somewhat more difficult life, am aware that they will lie, and that lies serve in their way."

"The snake said coldly, weaving, yes, there would be fear, that fear would make everything strong, and lashed out, opening a wound in your shoulder. As fast, you pinned his head to the ground and said - the calmness in your voice - fear might come, and it could make people strong, but it would be worth nothing without compassion. And you released the snake."

"The ocean is far away, but I feel its breath booming against the edge of the continent. Wind evaporating water tightens my bare flesh. I feel the running tide of my own salted blood. In the full round air from below I can detect, though barely, a perfume of pear blossoms and wetted fields. I can distinguish in it the last halt cries of birds, becalmed in the marshes."

"

[Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Lopez and I’m freed from the sensations of my own body. Transported and immersed into landscape and mythology something altogether foreign to me and yet spiritually close. Joseph Campbell and James Hillman talk about myth, but as academics that study it feverishly. The mythologies of the human experience live in Lopez and exude in his stories - whether it be his magnum opus Horizon or these 6 short stories about random places and topics I could not conjure if you gave me a thousand years. You are missed Barry - like an idyllic, still lake I once visited by helicopter, at the top of a mountain in New Zealand that touched me forever and will see again never.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

As is typical of short story collections, the quality varies across the stories. Some are merely ok, while a few others are quite good. The prose is excellent throughout, and he does an excellent job of capturing the strangeness and danger of nature. The illustrations are interesting as well, though I'm not sure how much they added to my reading experience.

[Brett Starr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection I've heard of but had never taken the chance to read. It's certainly a different style. The stories are short & sweet. I enjoyed "The Falls" and "Empira's Tapestry", the others not as much.

The engravings (pictures) by Barry Moser are outstanding and worth taking a look through even if you don't read the stories collected here.

Enjoy!

BJ

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Six of Lopez's stories, which were pulled from Desert Notes, River Notes, and Field Notes. The strongest of these is likely the final story, "Empira's Tapestry." Paired with a set of engravings.

[Salty Swift · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wildly fulfilling short stories focusing on nature, life, death and human condition. Gorgeous engravings are the cream on this delicious collection.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Favorite story from the 6 presented was #6: Empira’s Tapestry. This book shows just a small sampling of Barry Lopez’s wonderful writing. I need to seek out more of his books.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Empira's Tapestry. It reminds me of the story of the woman at the end of the world in Sharon Blackie's Enchanted Life.

[Alyson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the addition of the art.

[Robert Morgan Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book and beautiful illustrations.

[Denis Walsh · Rating 1 out of 5]

just didn't grab my interest-too spacy. !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This keepsake volume brings together six previously published short stories by Oregon’s Barry Lopez together with elegant engravings by artist Barry Moser. Lopez is widely-admired for the way he blends natural and cultural history, philosophy and travelogue in his nonfiction writing — he won the National Book Award in 1986 for Arctic Dreams — but his fiction is perhaps more of a secret treasure. Lopez’s prose is expansive and spacious but grounded in the specific details of nature (“gray-white ice,” “salted blood,” “perfume of pear blossoms,” “hollow-boned, crimson-colored shoulders of the bird”). The author often eschews literary expectations in favor of ambience and a deep sense of mystery, of meaning that lingers at the edges of our normal perceptions.

[Taylor Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written, Barry Lopez puts the reader back into nature with this collection of short stories. Showing us a clear link between itself and Humanity. Paired with Barry Moser's engravings, this book is a meditation for the soul. The stories aren't straight forward and leave your mind open for reflection. I really liked the story "The Search For The Heron". I've been close to a blue heron like that, but I never asked the trees nor the wind of it's dreams. Perhaps I will.

[flms23 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lopez' minimalist fiction is a razor's edge of precision and is complimented by his use of the magical qualities found in the natural world. Barry Moser's wood carvings compliment the prose, making it a piece of art.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick but lovely read. This seems more like prose poetry than plot-driven story, but if you love nature, this is gorgeous writing.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the different voices in each short story. The stories touch on nature, interactions between animals and their environment, and, in the author's words, the "ethereal dimensions of reality."

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Barry Lopez book. Looks like I need to find more!

[Anh Nch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magic words coming from the good earth.

[Linda Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful craft, written like weaving a dreamscape of connection human land water animal. Magical, mythic and unforgettable. i feel changed and humble.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a tumultuous 2 weeks of American politics, this is the cure for what ails you.
Thoughtful, calm, sad, peaceful, hopeful.
A series of short stories in different landscapes.

[Laurel Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I didn't always understand what was going on in every story I really appreciate the style of writing and the descriptions of the desert landscapes were fascinating.