* American Masculine wins American Book Award *

* Shann Ray earns prestigious NEA Literature Fellowship *

“Elevated, prophetic voice.  Epic, mythic… remarkable.  Strange and beautiful and new.  Lyrical and dreamlike… utterly convincing.”     –McSweeney’s

“Elegant, evenly written.  Measured and sensitive… beautiful.”     –Esquire

“Incantory language.  Original and powerful.”     –StoryQuarterly

“A gorgeous and thought provoking collection about gender roles in modern society, encompassing marriage, love, adultery, responsibility and heartbreak. And somehow, beautifully, in this somewhat harsh world, there is an echo of forgiveness.  Don’t miss Shann Ray’s story, ‘Mrs. Secrest,’ one of the most perfect short stories I have ever read.  A very talented, big-thinking, generous writer– definitely someone to watch.”

-Siobhan Fallon, author of YOU KNOW WHEN THE MEN ARE GONE

“Written in prose both fierce and elegant, AMERICAN MASCULINE is a commanding debut. With stories set in and around the reservation lands of the American West, Shann Ray hones the cutting edge between desire and need, despair and beauty. The scope of these stories and depth of their complexity result in an extraordinary collection that is the gift of an exceptional talent. I am reminded once again, of what it means to encounter genuine grace.”

-Claire Davis, author of WINTER RANGE

“AMERICAN MASCULINE is remarkable for its spare, lyrical prose; the stunningly original metaphors and perceptions; and the tenderness with which Shann Ray sees his people even in the midst of dangerous, self-destructive, disturbing circumstances.  I especially love the passages of rapturous poetry: the lucid, elegant description of the golden eagles on page 14, for example. That movement, from human to more-than-human, resonates with the gloriously expansive spiritual vision that informs and illuminates all these transcendent stories.  The experimentation with form (“Three from Montana” and “Rodin’s the Hand of God”) highlight Ray’s extraordinary flexibilty as an artist and thinker, his willingness to let the reader enter his work in the silent spaces he leaves open.”

-Melanie Rae Thon, author of IN THIS LIGHT

“There is much to admire in AMERICAN MASCULINE. Much. It is a deep and inventive story collection, so those of us who like to obsess about the short form find plenty to celebrate. But this is not merely a book for short story lovers. It’s too soulful for that. It’s too knowledgeable about fathers and sons, husbands and wives, brothers and teammates to be pigeon-holed in that way. It’s open-eyed about race and class. It’s sharp and true in its observations about the West (and, by extension, about America). Best of all, it’s full of memorable characters and great story lines. There are no cliches here. “The Great Divide” is a fantastic story–horrifying and beautifully written all at once. “How We Fall” and “When We Rise” are graceful and poignant and blood-churning. They evoke the best of James Welch and Maile Meloy. Ray cares about language. He yearns for redemption. And those traits infuse the book with an unusual, long-lasting power.

I was also pleased to see the “triptych” form used to such good effect, though other readers may be less dazzled by such things than I. Fair enough. Those readers will never forget Middie in “The Great Divide” or striving Benjamin in “How We Fall” or forgiving Devin in “In the Half-Light.” Shann Ray is the real deal.”

-Alyson Hagy, author of BELETO

“Shann Ray has been up close with the vividly contrary complexities of the present-day American West, the harshness and sweetness. He’s seen a lot of vast and miniscule things, and tells of them with compelling honesty. What a fine break-out collection.”

-William Kittredge, author of HOLE IN THE SKY

“Shann Ray knows his place and he knows his people. AMERICAN MASCULINE is a rock-solid, permanent collection with a great deal of moral heft. These Montana stories dig deep into the heart of a landscape and more importantly into the hearts of flawed men and women whose lives, in Ray’s hands, are given real weight and meaning. I’m grateful for this collection, for the depth of these characters and the beautiful patience of this writing.”

-Peter Orner, author of THE SECOND COMING OF MAVALA SHICONGO

“Shann Ray writes about men and women, white and Native American, full bred and half bred; he writes about love and betrayal, alcohol and abuse, pride, vanity, everyday losses and recoveries transpiring in ranch towns and small cities. Most of all he writes about the soul in search of its reason and its peace.”

-Tom Jenks, Editor, Narrative Magazine

Co-editor with Raymond Carver of AMERICAN SHORT STORY MASTERPIECES

“There’s a ton of humanity in these stories, a ton of heart, a ton of gratitude. They are the antithesis of post-modern coolness, and that in itself is something worthy of celebration. The people who populate these stories are the hardscrabble people of Carver, and early Richard Ford, and Sherman Alexie, but Ray’s treatment is unique and transformative, graceful, powerful, muscular, and forgiving.”

-Jonathan Evison, author of WEST OF HERE

“The fragmentary rhythms give the overall narrative the velocity and counterpoint of a Bach fugue, which in turn creates a music, which in turn starts to sing in the reader.  I didn’t realize how beautifully the music was working till I found myself feeling nothing but compassion.”

-David James Duncan, Ruminate Short Story Prize Judge, author of BROTHERS K

“The first story of this remarkably tough and beautiful new collection was the first short story that ever made me weep. And the rest followed.”

-from Stacie Michelle Williams’s Staff Recommendations at the famous Boswell Book Company in Milwaukee

“Shann Ray’s stories are lyrical, muscular, heartbreaking, and fascinating.  This collection (the author’s first) announces the arrival of a daring and exciting new voice.  (Read “How We Fall” or “The Great Divide” and be hooked.)  Highly recommended.”

-from Joel Aurora at the glorious Mrs. Dalloway’s in Berkely

“Ray’s story collection has all the elemental power of Thomas Hardy’s Return of the Native or Proulx’s Wyoming Stories with one wonderful exception: compassion acts as the impulsive force, not violence. It is a stunningly beautiful work.”

-from Nathan Poole for the Kenyon Review recommended reading list

*Selected for Austin Public Library’s Best of Fiction 2011

Additional year end lists:

* FICTION ALL STARS, OVERBOOKED.COM *

*  BIBLIOGRAPHING BEST BOOK  *

*  MATT RUFF’S BEST OF, NEA EDITION  *

*  ROBERT VAUGHAN’S BEST OF, AT JMWW  *

*  THE NEXT BEST BOOK BLOG, TOP LIST  *

* BEST OF LIST, THE QUIVERING PEN *