The Cabin in the West

The Cabin in the West is a collection of short stories set in New Mexico in different historical eras. 'Agatha', tells of a country boy after the Civil War and his friendship for the town’s ‘black sheep’ in the late 1860s. 'Concord' is an 1875 story of a stagecoach and the discord among its passengers. 'Art' features an artistic town Marshal in the 1880s and 'Navajo Frank' is ‘a story in six drinks’ told by an old timer in a bar. 'The Barber and the Whiskey Priest' is a tale of thwarted love and 'The Cabin in the West', the title story, tells of a siege. Both are set in the 1890s. 'Black Country' is about the son of a Santa Fe judge at the turn of the century and how he comes to grief, while with 'Taking a Chance' we are in 1915 with screen cowboy Tom Mix. 'Tag Out' is a Chandleresque detective story and the book ends with 'Dawn', about a fading rock star in the 1990s. The stories, though different one from the other, share themes of individualism, courage and love of the New Mexico landscape.