Beneath the Bonfire

An aptly chosen Cormac McCarthy quote precedes Butler's story collection, chiefly set in rural Wisconsin and Minnesota and featuring characters who often fail to demonstrate "right" behavior. In "Sweet Light Crude," an oil spill leads to a battle of wills between an environmental activist and an oil executive. "In Western Counties" features a dog-fighting ring, an abused girlfriend, and a retired police officer with early signs of Alzheimer's. The final tale, "Apples," about an older man laid off from his job and feeling useless without work, has an uncharacteristically upbeat ending. As he demonstrated in Shotgun Lovesongs, Butler has a gift for depicting the bonds and emotional depth of male friendship without crossing over into sentimentality. Even those characters with conventional, well-paying jobs and stable relationships seem only to unlock their true, feral nature when drinking and smoking weed with their buddies, with sometimes tragic consequences. Women often appear as a civilizing influence, the wild Sunny in "Train People Move Slow" a notable exception.