Synopsis
Haslam’s stories are of the quintessential California of working people who struggle to make a living. He is their spokesperson—no matter what their color or language—because he, too, has chopped cotton under the searing sun, has toiled on drilling rigs in fog thick as oatmeal, has lived in a house where Spanish and English mingled. His writing marks a boundary between the Golden State's stereotypes and the real people who persevere in seeking the California dream.
That Constant Coyote contains twenty-five stories in all, nineteen selections previously published and six new pieces. The stories included in this anthology tell us what life is like in the regions of California and the West where drudgery characterizes each day, where menudo para desayuno or biscuits and gravy replace champagne brunch. Delve into these pages and you will quickly find a set of fascinating characters who inhabit "the other California"—a place Haslam knows well and so deftly describes. Foreword by Ann Ronald. Western Literature Series.
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Reviews
Haslam's ( Okies: Selected Stories ) mostly lightweight collection of 25 stories offers some amusing tales, but the repeated use of shrewish female characters to create conflict wears thin long before the book ends. Typical are "Dancing," where a man is caught between his aging parents: a father losing his ability to drive a car and a mother who would enjoy depriving him of it; and "Joaquin," in which a petulant star given to sexual innuendo dismisses her leading men as California fakes, dubbing them "Hebrew Spaniards." "Tower Power" shows two New Age charlatans, the Divine Len Schwartz and Love Sister Sunshine, as they compete for an upscale market of "churchless-but-yearning commuters." "Someone Else's Life" recounts the lessons a boy learns from his father's foreman: on fishing and to "remember what's real, and keep a tight hold on it." In "Missing in Action," one of the few stories with a more serious theme, a son discovers how his father, caught up in anti-Japanese hysteria during World War II, was an accessory to burning the home of an innocent family sent away for internment.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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That Constant Coyote: California Stories
Published by
University of Nevada Press, Reno, 1990
ISBN 10: 0874171601
ISBN 13: 9780874171600
New
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Zed Bookshop, Boise, ID, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. First Edition. These fine collection was awarded the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Prize for Excellence in Literature. They tell great valley stories of California working people living life sad and glad and learning. Foreword by Ann Ronald. Seller Inventory # 014371
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That Constant Coyote : California Stories
Published by
University of Nevada Press, 1990
ISBN 10: 0874171601
ISBN 13: 9780874171600
Used
Hardcover
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Former library copy. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 4237477-6
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That Constant Coyote: California Stories
Published by
University of Nevada Press, 1990
ISBN 10: 0874171601
ISBN 13: 9780874171600
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Signed
Seller: Crooked House Books & Paper, CBA, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near fine. First Edition. Brown cloth boards under illustrated dust jacket. First printing with full number line. Signed & lined (and dated 1990) by Haslam on title page. Additionally inscribed by Haslam on half-title page. Signed. Seller Inventory # 201845
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That Constant Coyote: California Stories
Published by
The University of Nevada Press, Reno & Las Vegas, 1990
ISBN 10: 0874171601
ISBN 13: 9780874171600
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: About Books, Henderson, NV, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine condition. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine dust jacket. NOT a library discard (illustrator). First Printing of the First Edition. Reno & Las Vegas: The University of Nevada Press, 1990. Appears unread. Fine condition in a bright and shiny Fine dust jacket. NO chips, tears, creases or fading. Sharp corners. Square and tight. Pages are crisp, clean and unmarked -- apparently seldom, if ever read. NO owner's name or bookplate. NOT a remainder. NOT a library discard. Winner of the 1990 Pen/Oakland Josephine Miles Prize for excellence in literature. 1990. First printing of the First Edition with complete number row (987654321) on the copyright page. Bound in the original black-stamped tan cloth. Complete with dust jacket. From the publisher: "Twenty-five stories about quintessential Californians -- working people who struggle to make a living.". First Printing of the First Edition. Hardcover. Fine condition/Fine dust jacket. Illus. by NOT a library discard. 8vo. xxvi, 198pp. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping. Seller Inventory # 030794