![]() ![]() ![]() All of the peacocks are named after counties in Nevada. One of my favorite images from this story was the brothel owner, a gay man named Manny, taking care of his boss’ flock of peacocks. My favorite of this anthology was “The past perfect, the past continuous, the simple past.” It’s about a young man traveling abroad in the US who gets separated from his traveling companion and ends up at a brothel in the middle of nowhere Nevada. It’s a very good short story, so if anything, read “Ghosts, Cowboys.” It appears that the story is a fictional take on her background. A quick Google search reveals that this is actually true–Claire is the daughter of Paul Watkins, Manson’s adviser and eventually testified against Manson. The first story (“Ghosts, Cowboys”) in this collection hits the ground running with a story about the daughter of Charles Manson’s right-hand man. It is, by far, one of my new favorite books. It’s also a very fitting name for the title of Claire Vaye Watkins’ first book, a collection of short stories that take place in various places around Nevada and the Mojave Desert. Turns out that Nevada took this name after achieving statehood during the Civil War. In 2012, The Killers introduced me to the state motto of Nevada: Battle Born. “A flag that bears the name…battle born.” ![]()
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