These ten stories read like a novel and touch on a full range of human conflict through familiar western themes: gold mining, wildfires, train hopping, claim jumping, Jeeps, horses and running from the law. But not leaving out themes of the moment, like computer hacking, opioids, Me Too sexual harassment and college admissions fraud.
Set in the sagebrush country along both sides of the Northern California/Nevada state line, Borders and Boundaries takes you to fire lookouts, courtrooms, prisons, isolated ranches, and open highways with a bunch of people who don’t always like each other but learn that they need each other nonetheless.
“A natural-born storyteller, Pieper is like an old friend spinning yarns at your kitchen table, beer in hand. His low-key narrative voice brings alive a whole cast of dodgy modern-day characters who populate the outposts and border towns of the far West.
Marilyn Schwartz, Managing Editor Emerita, UC Press, Berkeley
“Bill Pieper’s novel Belonging showed that he has a fine ear and eye for the small rural communities of the West, their people, and what makes them tick. This book proves it once again, with plenty of action into the bargain.”
Lee Adams, Sierra County Sheriff, 1988 - 2007
“Reading this series of linked stories is a pleasure. But the biggest pleasure is how Pieper can write sentences about ordinary things that elevate them to poetry. ‘...an overgrown boy, or worse for him, a lost boy, lost in a man’s world...’ is just one example of why we selected his work for live public performance.”
Jeri Howitt, Founding member, Stories on Stage - Davis
