The Deer Mouse

June 2, 1997
Grant's unadventurous debut returns to the Ur-myths of the American West--the stoic cowboy, the hardscrabble ranch--and brings them up to date in contemporary Wyoming. Taciturn Tom Brothers has sired two sons: the capable Jesse, killed in Vietnam, and TJ, a ne'er-do-well who struggles mightily in Tom's and Jesse's shadows. As TJ vents his frustrations on his wife, Karen, she finds herself attracted to Frank, a wandering Vietnam vet who has signed on as a cowhand under Tom. The slumping price of cattle threatens the ranch and pushes the family to confront their own flawed relationships. Grant writes in overburdened sentences: "Karen had fed the second child on formula: It wasn't easy chasing all through the big house after a toddling boy with her blouse undone and her breast hanging out as she tried to nurse the baby girl while the men of the ranch came and went as if where she lived and tried to call home was as open to trespass as government land." The character types are so standard--strong, silent men and mistreated women--that they keep this book from adding fresh material to what has become a standard domestic drama in felt hats and spurs.