Discoveries-Short Stories of the San Juan Mountains
by Kent Nelson
Kent Nelson's varied and entertaining stories, set in the San Juan Mountains, draw the reader to explore, and make accessible, the difficult landscape of human emotions. They have been described as "intense" and intellectually honest. The dramas spring from authentically cautious people caught between heart and mind, between understanding and mystery, lyricism and realistic experience. In Discoveries there are no blind weaklings or self-righteous heroes, but rather people in between: alive, alert, and struggling with the dilemmas of their everyday lives. The persistent wisdom of the natural landscape teaches, controls, and sometimes heals.
- Published
- 1998
- ISBN
- 1-890437-16-6
- Pages
- 152
- Place
- The San Juans
- Publisher
- Western Reflections
- Listed at
- $15.95
Publication details from Open Library. The price shown is the last one on record and is historic, not a current offer.
- Direct from us info@westernreflectionspublishing.com or (336) 565-6915. We pack and post from Lake City.
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About this book
Discoveries is a collection of short stories by Kent Nelson, set in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. Western Reflections published it in 1998. Our catalogue describes the stories as varied and entertaining, and says they draw the reader into the difficult landscape of human emotions. They have been called intense and intellectually honest.
Kent Nelson's own website lists three of the stories. In one, a man reads his girlfriend's journal and is troubled by having invaded her privacy. In another, an old miner returns the gold he finds to the creek. In a third, a marathoner's girlfriend learns he is training for a reason other than the race. Goodreads adds elk hunters who meet an enigmatic woman.
What is inside
A privacy crossed
A man reads his girlfriend's journal and feels uneasy about what he has done.
The old miner
An aging miner gives the gold he finds back to the creek.
The marathoner
A runner's girlfriend discovers he is training for something other than the race.
The elk hunters
Hunters in the mountains meet an enigmatic woman.
Who it is for
Discoveries is for readers who like literary short fiction rooted in a single region. The characters are ordinary people, torn between heart and mind, rather than heroes or villains. The San Juan setting is more than scenery in these stories, since the description says the landscape and the emotions are explored together. It is fiction from start to finish.
About the author
Kent Nelson lives in Ouray, Colorado, in the San Juans, and has published four novels and six short story collections. Discoveries is the one Nelson book in our catalogue. His author page has the fuller account of his awards and work.
Ways to use this book
Reading the stories before a mountain trip
If you are heading to Ouray or Silverton, you could pack the collection and read a story at each stop. Check the Alpine Loop page first, since the BLM lists it as a high clearance route and conditions change with the season.
Looking for more San Juan reading
Once you finish, browse the San Juans shelf in our library to see what else we publish about the range. Nonfiction on the same mountains makes a useful contrast with a short story collection.
Giving the book to a Colorado reader
A collection set in the San Juans suits someone who already knows the mountains. Pair it with a visit to the county museum in Ouray, or send them its website, so the gift has a place attached to it.
Go deeper
These stories are set in the San Juan Mountains, so the best companions are places and local records from that range. Each resource below describes the region itself, not this collection.
Ouray County Museum
The Ouray County Historical Society runs its museum in the former St. Joseph's Miners' Hospital, built in 1886. Its website says visitors can explore thousands of artifacts on the county's mining, ranching and railroading past.
Ouray County Historical Society museum → (opens in a new tab)
Alpine Loop Back Country Byway
The Bureau of Land Management describes this 4x4 route linking Lake City, Silverton and Ouray, with old mines and ghost towns along the way. It is a high clearance route, so its page is worth reading before you plan a drive.
San Juan Mountains overview
The Colorado Encyclopedia article covers the range's geography and mining districts, including the Red Mountain Mining District, and gives a reader the lay of the land.
Colorado Encyclopedia: San Juan Mountains → (opens in a new tab)
Good to know
Is Discoveries a novel?
When was it published?
Is it nonfiction?
Where can I get a copy?
Have a book of your own?
This is the kind of book the house publishes: regional history, biography, memoir and the stories that belong to a place. Send us yours and a person will read it.