The Lost Woods: Stories

Rice’s satisfying debut collection of 15 short stories, thematically bound by the sport of game hunting, features well-written, smartly paced, entertaining yarns. They begin in 1936 with “The Deer Hunt,” in which teenage Jacob White embarks on a memorable scouting expedition with his part-Cherokee grandfather, and, a few years later, by now in love with the pregnant Rachel Chapman, leaves to fight in Europe. Most of the stories feature characters from the White and Chapman families, residing in the fictional hill country town of Sledge, S.C. “Stalking Glory” and “The General” are both replete with easy-natured male humor; the latter is about the eponymous rabbit dog owned by Rev. Eddie Chapman, who regards his prodigious hound as “an agent of the Lord.” As a change of venue, “Call Me Bubba” is set near Mobile, Ala., where Elvin Chapman works as a dove hunters’ guide and handles snobbish lawyer clients, when not pleasing overzealous game wardens. Rounding out Rice’s enjoyable collection is “Gobble, Gobble,” in which Lauren Chapman Jones continues her family’s turkey-hunting tradition, despite their dwindling land holdings and the encroachment of suburbia. (Apr.)