Coyote in the Mountains and Other Stories (1989) by John Rember

"The mundane settings of these stories become, in large part, their whole point. Coyote isn’t dead in the ‘Brave new World,’ not yet anyway, but the magic is leaking out quickly. Rember pulls off a neat trick here, in that the mythological archetypes of his characters (Coyote hangs out with folks like Bear, a high-powered Big City attorney, and Rabbit, a former flower child who now works for a major defense contractor) provide a deep counterpoint to to any convention of current minimalist fiction technique he may care to exploit . . . Coyote himself might have written this book." — Western American Literature

Coyote in the Mountains has earned a cult-like following since it first appeared in book form in 1989. We’ve heard about readers in places as far away as Nepal. Comprised of nine stories that read sequentially, the book reads like a novel, a fable of the New West, with Coyote drifting through the lives of domesticated characters in a resort community in the Northern Rockies. The book is beautifully accented with illustrations by artist Julie Scott.

John Rember was born in Sun Valley, Idaho, and grew up in the nearby Sawtooth Valley. His mother was a nurse at Sun Valley Hospital and his father drove ski bus and worked as a miner, fishing and hunting guide, trapper, and mechanic. John was educated at Harvard and earned his MFA at the University of Montana. He has worked as a ski patrolman, wilderness ranger, technical writer, concrete and construction worker, high school teacher, bartender, journalist, and professor. He taught for many years at The College of Idaho in Caldwell and in the Pacific University MFA program in Forest Grove, Oregon. He is the author of another collection of stories, Cheerleaders from Gommorha (Confluence Press, 1994). His stories and essays appear widely in magazines across the country. He has traveled internationally as well for several travel magazines. He makes his home in the Sawtooth Valley.