Critics have lavished praise on On Swift Horses, with The Boston Globe noted that “Pufahl does what great stylists do: she snatches back experience from the general world, making it sing in all its particularity,” and The Los Angeles Times stated that Pufahl “writes with a grace and force that’s rare even among seasoned writers.” Brendan Dowling spoke to Pufahl via e-mail on January 8th, 2019. Both Muriel and Julius soon find themselves on unexpected quests, and Pufahl masterfully tracks their journeys through Tijuana and the queer spaces of mid-century San Diego. Meanwhile, her beloved brother-in-law Julius has found work at a Las Vegas Casino, where he has fallen deeply in love with his co-worker (and card cheat), Henry. When this newfound knowledge yields an unexpected windfall at the track, Muriel finds herself at a crossroads, tentatively exploring this newfound financial freedom and its impact on her marriage. There, she becomes a careful student of the horse trainers and jockeys who eat there, learning the intricacies of the horse racing world by eavesdropping on their conversations. In Shannon Pufahl’s luminous On Swift Horses, newlywed Muriel whiles away her days at the local diner where she waitresses.
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