Stumps of Mystery

If you believe the New York Times and the indie television show "Portlandia," you might think Oregon is a magical place where people ride their bikes to the gourmet food carts, dine on organic quinoa, then make their way to the alternative film festival. Of course those of us who live here know that Oregon is a great place to live, but not everyone is happy with change—-or interlopers.Stumps of Mystery: Stories from the End of an Era is a novel of stories set in Woodhill, a fictional Willamette Valley town, in the year before the 2008 presidential election. These stories explore such contemporary and relevant Western themes as land use, immigration, same-sex marriage and environmental issues. These issues seemed insurmountable at the time, and some still are today.The range of characters includes a former logger, a California vintner starting a new winery, treesitters, an illegal Mexican college student, a forest ranger, a meth freak and a retired short-order cook. The book...