‘Red Soil and Bones’
— Reneé Bibby
Allegra Hyde’s short story, ‘Red Soil and Bones’ isn’t a story of character redemption or political revolt. It’s a short, precise, unflinching look at the gnarled roots of the status quo—the social shifting of power between women and men. The opening line, “We shouldn’t have to prove ourselves, the girls told one another,” an echo from the past, a declaration of today. Set in the Grand Canyon, Hyde’s slice of life story is as beautiful as it is haunting. And like life, it offers no easy answers.