Given how many stories in the anthology American Masculine center on the ways entrenched family conflict poisons the lives of those it touches, it isn’t surprising to find out that Shann Ray teaches leadership and forgiveness studies at Gonzaga University, a Jesuit school in Washington state. Set almost exclusively in Montana, Ray’s stories depict broken families from every possible angle. A dead brother, abusive or absent fathers, unfaithful spouses, separating parents: The collection runs the whole gamut. This isn’t the American West of Annie Proulx or Cormac McCarthy; it’s less centered on landscapes and overarching narrative ...