Western Disunion

I was struggling to talk my family into watching True Grit with me recently -- not even the old one! the new one! --  and my wife hit me with this: "I don't want to see a movie about cowboys." 

Imagine that sentence with "cowboys" replaced with "certified accountants." Or "refrigerators." Or "fertilizer." That's how excited my wife sounded by "a movie about cowboys." (Sorry, certified accountants.)

And here's the thing: There aren't even any cowboys in True Grit! It's not about a cattle drive or cattle rustling or cattle anything. THERE ARE NO COWS! But for some people, unfortunately, Stetsons = cowboys = "cowboy movie" = fertilizer.

Forgive them, Louis L'Amour! They know not what they do!

I'm thinking about all this because I was talking Westerns with a book-loving buddy this week, and when I sent him a list of recommended novels I was struck by what a diverse herd it was. Yes, they're all set in the American West in the second half of the 19th century (or close to it) -- prime Western real estate. But in tone, style, message and intent they're all over the map...and sometimes they're so far out they go clear off the map altogether. 

My Five Favorite Western (Not Cowboy!) Novels

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
So there are these cowboys, see, and they have to get this herd to...doh! O.K, yes -- there are cowboys in my favorite Western novel. And there are cows. Lots and lots of cows. But not only is it the most enthralling novel about cowboys and cows I've ever read, it's one of the most enthralling novels about people I've ever read. I mean, when Blue Duck kills that kid and that deputy dude I actually burst into tears. LARRY McMURTRY, YOU MADE ME CRY!!! And I love you for it. 

True Grit by Charles Portis
You want to know why it's been made into a movie twice? And why both movies are really good? Because the book is bleeping great. The hero -- doggedly determined 14-year-old dynamo Mattie Ross -- is one of the most unique, funny, authentic first-person narrator's ever. For my money, the only novel that comes close, first-person genius-wise, is a little gem called --

Little Big Man by Thomas Berger
Funny, sad, silly, profound, sarcastic, sincere, light, dark. And did I mention funny? But sad? Oh, I did? Maybe my memory's not so reliable anymore. Kind of like 111-year-old Jack Crabb, the narrator of this haunting (but hilarious!) look back at the Way the West Was Won (and our innocence was lost). 

Appaloosa by Robert B. Parker
Parker took the stripped down, minimalist style of an old detective novel, applied it to the Western and voila! (to use a very un-Western phrase): a classic. Parker's three sequels about deadly-but-honorable guns-for-hire Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch quickly descend into lazy self parody, but the book that kicked off the series is pure pleasure.

The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout
An old gunslinger gets ready to die...and hopes it's a good death. That's about it. There's a little action in the beginning, a little action at the end, and lots of talking in between. And it works beautifully. Swarthout also wrote The Homesman, which has a fantastic premise and an execution so sexist, wrong-headed and discursive it made me furious. But hey -- all (or most) is forgiven, Glendon. Because The Shootist still rocks.

Honorable mention: Deadwood by Pete Dexter, The Hawkline Monster by Richard Brautigan, Cottonwood by Scott Phillips, The Thicket by Joe Lansdale, The Hanging Tree by Dorothy M. Johnson, Monte Walsh by Jack Schaefer and Doc by Mary Doria Russell (though, man, does she let Wyatt Earp off the hook -- that guy was a scumbag!).

Oh, and by the way -- my wife and daughter did watch True Grit with me. And they loved it.

As the cowboys might say: Yeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaa!!!!

Comments

[Lee Ann Nelson]

No Shane? I read that for a class and liked it, but my most favorite is still The Virginian. I read that as a teenager because I had a crush on James Drury...and then liked the book way better than the show.

[Steve Hockensmith]

I read Shane for school, too! I remember liking it, but that was, like, 1981. I'm betting I'd still like it if I revisited it because (A) the movie's a classic and (B) I really dug Monte Walsh, which is by the same author. I haven't tried The Virginian yet, but I'm going to get around to it sooner or later. I'm a little worried that Owen Wister's prose won't hold up. I tried reading Zane Grey once, and...oof.

[Thesecondsentence.blogspot.com]

THE HANGING TREE is among my top favorites too—not just the title novella but the whole collection. Along with L'Amour's LAST STAND AT PAPAGO WELLS and B.M. Bower's TIGER EYE (yep, it seems that my top picks in most genres are the more obscure ones!). I haven't read TRUE GRIT yet, but I've been eyeing it for a long time.

Also, not a novel, but the volume of Elmore Leonard's complete Western short stories is one I go back to time and again. Have you read any of his Westerns?

~ Elisabeth Grace Foley

[Steve Hockensmith]

Wow -- you do get props for an obscure pick, Elisabeth! I'm afraid I'd never heard of B.M. Bower. I'll have to add Tiger Eye to my TBR list. What is it you like about it?

I *almost* put Forty Lashes Less One and Valdez Is Coming on my honorable mentions list. I've read five or six Leonard Westerns, and those are by far my faves. I've read a few of his Western short stories, too, and they were all very good -- especially "The Tonto Woman." That one really packs a punch.

[Tom Mathews]

All of your choices are good but there are two that I would add: The Ob-Bow Incident, by Walter Van Tilburg Clark and The Cowboys, by William Dale Jennings. Both were great movies adn even greter books.

[Thesecondsentence.blogspot.com]

Bower was an early woman writer of Westerns, based in Montana—in fact she's my personal favorite Western writer. Here's my review of TIGER EYE (unfortunately out of print, as are all her books that haven't fallen into the public domain) from a few years ago: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/247153246

[Steve Hockensmith]

Thanks for the recommendations, Tom! I was familiar with the book The Ox-Bow Incident (though I haven't read it yet) but I didn't know The Cowboys was based on a novel. I'll have to check 'em both out. You're right: great movies!

I'll definitely check out Bower one of these days, Elisabeth. What would you recommend for a cheapskate like me who's likely to go hunting for Project Guttenberg-style freebies?

[Thesecondsentence.blogspot.com]

That's me too...it's wonderful how many good books you can read for exactly $0. :) CHIP OF THE FLYING U, Bower's first novel, is a nice introduction—it's a bit lighter fare, centered around ranch life and a love interest. SKYRIDER and RIM O' THE WORLD are some other good early ones.

(Actually, though TIGER EYE isn't public domain in the U.S., it is on the Project Gutenberg Canada site, along with some other favorites of mine, HAY-WIRE and POINTS WEST.)

~ Elisabeth Grace Foley

[Steve Hockensmith]

Thanks, Elisabeth -- my TBR list has been updated accordingly!