( 8 reviews )
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Dec 22 2007
In `True Grit', Charles Portis sets 14-year-old Mattie Ross the task of going off "in wintertime to avenge her father's blood". And as Mattie narrates the story she applies herself to the task with directness and vigor. Frank Ross has been shot dead in a drunken rage by Tom Chaney one of his farm hands who has accompanied him on a pony-buying expedition from the Ross home in Dardanelle, Arkansas to Fort Smith. Mattie is sent to retrieve the body and settle affairs, but instead hires Reuben `Rooster' Cogburn to track and capture Chaney who has fled to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). Cogburn is a deputy US Marshal serving the court of Judge Isaac Parker (an historical figure known legitimately as the true `hanging judge' of the Old West, but also dedicated to justice as reflected in his judicial demeanor in this book), but decides he can combine his work with profit and agrees to bring Chaney to justice. Mattie introduces an element of complexity when she insists upon accompanying Cogburn. A Texas Ranger (Laboeuf) shows up in Fort Smith also tracking Chaney, who is by now thought to be in the company of a notorious train robber by the name of Lucky Ned Pepper. Cogburn and the Texan conspire to leave Mattie behind when they depart for the rugged hills of eastern Oklahoma. It is a measure of her strong will that they fail in this plot. Mattie's survival is the only thing certain from that point in the story (she is telling the tale in her old age), although Portis managed to make this reader forget that certainty when Mattie is in her extremity near the book's end. Arkansas and Indian Territory in the 1870's were still the edge of the frontier, although civilization is approaching Fort Smith. A trial transcript captures the essence of Cogburn, but also introduces the nuances of the hearsay rule among other legal niceties. Portis's deadpan humor is also on display in Mattie's disquisitions about the seeming unfairness but sure logic of the doctrine of predestination. The story moves rapidly with occasional bursts of violent action and sharp, but plain dialogue too. Cogburn relates his life story to Mattie while they are on watch. Also entertaining, Cogburn and the Ranger Laboeuf debate whether to return Chaney, should they take him alive, to Arkansas or back to Texas. One seems more profitable, the other more certain. An enjoyable and quick read for anyone enjoys Western literature or just a good story. I put Portis up there with A.B. Guthrie (The Big Sky) and Larry McMurtry (Comanche Moon : A Novel) as a teller of Western tales. Highly recommended.
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Posted: Nov 17 2007
Portis combines an action oriented Western with a fish-out-of-water tale, sprinkles in loads of humor, and then pretends it's all the reminisces of an old woman. A comedy disguised as a Western and a novel disguised as a memoir. Quite a feat. And Portis makes it work. If this reminds you of Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, there's good reason. Different sense of humor, but funny nonetheless. True Grit is told in the first person by Mattie (the young girl in the movie version) after she has become an old woman. The book is well-written and fun as hell. If you've only seen the movie, then grab this book for a lazy day camping or at the beach, but don't be surprised if your friends keep asking you what you're laughing about. The Shopkeeper
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( 3 of 3 found this review helpful ) Posted: Nov 17 2007
Portis combines an action oriented Western with a fish-out-of-water tale, sprinkles in loads of humor, and then pretends it's all the reminisces of an old woman. A comedy disguised as a Western and a novel disguised as a memoir. Quite a feat. And Portis makes it work. If this reminds you of Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, there's good reason. Different sense of humor, but funny nonetheless. True Grit is told in the first person by Mattie (the young girl in the movie version) after she has become an old woman. The book is well-written and fun as hell. If you've only seen the movie, then grab this book for a lazy day camping or at the beach, but don't be surprised if your friends keep asking you what you're laughing about. The Shut Mouth Society The Shopkeeper
