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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
This was delightful, even though I've seen the Coen brothers movie multiple times (once all the way through with the sound off at a bar at about 1 am on my last night out before the kid was born.) The voice of the main character--a 14-year old girl who is single-mindedly pursuing her father's killer--is the best. She's so self-serious and unintentionally hilarious, and the way everyone reacts to her is very satisfying. Turns out the movie is faithful to the novel almost verbatim.
I loved this book. The narrator and protagonist, Mattie Ross, is a sharp-witted, strong-willed, resourceful 14 yr old girl with a whole lotta gumption.
Her single-minded quest to avenge her father’s murder is the center of the story. She is determined to bring his murderer Tom Chaney to justice no matter what. She hires wily US Marshall Rooster Cogburn (seriously, what a name; is there a better name in literature?) to hunt down Cheney and bring him to justice because she’s heard that he has “true grit.”
Also, this book was hilarious. It is filled with wit and wry humor.
Mattie finally has her shot and she takes it, pulling the trigger on Tom Cheney and exacting her revenge, but the kickback of the pistol sends her tumbling down to a den of rattlesnakes. How symbolic! Does revenge accomplish anything but the destruction of the one who seeks it? Said likewise, “before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”
In an exhilarating scene on horseback, Rooster rushes Mattie to a doctor, saving her but killing her horse from sheer exhaustion.
True Grit is a great length and will be a book I reread from time to time because it is so darn fun.
Her single-minded quest to avenge her father’s murder is the center of the story. She is determined to bring his murderer Tom Chaney to justice no matter what. She hires wily US Marshall Rooster Cogburn (seriously, what a name; is there a better name in literature?) to hunt down Cheney and bring him to justice because she’s heard that he has “true grit.”
Also, this book was hilarious. It is filled with wit and wry humor.
Mattie finally has her shot and she takes it, pulling the trigger on Tom Cheney and exacting her revenge, but the kickback of the pistol sends her tumbling down to a den of rattlesnakes. How symbolic! Does revenge accomplish anything but the destruction of the one who seeks it? Said likewise, “before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”
In an exhilarating scene on horseback, Rooster rushes Mattie to a doctor, saving her but killing her horse from sheer exhaustion.
True Grit is a great length and will be a book I reread from time to time because it is so darn fun.
This reads like a fourteen year old on Official Business in the best way possible.
I should probably preface this review by saying that I saw the 2010 adaptation of True Grit before reading this book and loved it. Upon finishing it, I was pleased to see that the movie is pretty true to the book.
Hearing the story through Mattie's eyes is what makes this story so good. She's very matter of fact; determined that she is never wrong; and pedantic to the point that she strains to maintain the proper demeanor even when propriety is probably not needed (like when she's concerned that her forgery of a signature on a check isn't neat enough). All of these things make her unintentionally comical -- though that was probably Portis's goal, his character would probably be miffed that she comes off that way. It's easy to see why this is considered a great American work.
Hearing the story through Mattie's eyes is what makes this story so good. She's very matter of fact; determined that she is never wrong; and pedantic to the point that she strains to maintain the proper demeanor even when propriety is probably not needed (like when she's concerned that her forgery of a signature on a check isn't neat enough). All of these things make her unintentionally comical -- though that was probably Portis's goal, his character would probably be miffed that she comes off that way. It's easy to see why this is considered a great American work.
This is a book I wish I had read for an English class down the line. For what purpose, I don't know.
Portis is excellent at writing in the voice of Mattie Ross, the young heroine of the story. The dynamic between her and US Marshall Rooster Cogburn grows on you right away. Even though I have seen the movie adaptations of this book, I still forgot exactly how the last act went down. So I was on edge the whole last third of the book.
Overall it's a classic Western that should be read by all.
Portis is excellent at writing in the voice of Mattie Ross, the young heroine of the story. The dynamic between her and US Marshall Rooster Cogburn grows on you right away. Even though I have seen the movie adaptations of this book, I still forgot exactly how the last act went down. So I was on edge the whole last third of the book.
Overall it's a classic Western that should be read by all.
I'm really conflicted about how many stars to give this. The story as a whole: easily 5 stars. The writing: 3.5 stars. The narration on the audiobook: 2 stars. For the audiobook, many of the male character's voices sounded too similar to me and some of the dialogue was harder to follow. Although, that could also be an issue from the writing side of it. The story as a whole is excellent and I love the characters. I'll go with 4 stars as my hangups with the audiobook version is not really the story's fault.
Amazingly captivating book. I have not unexpectedly stayed up almost all night reading in a while.