Reviews - True Grit | The StoryGraph

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2.28k reviews for:

This was excellent. Straight storytelling, accurate for the time period it represents, I believe. The tale of a young girl, bent on getting revenge for her father’s murder, who seeks help from a man who has “true grit,” Rooster Cogburn.

readtome_sheri's review against another edition

5.0

"But I had not the strength nor the inclination to bandy words with a drunkard. What have you done when you have bested a fool?" Lol!
Mattie Rose—one of the best characters ever, gets revenge. Yes indeed, I loved it!

ella_mcnally's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

britineurope's review against another edition

4.0

A brief and interesting look at life in the late 1800s in the burgeoming United States. The story itself is a little hard to believe - a teenage girl going on a vendetta which involves numerous adventures including hard-nosed deals and killings. However, overall the story was enjoyable and the older characters were a little more believeable in their thoughts and actions. What I imagine is a rather truthful account of how nasty, brutish a s short life was back then.

avneal's review against another edition

4.0

An excerpt of a review posted on Schaeffer's Ghost:

Still, for all [Mattie's] bible thumping and “moral” behavior, there does not appear to be much evidence of grace in her life. Her quest for Chaney, though in her eyes merely the pursuit of justice, is vengeance, plain and simple. Sure, she wants to bring him back so the law can punish him for his crime. But if she can’t, she’ll shoot him where he stands. And when La Beouf tries to convince her that it’s all the same whether Chaney stands trial for her father’s murder or for the murder of another man, Mattie is adamant that Chaney be punished—and know he is being punished—for killing her father. Her passion is not for justice, but for revenge. She is perfectly willing to let other, more culpable individuals go free; her only concern is Chaney. The others have not wronged her personally, so she doesn’t much care one way or another whether they are brought to justice. But Chaney has wronged her family, so Chaney must pay. Even when Mattie experiences the high cost of vengeance, she remains utterly convinced that she did the right thing. Personal forgiveness is never even mentioned as a possibility. She speaks about the grace of God, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect on the way she lives her life.

Full review available here.

messylichwholivesfordrama's review against another edition

4.0

It's a bit dated at this point in some ways, but the story and Portis' prose are excellent. Mattie Ross' matter of fact yet formal voice and personality make for a compelling contrast with the rugged, rough edged world she enters into on her adventure. In some ways it reminds me of a medieval quest, leaving the safety of the castle for the danger of the wild. I think the way it holds to classic forms while introducing unique elements is what makes it so great.