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alexandre_rl's review
4.0
Roman western picaresque aux péripéties ininterrompues et à l'écriture très accessible. Se démarque en particulier par sa représentation positive, détaillée et nuancée des Premières Nations, de leurs coutumes et de leurs points de vue. Plusieurs événements et personnages majeurs de l'histoire des États-Unis sont mis en scène. Adapté au cinéma par Arthur Penn en 1970.
clo's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
heyhawk's review against another edition
4.0
This is not "the very best novel every about American west" as the NYT claimed (years after they first panned it), but it did pave the way for some contenders like True Grit by Charles Portis, Lonesome Dove by McMurtry or take your pick from Cormac McCarthy's work (I'm partial to Blood Meridian, The Crossing and No Country for Old Men). It was meant to puncture the myth of the west, and it does that to an certain extent, though as McMurtry says in his intro to the 50th anniversary edition, myths have a way of coming through unscathed. It works as a straightforward tall tale (hence all the Mark Twain comparisons), but it also works as a con job, which I take to be Berger's point about the romanticized west. The introduction and postscript by "a man of letters" are portraits of gullibility, and almost as funny as the main body of the text. Recommended (but read some McMurtry, McCarthy, Portis or Elmore Leonard first, not necessarily in that order).
Maybe my favorite quotation from the book (though there were many contenders): "I wasn't long in discovering it is a rare person in the white world who wants to hear what the other fella says. All the more so when the other fella really knows what he is talking about."
Maybe my favorite quotation from the book (though there were many contenders): "I wasn't long in discovering it is a rare person in the white world who wants to hear what the other fella says. All the more so when the other fella really knows what he is talking about."
mcarroll's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
carmenghia's review against another edition
4.0
I'm giving this one a bye on the Forest Gump-ish style history because it's the proto-Gump. For all I know, it invented the genre.
Berger is pretty brilliant in his approach - humor + research are a good balance. He gives a real voice here: humanizing, observant, appropriately questioning and identifying hypocrisies that had seldom been addressed before this was published in the 1960s.
Berger is pretty brilliant in his approach - humor + research are a good balance. He gives a real voice here: humanizing, observant, appropriately questioning and identifying hypocrisies that had seldom been addressed before this was published in the 1960s.
bent's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. I saw the movie years ago but didn't know that it was based on a book. Jack Crabb is an engaging character and the book flows well and is an engaging read despite its length. An interesting take on the old west, and Berger has obviously done his research. Recommended.
caroline17's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.5
lshykula's review against another edition
2.0
Ha! Finished it with 10 minutes to spare before book club!
abetterjulie's review against another edition
4.0
"...life is so sweet you will live it to the hilt and be consumed by it."