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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
Forget about the usual heroics of a western novel, this sucker is
gritty - gritty even for a western. The comparison to the television
show was inevitable, but even if the Al Swearingen in the book stinks,
you'll fall for Charlie Utter. Dexter's style takes a little while to
get into, or perhaps it improves by the end of the book, but it is
worth sticking around to meet Wild Bill's wife, Agnes.
gritty - gritty even for a western. The comparison to the television
show was inevitable, but even if the Al Swearingen in the book stinks,
you'll fall for Charlie Utter. Dexter's style takes a little while to
get into, or perhaps it improves by the end of the book, but it is
worth sticking around to meet Wild Bill's wife, Agnes.
This may have actually been a 4.5. I really enjoyed the book. I saw it recommended on a list of overlooked classics, and although the review said it didn't have anything to do with the television series, I have to admit that if I wasn't such a fan of the show, I might not have looked into this book.
The book was great. Having seen the show Deadwood, it was interesting to compare the treatment of the historical personalities there to those in this novel. The book focuses on Charlie Utter, and deals more with Wild Bill Hickock's death than the show. Seth Bullock is a minor character in this novel, and Al Swearengen is just a cowardly pimp.
The characters in the book are fascinating and fully-developed. Although a dense book, I couldn't get enough of it. Dexter really evokes the town and the people that lived there. It's interesting to watch Deadwood and its inhabitants change throughout the course of the book. Although Charlie Utter is the main focus, Dexter spends enough time fleshing out the supporting characters so they all feel real, and not just foils for Utter. A terrific read. I've never head of Peter Dexter before, but I think I'll be looking to see what else he's written.
The book was great. Having seen the show Deadwood, it was interesting to compare the treatment of the historical personalities there to those in this novel. The book focuses on Charlie Utter, and deals more with Wild Bill Hickock's death than the show. Seth Bullock is a minor character in this novel, and Al Swearengen is just a cowardly pimp.
The characters in the book are fascinating and fully-developed. Although a dense book, I couldn't get enough of it. Dexter really evokes the town and the people that lived there. It's interesting to watch Deadwood and its inhabitants change throughout the course of the book. Although Charlie Utter is the main focus, Dexter spends enough time fleshing out the supporting characters so they all feel real, and not just foils for Utter. A terrific read. I've never head of Peter Dexter before, but I think I'll be looking to see what else he's written.
As with most books that take on multiple points of view, some parts of the book were incredible and some were a little slow but by the end it's all connected and worth it. There were so many little side stories going on in this book I'm not sure I can even recall all of them, but they all served the plot. There were so many characters but they were all so real, interesting, and unique that there was never any issues with keeping up with who is who or with not caring about certain characters. Dexter really is an incredible story teller.
As a personal note, this book had significantly more graphic scenes than I am accustomed to or like. This is one of those books that you'll be reading and suddenly find yourself at a page that is too lurid to leave open in public. Doesn't impact my rating but I would have enjoyed the book even more without all of that.
As a personal note, this book had significantly more graphic scenes than I am accustomed to or like. This is one of those books that you'll be reading and suddenly find yourself at a page that is too lurid to leave open in public. Doesn't impact my rating but I would have enjoyed the book even more without all of that.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is one of those sneaky little jerks that at first you think is good but maybe not so engrossing. Then, little by little, it starts to invade your thoughts and you start writing western poems.
Like, I presume, a lot of people -- I came to this book decades after it was written, as a fan of the HBO TV series of the same name. I'm also a casual fan of well-written westerns with original voices (my two favorite being True Grit and Butcher's Crossing), and I knew Dexter's reputation for creating memorable characters. Yes, I know Jonathan Franzen says we should not regard the book as a "Western," but it's a work of historical fiction about the American West, so I'm inclined to ignore Franzen's words as the protestations of an anti-genre snob who needs to justify enjoying so-called "low" literature to himself.
Anyway -- set mainly in 1876, the book comes in four parts, starting with 150 pages titled "Bill", followed by 80 titled "China Doll", 70 titled "Agnes", 55 titled "Jane", with a brief coda in 1912. Although the celebrity hook is the tale of the final months of "Will Bill" Hickcock, that's more or less just an entry point for an elliptical exploration of characters and themes of the frontier life, mostly narrated via Bill's boon companion, Charley Utter. Charley is an observer of life who manages to combine both deep insight and empathy with measures of total incomprehension and separateness.
The book is less about plot and action that it is about the relationships that propel action, and there are plenty of interesting pairings. The "China Doll" section spends time visiting the Chinese part of town, and exploring the placid Solomon's desire for a beautiful Chinese prostitute, the consequences of which only fully resonate near the very end of the book. Calamity Jane is a figure of chaos and disgust until a smallpox epidemic visits town and she recasts herself as healer.
There's thread after thread, character after character, to draw the reader into this foreign land, and Dexter's language is sometimes deadpan, sometimes bleak, sometimes violent, sometimes darkly funny, as he moves between the people. By the end, one is somewhat exhausted by the richness and ripeness of the writing, and you are left less with the feeling of having read a story than the imprint of having looked long and hard upon a painting of an exotic landscape.
Anyway -- set mainly in 1876, the book comes in four parts, starting with 150 pages titled "Bill", followed by 80 titled "China Doll", 70 titled "Agnes", 55 titled "Jane", with a brief coda in 1912. Although the celebrity hook is the tale of the final months of "Will Bill" Hickcock, that's more or less just an entry point for an elliptical exploration of characters and themes of the frontier life, mostly narrated via Bill's boon companion, Charley Utter. Charley is an observer of life who manages to combine both deep insight and empathy with measures of total incomprehension and separateness.
The book is less about plot and action that it is about the relationships that propel action, and there are plenty of interesting pairings. The "China Doll" section spends time visiting the Chinese part of town, and exploring the placid Solomon's desire for a beautiful Chinese prostitute, the consequences of which only fully resonate near the very end of the book. Calamity Jane is a figure of chaos and disgust until a smallpox epidemic visits town and she recasts herself as healer.
There's thread after thread, character after character, to draw the reader into this foreign land, and Dexter's language is sometimes deadpan, sometimes bleak, sometimes violent, sometimes darkly funny, as he moves between the people. By the end, one is somewhat exhausted by the richness and ripeness of the writing, and you are left less with the feeling of having read a story than the imprint of having looked long and hard upon a painting of an exotic landscape.
I have to confess: I read this because I loved the HBO series - and the movie wrap-up of the series. The book is certainly interesting, but one of the rare examples of the film version being superior in my opinion. The character spring to life more on film than in the writing - there always seems to be some part of them that we don't 'know' from the reading. I enjoyed it until about halfway through - and then it just quickly began to leave me disinterested and cold. Important and life-changing events were given no more study or reason than minor things like putting on a shirt. Perhaps that was intentional; but, I never grasped the reason.
Anyway. I'm not sorry I read it ... but I'll rewatch the series before I ever reread the book!
Anyway. I'm not sorry I read it ... but I'll rewatch the series before I ever reread the book!