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A review by dr_matthew_lloyd
The Return of Kid Cooper by Brad Smith
4.0
After nearly thirty years in prison for murder, Nate Cooper finds himself free, and makes his way back to Cut Bank, Montana. In his time away, life seems better for his old partner Harry who married his old flame Rose, but things have only gotten worse for the local Indigenous people at the hands of Rose's brother and local state senator Clayton Covington. When old Kid Cooper starts digging up the past, Covington will stop at nothing to ensure he stays silent.
I haven't read a lot of Westerns but when I saw this novel among the forthcoming book club books at my local library, it seemed like a good opportunity to try one. There's something about the atmosphere of Westerns on television and in film that I really like, even as the underlying politics are so often far removed from what I usually enjoy. And yes, in this novel there's a sense of violence as justice and that real men are stoic about their feelings et cetera, but there's still something in the language and the descriptive passages that appeals. I do have to admit, though, that I found the first half of The Return of Kid Cooper to be slow going; partially establishing themes and character, which I liked, but also seeming to meander without a clear sense of narrative trajectory, which meant that it didn't always keep my attention. It was around the halfway point, or perhaps a little beyond it, with the introduction of Willis Samuels and events coming to a head, that I really started to enjoy this novel. There's an investigation, which I always like, and even though there's not really a mystery there's tension over whether there will be enough evidence and questions about the consequences of finding it. And then there's action, too!
I don't know how well my town-born, city-living mind would cope with older Westerns with a more conservative bent, but as an introduction to the genre I enjoyed this one.
I haven't read a lot of Westerns but when I saw this novel among the forthcoming book club books at my local library, it seemed like a good opportunity to try one. There's something about the atmosphere of Westerns on television and in film that I really like, even as the underlying politics are so often far removed from what I usually enjoy. And yes, in this novel there's a sense of violence as justice and that real men are stoic about their feelings et cetera, but there's still something in the language and the descriptive passages that appeals. I do have to admit, though, that I found the first half of The Return of Kid Cooper to be slow going; partially establishing themes and character, which I liked, but also seeming to meander without a clear sense of narrative trajectory, which meant that it didn't always keep my attention. It was around the halfway point, or perhaps a little beyond it, with the introduction of Willis Samuels and events coming to a head, that I really started to enjoy this novel. There's an investigation, which I always like, and even though there's not really a mystery there's tension over whether there will be enough evidence and questions about the consequences of finding it. And then there's action, too!
I don't know how well my town-born, city-living mind would cope with older Westerns with a more conservative bent, but as an introduction to the genre I enjoyed this one.