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Hondo was a gift from someone who was dismayed that I hadn’t read anything by Louis L’Amour. I was sceptical. A Western? Isn’t that a bit dated and I never did like the genre. However, this was a revelation. Like Hondo Lane who knows not to wear “shiny stuff” on his clothes in the desert, this is a simple tale with no frills and is well told. It is difficult to believe that it was written by a man who had never experienced the frontier life first hand since the frank narration is entirely believable. Will L’Amour make it to my list of favourite authors? I don’t think so. However, I won’t make the mistake of calling him dated. “…underlying his words there was understanding, compassion. There was none of this you-get-along-on-your-own-or-die feeling. She had seen too much of that. The more people had, the more people felt that way.” So true, even today! I am giving L'Amour the benefit of the doubt on the misogyny since his story is set in a certain period.