John Wayne

By Dan Barden

Book Overview

In this immensely captivating and imaginative novel, perfectly set at the intersection of fact and fiction, Dan Barden superimposes the story of John Wayne on the story of the Bardens, a family very much like his own. Frank Barden, Wayne's contractor, is an Irish Catholic from New York who has come to California in pursuit of the American dream for his wife, Lillian, and their three young children, Danny, Alice, and Chris. Wayne is someone the Bardens work with, drink with, and felt blessed to be around.

In fictionalized episodes ranging from Wayne's first love at sixteen to his deathbed conversion to Catholicism, this novel offers a surprisingly intimate vision of John Wayne. The Bardens are the perfect observers, guileless enough to retain an unabashed admiration for a man they consider a hero, perceptive enough to begin to see him as he really is--a man struggling to come to terms with the myths that define him.

In their own way, the Bardens are coming to terms with these same myths. Frank Barden, trapped by alcoholism and the masculine ideal embodied by his friend Wayne, begins to lose touch with his family. Lillian Barden, disappointed by the impossible promise of the men around her, questions her faith in the manhood that men like Frank have to offer. As John Wayne lies on his deathbed at the close of this heartbreaking story, the Barden children have grown up, and Lillian and Frank are facing the dissolution of their marriage. With wit, intelligence and sympathy, Dan Barden "manages at once to humanize John Wayne and to expose the mythmaking apparatus that is as vital to American family life as it is to American cultural life" (Jennifer Egan).

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 038548710X
• ISBN13: 9780385487108
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: Anchor Books
• Length: 196 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

John Wayne: A Novel

What a wonderful story of an American family struggling with the lack of success both personally and professionally and their interaction with someone - Wayne- they feel has achieved the success they strive for. The story had me thinking with each chapter, "what is fact and what is fiction?" A great read of how the success of an American icon such as John Wayne may not have been as great for him as what the American public saw from the seats in a movie theater. Only those who had personal contact could see he suffered the same struggles as the everyday public. The more I read the more I was drawn into the family's struggles and where they were headed. Short, but stated all that was important in life during that period of time.

Loved it

This book was brilliant. A complex, powerful study of an American family and their interaction with each other and with one of America's most indellible icons. I thought the writing was excellant - insightful and concise. A great depiction of inter-family dynamics. Just brilliant.

A book with many layers that is a fine read.

This is a fine book by a fine new writer. A subtle commentary on family, American culture, and the role that celebrity plays in the lives of both the noted one and those around them. I especially liked the spare, honed writing and the pace of the novel. We'll be hearing more from Dan Barden.

A stirring family drama in the shadow of the Duke

This is a fantastic book. In a series of stories linked by the figure of John Wayne, Dan Barden weaves an emotionally taut family saga.As much as this is a book about John Wayne, it is also a book about the Bardens, a family trying to make sense of their own lives in the shadow of the Duke. He takes the John Wayne myth and peels it back to show us how much more heroic a complex, flawed individual trying to imagine the best for himself is than the Indian fighting screen image against which his life is set. There is poetry here and insight. I loved it.

Reflects impact of celebrity on intimate family life

John Wayne: A Novel was beautifully done. Simple language exposes the intricate layers of influence between a Hollywood Legend and an American family. Lillian Barden is particularly moving as a woman struggling to surface in a marriage which has foundered. Her husband, Frank Barden's best ambition is to love her. He stumbles onto John Wayne as guide with somewhat disasterous results. But the disaster is in the heart of the Barden Family. John Wayne remains both human and icon, unscathed.