For every glorious legend of the Old West there are a thousand workaday stories of the boundless persistence and courage that turned a wilderness into civilization. Jennifer Vandermeer and the story of her hardship, disasters and triumphs, is one of the real stories of how the West was won.
I actually read this a while ago, and its amazing how many of the images stayed with me, and that doesn't happen too often. Some of the scenes are warm, some of them are pretty scary, but they feel so real. I really admire the writing in this book and wish the writer did a sequel. I can even picture it as movie. And I love the characters, which also seem very real, like you met them somewhere. This isn't just a great western, its also just a great novel.
Poetic Frontier Story
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
This book isn't a western but a frontier novel. You don't get much shooting, but you get episodes that are more realistic and more compelling, at least for me. I believe what happens to these characters, whereas I don't believe much in most of the genera westerns. It's more like Willa Cather (who I like) than Louis L'Amour (who I used to like). But what I loved most about the book was that you really felt what was happening to this poor woman. The scenes are very poetic. I still have certain images in my head. I really recommend it.
quirky western
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
This was recommened to me by a friend who thought I'd like it, and I did. For once, a woman is the main character of a western, and I found myself indentifying with her struggles in this alien environment. She's an easterner who's brought kicking and screaming to Kansas by her husband. I get a real sense of life out on the prairie, and I get the feeling it reflects the real west, not the western myth. Loved the ending--rather poetic.
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