tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post4919416731096171341..comments2024-03-14T18:09:09.667-05:00Comments on Do Some Damage: Thoughts on the western pt. 1 - What is the canon of western novels?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-15934143291074126902015-10-20T11:39:08.951-05:002015-10-20T11:39:08.951-05:00I have been reading books on the "Old West&qu...I have been reading books on the "Old West" for some 40 years... history & fiction. Even wrote a history book a few years ago. Of course I haven't read everything (my "books I have to read list" is too long for this one life)... but I'm working on it! Having said that, here is a list of books that have stood out for me (some of which may not be so well known). They are listed in no particular order:<br />1.The Big Sky by A B Guthrie (mountain man novel)<br />2.Little Big Man by Thomas Berger (white boy grows up Cheyenne and survives LBH)<br />3.Brules by Harry Combs (white man with vendetta against the Comanches)<br />4.Buffalo Nickel by C W Smith (Kiowa Indian finds wealth and trouble in early 1900s)<br />5.Fools Crow by James Welch (novel about the Blackfeet Indians)<br />6.The Last Hunt by Milton Lott (buffalo hunters in the 1880s)<br />7.Woman of the People by Benjamin Capps (white girl captured by the Comanches)<br />8.The Searchers by Alan Le May (two men search for a white girl captured by Comanches)<br />9.The Great Adventure by Janice Holt Giles (mountain man novel)<br />10.Cheyenne Autumn by Mari Sandoz (novel about the Cheyenne exodus of 1878-1879)<br />11.Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (cattle drive from Texas to Montana)<br />12.Fig Tree John by Edwin Corle (Apache man living in California desert, so much better than it sounds)<br />13.Carry the Wind by Terry C. Johnston (mountain man novel with Titus Bass)<br />14. Martin's Land by Jess Shelton (white man with an Indian and white family, a little known gem)<br /><br />Again, I have a lot of books still to read, so this list will no doubt be updated in the coming years.<br /><br />marcsdesign66https://www.blogger.com/profile/13655964984885297977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-80778195970464818382015-06-09T06:08:28.976-05:002015-06-09T06:08:28.976-05:00Some of the more untypical westerns that should be...Some of the more untypical westerns that should be included in the canon: <br /><br />Wallace Stegner: The Big Rock Candy Mountain<br />Ishmael Reed: Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down <br />N. Scott Momaday: The Way to Rainy Mountain<br />Ray Chanslor: Cat Ballou<br />Edward Abbey: The Monkey Wrench Gang<br />Max Evans: Hi-Lo Country<br /><br />Also something by Thomas McGuane and Edward Hoagland. <br /><br />Some of these take place in the 20th century, so someone might say they don't apply. jurinummelinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16341211256652624861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-82131743561976429202015-06-09T06:02:42.968-05:002015-06-09T06:02:42.968-05:00Here's another one who didn't care for THE...Here's another one who didn't care for THE SISTERS BROTHERS. It seemed like a western written by a guy who's never read a western (I think DeWitt even said that in an interview) and who thinks he's the first one to challenge some of the clichés of the genre. jurinummelinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16341211256652624861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-26815654808783158792015-06-08T21:21:38.292-05:002015-06-08T21:21:38.292-05:00The only one I can think to add to the list is THE...The only one I can think to add to the list is THE SON by Philipp Meyer. It's not just a great western, it's a great novel. It only came out in 2013 so it may not have garnered as much fame as it deserves. I've noticed that most Chapters stores in Toronto seem to have several remaindered copies on hand. My review:<br />http://www.jettisoncocoon.com/2014/03/book-review-son-2013-by-phillipp-meyer.html<br />Cary Watsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17696172496012966959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-7275575064481821672015-06-08T11:51:23.733-05:002015-06-08T11:51:23.733-05:00I'll add - there is a little known classic cal...I'll add - there is a little known classic called "Me and Gallagher" by Jack Farris that should not be overlooked.August Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11797743144228505958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-5126162134659129382015-06-08T11:47:06.494-05:002015-06-08T11:47:06.494-05:00BLOOD MERIDIAN still haunts me.BLOOD MERIDIAN still haunts me.August Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11797743144228505958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-75445594647953189562015-06-08T08:45:12.988-05:002015-06-08T08:45:12.988-05:00Maybe E.L. Doctorow's Welcome to Hard Times.Maybe E.L. Doctorow's Welcome to Hard Times.<br />John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-9573849933092732932015-06-08T08:41:06.253-05:002015-06-08T08:41:06.253-05:00I'm in a situation not unlike yours, where I a...I'm in a situation not unlike yours, where I am seriously pondering writing a Western, and have read not enough of them (HOMBRE, TRUE GRIT, LONESOME DOVE, DEADWOOD), so I'm curious to see where you take this. Thanks for the lists, though I agree, DEADWOOD should should be included. Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-31867834747320003172015-06-08T08:18:22.916-05:002015-06-08T08:18:22.916-05:00I guess the books don't fit with the geography...I guess the books don't fit with the geography of the western, but if we think of the west as the western edge of European-America, would James Fenimore Cooper qualify for inclusion?<br />John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-30800867339937730782015-06-08T08:14:48.214-05:002015-06-08T08:14:48.214-05:00A good list. I do think WARLOCK should be on it.A good list. I do think WARLOCK should be on it.Al Tuchernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-21572201263855309102015-06-08T07:20:17.047-05:002015-06-08T07:20:17.047-05:00I didn't care much at all for THE SISTERS BROT...I didn't care much at all for THE SISTERS BROTHERS. That's just me, though, since the reviewers seemed to love it. Naturally I like Lee Goldberg's list.mybillcriderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02350478005243505108noreply@blogger.com