“People do not give it credence that a fourteen-year-old girl could leave home and go off in the wintertime to avenge her father’s blood but it did not seem so strange then, although I will say it did not happen every day.”
Charles Portis’s classic Western novel only gets better from that opening line, especially with larger-than-life characters, like the “old one-eyed jasper that was built along the lines of Grover Cleveland” — aka Rooster Cogburn, U.S. Marshall, “the man with true grit” that young Mattie appoints to help her — help her, mind you — bring her father’s killer to justice.
There’s the good-looking Texas Ranger who joins Mattie’s posse. He makes a comically bad first impression, but it turns out, he’s got grit, too.
And, of course, there’s Mattie, who (to give you an idea of Portis’s gift for cadence) hails not far from Dardanelle, in Yell County, Arkansas. She’s got grit to spare and tells the story in her own deceptively simple, yet formal, voice, evoking a time long gone while revealing someone who’s brave and smart and as (unintentionally) droll as they come. It’s a gift to the reader and a triumph for Portis.
Adding to this killer combo are Mattie’s supreme common sense and iron determination. She’s a force of nature in a lawless world, which means, as one reviewer put it, “literal anarchy doesn’t stand a chance.”
I’ve seen both films, but thought the book is better, a delightful, touching surprise. It deserves its billing as a true classic, no matter the genre.
That said, I can’t help but picture John Wayne as Rooster (even though Jeff Bridges’ portrayal was terrific).
What are your favorite Western classics?
Revelation Reports 