The Western: Four Classic Novels of the 1940s & 50s (LOA #331)

Viac o knihe

Set in Nevada in 1885, this gripping story delves into the dangers of lynch law and the fragility of civilized norms in the West. Following reports of a rancher's murder and cattle theft, a posse of vigilantes mistakenly targets three innocent strangers. The novel, awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1940, powerfully examines group psychology and the authoritarian impulse. In a different narrative, a newspaper editor makes his fiction debut with a tale capturing the essence of the West. Inspired by the Johnson County War, this story reflects on a boy's fascination with a taciturn ranch hand, mythologizing deadly skirmishes into a grand narrative reminiscent of epic tales. Another story centers on the enduring qualities of the Western genre, following Amos Edwards and Martin Pauley on a six-year quest to rescue a girl captured in a Comanche raid. Their journey across Texas embodies persistence and courage. In a bloody saga that challenges Western conventions, a mining town plagued by lawlessness hires a renowned gunslinger as Marshal to combat the brutality of cattle rustlers. The unfolding narrative combines tough realism with diary entries from a thoughtful citizen lamenting the town's descent into chaos, quoting Shakespeare and the Bible as he reflects on the violence surrounding him.