True Grit - Charles Portis

Mattie is a truly great heroine

fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross is determined to avenge the death of her father, shot dead by his own employee, Ton chaney. She needs the help of a marshall, and the local sherriff decides, after due consideration, that a man named Rooster Cogburn is the meanest one "he is a pitiless man, double-tough, and fear don't enter into his think." mattie decides that Rooster is the man for the job, and eventually manages to persuade him to take on the job of tracking down her father's killer. The situation is complicated by the fact that a Texas Ranger called LaBeouf is also interested in tracking down Tom Chaney, who is a wanted criminal. Rooster and LaBeouf decide to join forces, but neither of them want to take Mattie along. However, Mattie doesn't want to be left out of the action, and is a girl who won't take no for an answer. The two men cannot shake her off, and eventually become resigned to having her along.

The story is narrated by Mattie herself, and she is an unforgettable character, brave and indomitable with strong views on just about everything. She is one of fiction's most interesting heroines.

Up there with Catcher in the Rye

Picked up this gem in Arkansas and both Margaret and I read it in one go. Charles Portis writes from what appears to be a 14 year-old girl's perspective and there are few writers who can do that. Then, at the end, you realise that the perspective is of an 80 year old woman recalling her adventure with Rooster Cogburn many many years ago. I have never heard of that before!
The movie follows the book almost word for word except for a few plot changes and came out in 1969 a year after the book was published. John Wayne won his Oscar for his portrayal of Cogburn, showing a sceptical and misinformed world what a fine and versatile actor he was.

For those who say: 'But he always played himself' this showed he didn't. And actually Wayne was the son of a pharmacist and not a cowboy.

As the book is seen as a 'Western genre' title it isn't as famous or as big a best seller as it should be.

Now, if it had been about a 14 year old girl growing up in New York ...

Wow!

Just want to endorse the other rave reviews on here. This is a great book.

One point: Reviewer T. Bently says: "I have a few quibbles. The two marshals, Rooster Cogburn and LaBoeuff live to great ages (we are told Cogburn lives to 68) when I guess in reality most would have lucky to reach 40, even if they were not vastly overweight and whisky-quaffing like the hero".

It's worth pointing out that Wyatt Earp lived to be 80!

Magic

I admit I have spent 50 years snobbishly refusing to read Westerns. How can I have been so lucky that this was my first? It is an absolute classic novel, up there with Huckleberry Finn and the greats. The style is first class, it is beautifully structured- but you don't need analysis, just go for it.

Gutsy western classic

Mattie Ross must be one of the all-time greatest fictional heroines as she embarks, in her own words, "to avenge her father's blood".

I love the humour of Portis's book,

COWBOY: I gave some thought to stealing a kiss from you, but now I am of a mind to give you five or six good licks with my belt.

MATTIE: One would be as bad as the other.

And again,

MATTIE: Do you need a good lawyer?

COWBOY: I need a good judge.

This is a heady mix. The technique of a first-person narrator adds realism and immediacy, which combines with the author's sense of drama and irony to create something quite remarkable. It is only strange that "True Grit" should have found more fame on the screen than on the page.

One thing annoyed me and that is hardly the fault of the writer. The cover blurb states,

"Mattie Ross should soon join the pantheon of America's legendary figures such as Kit Carson, Wyatt Earpp and Jesse James" (Washington Post)

Well, perhaps, if only she could jump that thin barrier which separates fact from fiction.

"True Grit" is such a compelling novel that I was genuinely surprised to find that Charles Portis is a living author. I had supposed it had been written closer to the time in which it is set, such is its sense of authenticity.

It is also unbearably sad as well as funny. As the older Mattie states, ruefully reminiscing on her young self, "time just gets away from us." Such wryness is more touching than all the snake-pits, shoot-outs and dying ponies of the early part of the story.

I have a few quibbles. The two marshals, Rooster Cogburn and LaBoeuff live to great ages (we are told Cogburn lives to 68) when I guess in reality most would have lucky to reach 40, even if they were not vastly overweight and whisky-quaffing like the hero. But overall I really enjoyed this short novel and its introduction by Donna Tartt, even if she does not fully acknowledge the importance of Portis to her own work.