True Grit – Charles Portis

Not really sure what bug crawled into my bonnet to put True Grit on my “to read” list.  In general I’m not a “western” fan. The whole archetype of the solitary loner, spurs jingling as he comes to town to save the day from the man in the black hat is not something that interest me. 

But. The movie was so hyped up (and I’ll watch anything with Josh Brolin) I had to throw it on the Netflix list. And when I got a Border’s gift card and felt like I needed to rush through buying something before they went under (Oh man my Kindle guilt is in FULL FORCE over that one don’t even get me started) True Grit was for some reason what I got. So you can see  I created a bit of a perfect storm for myself that was hard to resist.

Now, before I go any further, I have to be honest, I saw the movie first. And anyone who knows me knows that I have a very strident “the book is always better” stance on these things. But the Cohen brothers delivered such a close adaptation and I read the book so soon after watching that in my head they are pretty well intertwined. And I really liked them both.

OK, so that’s all out of the way, on to the book.

Every review I hear or read about this book focuses on two things; Rooster Cogburn and Mattie Ross. These, and the others, are some of the most interesting and rounded characters I have encountered in a long time. Not just because I have such a clear picture of Jeff Bridges in my head, but because Charles Portis is a master of language and building a character.

Mattie has one of the strongest voices I have ever read. And while I agree with all the praise she gets, one thing I haven’t heard anyone say is that Mattie is sort of a jerk. And I love it! She is such a representation of her time and place. Her observations on her neighbors, foreigners, politicians, and the men she meets on her journey are (as far as I can tell with my limited knowledge of the history) spot on for her class and situation. As our narrator we get swept into her world and point of view and are impressed by her gumption. But I at least had a few moments where I thought, “man, she’s a little punk isn’t she?” I mean that in the most complimentary was possible.

As a reader, especially someone who has read as much as I have, you figure out what you like and don’t like in terms of genre, style and a million other things. If you are not careful, you can lock yourself in and close yourself off to great things.  But then sometimes a book comes along and flips your whole perspective on its ear. True Grit did that for me. A little. I’m not going to run out and join the John Wayne Appreciation Society or anything. But my mind is a little more open. And that’s the sign of a great book.