Good Reads & Views

Shane by Jack Schaefer
Fiction

Even if you’re not into Westerns, this 119-page gem provides a quick visit to the West that you’ll long remember. In a swift-moving tale filled with plainspoken people, tension, and bursts of violence, a hero and anti-hero team up against a cattle driver who threatens the homesteaders’ way of life. An adolescent boy narrates the story of his honorable father, who takes in a mysterious, dangerous drifter as a ranch hand—a simple act that has serious consequences. An excellent choice for a book discussion.

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
Fiction

The wittiest, grimmest Western of the year. Also, a Western for those who don’t read Westerns. Eli Sisters narrates the story in his own particular wry tone, and his narration makes this book sing. Eli and his brother Charlie are hired guns, and they’re not nice guys. It’s the 1850s, and they’ve set out to the west to commit yet another murder-for-hire. Eli decides this will be his final job with his brother before he retires to a kinder, gentler life. Naturally, his old job doesn’t let him loose without a fight. If you enjoyed True Grit, give this book a whirl.