Here are three ARCs I picked up in the ALA exhibit hall last weekend. First up is Kathleen Kent's The Outcasts (Little, Brown, Oct), a women's adventure story set in Texas after the Civil War. Next is Leila Meacham's Somerset (Grand Central, Nov), a 600-page multigenerational epic spanning 150 years of southern and western history and the long-awaited prequel to the author's bestselling Roses. Finally we have Ivan Doig's Sweet Thunder (Riverhead, Aug), about a newspaperman's battle for justice for local miners in 1920s Montana.
All three authors have a large and eager following, based on their previous successes. These three novels have been highly anticipated (and not just by me!). And all three are set in the late 19th to early 20th-century West.
Some readers naturally gravitate towards Western fiction, while others may need quite a bit more persuading to try it – or an added hook. Such as a famous name or event, for example, or the promise of a new installment in a well-loved series. The American West isn't perceived to be glamorous, especially compared to fiction set in royal courts or grand English manor houses, and Western novels are often dismissed as overfamiliar or formulaic. As a book review editor, I admit I often have difficulty finding readers willing to consider them.
I dislike stereotypes in any type of fiction, Westerns included; that said, the exploration and settlement of the West are an integral part of American history that I enjoy reading and learning more about. These novels can offer exciting stories of adventure, independence, and discovery. In addition, I tend to read for plot, language, and character as much as setting, and I've seen how a talented storyteller can draw me into a novel and make me care about what happens regardless of where it takes place. Note the cover design of The Outcasts, too; it's a clever way to catch the attention of readers who like other novels about strong women in history.
While I was contemplating this topic as the subject of a blog post, the July issue of NoveList's RA News arrived in my inbox. It has a few additional articles that focus on Westerns: both the stereotypes that surround them and the promises they offer. Reading lists are included, too.
Are you looking forward to reading any of the three novels shown above? Do you have any other thoughts about Western settings you'd like to share?
Haven't read these particular ones, but have enjoyed quite a few Westerns over the years, from Jack Schaeffer's "Shane" to Brian Garfield's "Wild Times" and Larry McMurtry's "Lone Dove".
ReplyDeleteMore recently, I found Robert B Parker's stylish take on the traditional Western a lot of fun - my review of "Appaloosa" here
I'm just reading Philipp Meyer's "Son" at the moment and loving it - a multigenerational saga set in Texas - literary but very accessible. And though some readers seem to have issues with his approach in intertwining the stories of three generations rather than taking a linear approach, I'm finding his challenge to how we perceive time a very effective technique in giving a strong sense of continuity through past and present.
I've been hearing a lot about The Son (rave reviews are popping up everywhere!), and that sounds like a new and creative approach to a multigenerational saga. I'm looking forward to reading it. Enjoyed your Appaloosa review, too.
DeleteMy favorite Western author is Richard S. Wheeler; his Second Lives set in Gilded Age Denver is a standout.
I've been anticipating The Outcasts since I stumbled upon it at Amazon! Have never heard of the other two. I cut my teeth on stories of the Wild West, its homesteaders, and its cowboys and outlaws as a child, but grew away from the setting/era because once I "graduated," so to speak, from MG and YA Historical Fiction, the adult shelves were packed with UK and European-set HF. My love for the setting has been stoked a bit by watching reruns of Western TV my mom watched as a kid (The Big Valley, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, etc) and the plethora of films produced by old Hollywood.
ReplyDeleteI hear the Western is making a comeback in historical romance after about 15 years absence and decline, so it may be the next big thing in publishing.
I'm looking forward to seeing how Kent transitions from early New England to the Wild West. That's good to hear about Western romances making a comeback. I haven't seen much of them except the occasional Sourcebooks title (although they've always been huge in the inspy market, a separate category).
DeleteIt'll be interesting to see if there's a revival of Westerns in general in the coming years. Successes like The Son and Patrick deWitt's The Sisters Brothers may help, but I still read many reviews which read something like "I loved this, even though I don't normally like Westerns!"
"Sisters Btothers" was excellent as well, and I thought Daniel Woodrell's recently reissued Woe to Live On just brilliant - the US CIvil War frontier-style. (Mind you, I think anything Woodrell writes is brilliant :).
ReplyDeleteTalk of Western romances reminds me of a couple of old favourites - Penelope Williamson's "Outsider" and "Heart of the West".
Haven't come across that term "inspy" before, but I like it- less confrontional than the standard label "Christian fiction"!
Make that "Lonesome Dove", btw- had a senior moment there!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the perceived dislike of the Western stems from female readers rejecting it as a "male" genre, perhaps put off by its aura of violence?
Certainly the Western is based around a culture of violence - what we think of as the Old West was after all driven by the spread of damaged and dysfunctional ex-soldiers following the end of the Civil War, many suffering from what we would now call post-traumatic stress syndrome.
In defence of the Western though, it's a classic example of what Joseph Campbell called the "one story" - the hero-quest. And it's very adaptable - it lends itself to so many interpretations - traditional good versus evil, epic saga, bromance or straight romance, irony, black comedy, just plain black or even apocalyptic. It's not surprising that it never quite dies away, but periodically reinvents itself :)
Good points!
ReplyDeleteI must be really out of it because Woodrell was new to me - I had no idea he had such a backlist! I have my eye on the upcoming The Maid's Version, which (since it's set in Missouri in '29) could be called a novel of the West.
Penelope Williamson's Western romances were excellent.
So many novels of the historical West these days don't fit the mold of the traditional Western, and many have female leads, so women shouldn't automatically feel like they don't belong. But many of the stories are about hardship, struggles on the frontier, etc., which may not seem like the most upbeat topics.
I am anxiously awaiting Somerset - waiting to be approved on Netgalley. Loved, loved, loved Roses. I haven't read too many Westerns - the one that comes to mind is The Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard which I enjoyed. I do find the west very appealing - but I'm looking less for the gunslinger/hokey-tv-show-esque Western and more of a story of those scratching it out to survive. As a child I enjoyed Out of the Dust - which tells the sort of story I'm talking about above.
ReplyDeleteI agree... I don't care much for shoot-em-up Westerns but am more drawn to novels about daily life in the West, or sagas like Roses and Somerset.
DeleteI confess I enjoy the stereotypical Western novels by authors like Elmer Kelton. Still, battles between Comanches and Texas Rangers fail to fully convey the inner lives of the participants. I have read The Exile by Richard Wheeler, which does an excellent job of this. I need to read more of him.
ReplyDeleteHi John, I haven't read The Exile yet but can highly recommend Trouble in Tombstone (you can guess the subject), Vengeance Valley (about a mining community, not a gunfighter like the cover implies), Goldfield, Sierra, and The Witness. I ought to read more of his, too. Thinking about it, there are some traditional Western novels I enjoy, mostly those that re-create iconic events and give insight into the characters and what happened.
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