Are Westerns Truly Dead?!
Recently during a book discussion I heard: “Oh the Western novel is dead.” I was shocked to hear this, not only because I am a fan of the genre…well yes, it was because I am a fan of the genre, but there are so many new Westerns to be found today.
I fondly remember reading Lonesome Dove after watching the miniseries. Written by Larry McMurtry, who also wrote the screenplay for the Academy Award winning movie Brokeback Mountain, this story follows two retired Texas Rangers as they drive a thousand head of cattle 3,000 miles to Montana. This is a traditional Western with bad guys, good guys and damsels in distress.
Another Western that I would highly recommend is, The Outlander by Toronto author, Gil Adamson. The story grabs you from the opening page with “The Widow” racing to escape from the crime she has just committed, the murder of her husband. Set in 1903 rural Canada you follow “The Widow,” Mary Boulton, as she flees from her two brothers-in-law. She is only nineteen and finds that she must survive on her wits as she encounters a variety of eccentric characters. Adamson’s novel is also interesting because she bends fact and fiction within the story, to take Mary through the true historical event of the Frank Landslide of Frank, Alberta.
Other must reads include:
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