Customer Reviews

The Borderland

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

this superb book is so big that it entices one to match its size in praising it. There are dozens of literally, fabulous, characters. texas rangers, europeans, actresses, generals, and, of course, native americans. i can't imagine that these warriors, sages, half-breeds, captives, politicians and womenfolk have ever been better drawn.the scenes of their meetings read like shrake was taking minutes as do the pow wows of the white invaders. in short, it is the entire mix that created the republic of texas from president lamar down to the boatman who takes them across their stygian river. this book has a heart as big as the state of texas and as much wisdom as i have ever encoutered on the page. and the story is told with vigour and humour , laced with a fair amount of blood, sweat and lust.it could easily be called "jacobean." and probably will be. certainly its last line will be quoted for a long, long time.

This is one great novel; the very best from the underappreciated author of two other classic works of fiction: "Blessed McGill" (the story of the first Saint of North America) and "Strange Peaches" (the first Kennedy conspiracy theory book). Shrake has reached his peak with the Borderland which gets at the real heart of the founding of the nation of Texas, the period after the Alamo and before admission to the Union during which Sam Houston moved the Capitol west to the middle of a Comanche paradise (oh, how we wish Austin was still a paradise), setting off a 40 year war with the Comanches and ethnic cleansing of the Cherokees. Imagine Austin with a Capitol Building surrounded by a stockade fence and a moat and protected by cannons against attack. It's bigger than life because these people were bigger than life. The climax of the book comes with the biggest Comanche raid in history which ended with the Texas Rangers triumph and slaughter of the Indians at Plum Creek south of Austin. I could give you a dozen other great scenes, but skip to the chase and simply read this book; it's a winner!

There is an article on Bud Shrake by senior editor Gary Cartwright that appears in the April 2000 issue of TEXAS MONTHLY. See it on texasmonthly.com.

Bud's new book, Borderland, is a truly great novel about Austin, carefully researched and set during the frontier era of the republic of Texas. If you love Austin, you need to read this book. You'll be surprised at what you'll learn about the town. And you'll probably wind up writing me a thank you note for this suggestion. (signed) Mike Levy, publisher, TEXAS MONTHLY

The Borderland is one of those rare novels which manages to draw you in so completely that you feel a hearty sense of loss after you turn the last page. It is rich and romantic, large and scathing, and funny and true. Though the book is a historic novel centered around the early days of Texas and the settlement of Austin, it's scope is much greater. It captures the spirit of men taking on the magnificent and the impossible and the persistence and heart which manage to propel them to success. The characters are unforgettable and the prose is vivid and engaging. If you want to read something which will make you laugh and cry and think, by all means, read The Borderland. And check out one of the author's earlier novels, Blessed McGill. Shrake's works rival Jim Harrison's and Larry McMurtry's.

What a treat that the new millennium would bring two terrific novels of Texas-first "Gates of the Alamo" and now "The Borderland." Whether or not you live in Texas, you've got to admit that the state has a fascinating history, and Edwin Shrake's novel covers the little-explored period of the very young Republic. A new capital, Austin, is being built, and the new government is having to make good on promises made during the fight for independence. Into this time of excitement and uncertainty, Shrake brings a cast of characters so individual and complete that you'll be hooked from page one.

There's Cullasaja Swift, a half-Cherokee woman raised in New York and her physician-pugilist brother Dr. Romulus Swift, who come seeking spiritual solace in the promised Cherokee homeland; Matthew Caldwell the Ranger and his German mailorder bride Hannah; the German entrepreneur with a hatchet blade permanently stuck in his skull; and Henry Longfellow, the genteel murder- psychopath. The Cherokee and Comanche characters are fully drawn and true to themselves. There are no good or bad guys here, only a number of people trying to influence the future of a land.

One of the finest thing about good fiction is how much the reader learns. "The Borderland" is full of intriguing history, characters, and fine writing. This may be the only time I wished an airline flight would last longer, so I could stay longer in this world undisturbed. I'd love to know what happens next to these characters and would run to buy the sequel.

The Borderland is a compelling work of historical fiction which works well because of its plotting, richly drawn characters and historical accuracy. Its 400+ pages move briskly along, following several interrelated story-lines which lead to an ultimate showdown. The story has a cliff-hanger feel to it, setting up a confrontation in chapter 1, which does not come to a head until several chapters later and recurs throughout the book.

The characters are richly drawn both from the conventional myth of Texas and truly unique characters. Texas ranger Matthew Caldwell exemplifies the strong, silent Texan of myth. He has the courage to assert the "Ranger's perogative" to defer arresting a wrongly accused man in defiance of orders from the President of the Republic of Texas as well as the ruthlessness to leave his enemies to their death. There is also a pack of Texas scoundrels, such as Henry Longfellow, a psychotic land speculator and hanger-on to President Mirabeau Lamar and lawyer Ridgewood Bone, whose name takes on an irony after an encounter with the Commanches. Lawrence Kerr is a more likeable, but still conventional character, as the foppish New Yorker who goes native and returns home with tales to tell. However, the story draws much of its depth from its unconventional and unlikely characters. Central to the plot are Doc Swift and his sister Cullasaja. They are the product of a marriage between a Cherokee woman and a Scottish ship captain, living their lives in both worlds. Doc Swift is a medical doctor educated at the University of Edinburg whose command of the English language is far superior to that of the American colonists he encounters. He uses both his European and native American medical training to save countless lives and earn the respect of many who would otherwise reject him. His sister Cullasaja is a similarly educated and erudite young woman who seeks a native American version of the American dream--to live in peace with her people in the land promised to them by former President Sam Houston. Hannah Dahlman is another central character. She is a German mail order bride who comes to Texas seeking to escape the political repression of her native land and bring her family with her. There is just one catch--she is Jewish, a detail which matters only to the Catholic church. The wooing of Hannah Dahl between Ranger Caldwell and Doc Swift forms one of the central conflicts of the book. The portraits of the Commanche warriors and mystics are compelling as well. Edwin Shrake creates them to be worthy adversaries rather than two dimensional villains to be gunned down by the heroic Texians.

The attention to historical detail is refreshing as well. Shrake captures the feel of frontier Austin, established San Antonio and swampy Houston with great accuracy. This is neither an uncritical telling of the Texas myth nor a PC screed against the evil Anglos. Instead, the story tells the grim dance of death between the Anglos, the Mexicans and the Commanches. Each takes a turn as executioner of the others and each receives a dose of death as well. None of the parties escapes being a giver and recipient of bloodlust, although it is often the innocent within each group who suffer. The violence is contrasted with the ordinary day to day lives of the Texans and the Commanches. The violence and grittiness of much of the story is contrasted with the ending, which is a counterpoint to Edwin Shrake's earlier novel, Blessed McGill, which was pretty darn depressing.

This novel is richly textured and the characters finely wrought. This author loves Texas, and as a Texan myself, I appreciated the intricately woven historical detail. I could picture every scene as if I were there. Read it and enjoy.

Other readers' reviews (well, most of them) have accurately acounted for the attributes of The Borderland. I will address several very specific points.

From the opening paragraphs of the Prologue, an account of two massive storms that collided in 1839, the reader knows that he is in good hands. Here is that rare bird in Western fiction: a theme that promises to be grand in scope, announced in metaphorical terms. This is the story of many such collisions. Just like the two storms, each adversary has telling impact on his own, and when two of them meet, there is real drama.

An interesting and unusual element of the book is that it has two protagonists. Each is a powerful and deeply interesting figure. Each is a man of uncommon attributes, and the reader finds himself drawn to each of them; yet neither is without his human failings and contradictions. It is one of Shrake's more noteworthy achievements that he shows us how their flaws derive from the same experiences and personalities that have made each character so imposing. As with the story, Shrake allows his characters to develop because of who they are, and this is the heart of dramatic action. As the two protagonists come closer and closer to conflict, one is reminded of the great storm of the Prologue. These are extraordinary examples of their kind, and no small amount of the tension in the book develops from speculation about what will happen when Old Paint and Romulus Swift have their accounting.

There are also carefully drawn and believable female characters in this book, two of them as strong and as organically developed as their male counterparts. It is as easy to see how these two men could love these women as it is to see how the women could love the men. And there is a loathsome villain, but--to me, at least--he seems altogether believable, if disgustingly so. He is simply another rarity: a character of fathomless evil. It is impossible to guess how much of the power of this book would have been lost without these characters, but I'm sure that the book would have fallen into the ranks of the ordinary. And the book almost teems with believably, carefully drawn supporting characters. I can't think of one that is not developed with the same honesty and art as the main characters.

The Borderland is, predictably, not without its faults. I found there to be a bit too much coincidence, almost in the mold of Thomas Hardy, for my liking, but Shrake is so meticulous about everything else, I doubt if he would agree. In the face of so much that is admirable, this is a quibble at best.

Finally, the book is written with a firm, masterful, and often graceful and memorable style. I am not prudish, but I am sensitive to gratuitous filth. I find none of it, as one reader has, in this book. Shrake does use some shocking language when he reveals the mind of his villain, and it only adds to his incomprehensible evil.

I've read enough Western historical fiction to know the conventions and weaknesses of the genre. Lonesome Dove is grand, and The Snowblind Moon is simply one of the most haunting books I know. The Borderland ranks with them: they are the three best novels of the time and place that I have read.

This is not a novel to begin on Sunday evening when you have to get up early next morning and go to work. Its closest comparison in style and character development in my mind would be Lonesome Dove. From the opening page, the reader is thrust into the action and when the John Wayne/Capt McColl figure enters, its too late to just slip in the bookmark and save the rest until later.

The research that went into the book gives the non-Texan a better understanding of why the independent, frontier traditions are still alive today in the Lone Star State.

To the native-Texan, small details about Austin bring a touch of delight to the otherwise familiar.

Having just read The Gates of the Alamo for our book club, I picked up this book to find out about the first few years of the Texas Republic. I became hooked on this story right away, loved the characters and the action, although at times brutal, seemed realistic. This is a great read, but don't start it unless you want to stay up all night to find out how the characters fare.