Customer Reviews

The Horsecatcher (Bison Book)

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Her lifelong research, study, and familiarity with the culture of the plains indians, along with her own challenging life experiences in a pioneer family, provide Mari Sandoz with an authentic setting for the universal story of the individual search for self. Issues of morality, personal esteem, responsibility, respect for authority, self-reliance, et cetera, arise as naturally for Young Elk, as for any teenager, any time, any where. This story of a youthful misfit amoung the Cheyenne a hundred and fifty years ago has special relevance for global peacemaking today. It should be a world classic of juvenile fiction. And more, for it is extremely thought-provoking for the adult reader.

Mari Sandoz is best known for her fictional biography of Lakota warrior Crazy Horse. This story is about a Cheyenne youth named Elk who would rather catch horses than go on the warpath, or even the hunt. The gist of the book is that Elk's problem is he is a pacifist in a warrior society. Sometimes, however, the story stretches credulity as Elk will eat buffalo... so long as someone else kills it. He will however kill an animal or human if his life is on the line. Maybe this is based on a true story that Ms. Sandoz heard from the Indians and she added her own details, mirroring her work on Crazy Horse. Also, the writing style is sometimes awkward. The intended audience is young adults. While I don't feel that my time was completely wasted reading the book, I didn't finish it with that feeling that I must read it again someday as I have with other novels of this genre.