Customer Reviews

Many a River

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've followed "Pop" Kelton's novels since meeting up with him at Baylor University back in the early 1980s, and this is one of his very finest. The plot resembles D. W. Griffith's Orphans of the Storm in that two siblings (brothers) are torn apart at an early age and we follow their separate adventures until the final pages of the novel. But what is startling here--for those like me who have a whole bookcase stocked with Kelton--is that he manages to do something rather unique here. He takes the best of his paperback style--finger-burning page-turning with loads of action, hard-knocks and bullets--and weds it to his hardcover style--meticulous historical sensibilities, fine dry humor, and utter believability. If you've found yourself getting a little sleepy with the last half-dozen or so novels, be prepared for a jolt. This one's a classic and a real corker, whether you're coming to Kelton for the first time or you're already carrying his brand.

This is a really good western-style book. Kelton never fails to evoke some joy of victory, as well as a tear of irony.He is a master of the metaphor.
I wish he published a new story every week! I have all of his novels and some of his short stories and biographical works, and love them all!

Once again, Elmer Kelton has presented a story that keeps you interested from the first page to the last. If you have read very many Kelton books, you think you know what will happen at the end, but he still keeps you guessing.

Excellent story.

I have read every book and manuscript Kelton has ever produced, and met him and his still pretty Austrian wife at many book-selling gatherings. He was voted as "the best western book writer of our times" (or something closely akin to that), and he well deserves the title.This book is another "Can't Put Down" book, and showcases (1) the polarization of the Civil War in many Texas Communities (2) various real life forts and battles of that war in Eastern New Mexico clear to the very tip of South Texas, and (3)the various rivers and watering holes along those trails (Commanche Springs of Fort Stockton, Texas). His characters are visible, almost tangible,and the reader develops s close kinship to their plights and exuberations.

Growing up in the 60's and 70's my grandfather got me turning the pages on the old time western paperbacks. I still have boxes packed under my bed some waiting to be read, some boxes marked have read, but the have reads are still hanging around for a possible 2nd go around. I kind of got lost in the current times with computers, everyday bustle, and just life in general and only recently started to revisit my my love of reading..gee so many years lost. I always was a huge fan of Louis Lamour westerns growing up and then later in life came to love mysteries of Jonathan Kellerman and John Grisham. Getting to the point this was my first Elmer Kelton novel. The pages turned quickly on this great paperback book and was a ligtning fast read. I couldn't wait to get to bed at nights to continue the journey of these two brothers set apart in "Many a River". A great mixture of Civil War history, the hard times of the frontier, and a touch of Mexico thrown in. This book was such a great read and with the recent revival of the Western movie thanks to "True Grit" this would be a wonderful epic movie to be put on the big screen. Ok so I wish big and can only hope, but I do yearn for another "Dances with Wolves"!!! Bottom Line is if you haven't read an Elmer Kelton book this would be a great first read, I think you as I would be an instant fan and totally sold on this great western author!

If you like true western books, this is one of the best. I have read all of Elmer Kelton's books. This is one of the best. Mr. Kelton is a true author of western heritage. It is a shame that Mr. Kelton has passed but I hope his estate will continue to release his books. This is a good read.

This book has an easy to predict plot that plays out the way you want it to but it is a great book for lovers of the old west to get lost in for a little while and forget all this modernization that is paving Texas into a parking lot.

Fun, easy read. Makes you for get your problems and like a real good move excape the now for a short time very entertaining.

1855 in the area of Texas around Weatherford frequently saw Indian attacks on travelers and settlers. The Barfield family is passing through the area having left Arkansas for hopefully a better life in Texas. Mr. Alexander Barfield is driven to find a better spot than the last spot they passed even though the rest of the family thinks they have passed several very good spots. He's ready to go again just as soon eight-year-old Jeffrey brings the family dog, Brownie, back to the wagon.

The fact that the dog ran away and had to be found saved Jeffery's young life.

Jeffery hides as his mom and dad are killed and his five year old brother Todd is taken away. Unable to defend them as he is weaponless, he is left to bury the dead and mourn. Soon, a posse chasing the Indian finds him and helps him finish the task which soon includes burying his brother. Then the posse will take him and help him start a new life somewhere else as the last member of his family.

While Jeffrey believes his brother is dead it was, in fact, another captive boy that was killed and buried in Todd's place. Todd is very much alive and in the custody of an Indian raiding party. Prisoner of the Commanaches, he might be indoctrinated into the tribe or more likely he will be traded to the Mexican traders, sometime soon for whatever they can get. Whatever his fate, life as he knew it is over and he faces a struggle just to survive.

Against the backdrop of the years preceding the coming Civil War to its furious beginnings, the boys on separate life paths survive amid the harsh realities. They will be reunited again but have many dusty miles to travel and many rivers to cross with much to overcome in a land where human life has little value.

Rich in Texas culture and history, author Elmer Kelton showcases again why he has won the "Spur Award" seven times. Though the jacket copy as well as this review gives away the fact the boys will be reunited, the getting there provides a very suspenseful journey. That along with complex characters, plenty of cultural descriptions and commentary as seen through the characters, and authentic story lines make this another very enjoyable read.

As does the history the book includes. Not only does it relate some of the history of the brutality of Union Major Chivington (who was a real piece of work), it also relates the brutal battle at Glorieta Pass in 1862. In this novel, as is often the case in real life, those going into the start of an armed conflict have a much different perspective of the future then when they come out. One thing that has always struck me is how many on both sides thought the Civil War would be brief and over quickly. How wrong they were has been proven by history then and many times with other wars since then. War comes alive for the reader in this novel in a way that few books achieve. So too do the years leading up to the war which found Texas and the surrounding areas an often brutally violent place where life, regardless of gender or ancestry, was very cheap.


Kevin R. Tipple (copyright)2009