Customer Reviews

The Shootist

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

 

 

I would put this book up there with "Lonesome Dove" and "The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales" as one of the best westerns I've ever read. I have owned several copies of this book since I was in high school (1977) and have always enjoyed reading it. The book has a sad air to it, considering the circumstances of its hero, J.B. Books. I have almost come to tears several times while reading it, when I put myself in Books' shoes.

Some of the best lines in Western fiction are in this book:

"..I would not die a death such as I have described." "No?" "I would not. Not if I had your courage. I would not. And especially your skill with weapons." (conversation between Dr. Hostetler and J.B. Books)

"Day after tomorrow," he said. "When you see me then, in my Sunday duds, there will be no tears." (J.B. Books to Bond Rogers)

To overuse a cliche, if you read one western, "The Shootist" should be it.

I've had a mild interest in reading this one for a number of years (along with so many others). What a revelation - and a wonderful surprise to discover a truly beautiful book! Extremely well crafted, and sad, and perfect. The unforgiving advance of the protagonist's condition, his treatment by the townsfolk, and the outcome of his final gesture to the them all are simply heartbreaking. The writing is uncluttered, and often just lovely. The most moving book I've encountered for quite some time.

If you think about it, its hard to make a western very intriguing and original, but some authors have an awesome way of putting words together for the enjoyment of the reader. The story itself is good but not extraordinary, but the way its put together and that characterization is what makes it special. It is a very good book !!

Having read a fair share of books in my life, I'd yet to read a Western, mostly b/c the covers, the authors, the advertising ... nothing appealed to me. I'd had one or two recommended, as comparisons to my favorite genre (vintage crime), but still the bug hadn't bitten. On a fluke, I happened across THE SHOOTIST, and I thought, "What the heck." Now, I'm thinking, "What took me so long?" Nothing short of incredible. Whether a fan of Westerns, crime, suspense, or just a 'damn good read,' pick up a copy of THE SHOOTIST. It's simply brilliant and deserves to be read.

I saw the John Wayne movie for the first time, recently (don't know what took me so long). I was impressed with it, and it interested me in reading the book. I just finished it, and it is truly one of the best westerns I have ever read: a great story, economically told. While the movie is generally true to the book, there are some differences. I found the book to be more hard-edged and graphically violent than the film. The Gillom Rogers character (played by a young Ron Howard in the film) was portrayed differently in the book: a lot meaner. I actually preferred his character in the book, as it added a certain symmetry and logic to the storyline. Overall, a great book that asks the question: How do you want to go out?

This book I was forced into reading and it actually turned out to be a great book. It still has relevance today being that prostate cancer is still around. This was a really good book! Most of the times I don't like westerns but this is one of the few I like. You really must read it. Even though it is kind-a gross. At least the parts when he shoots somebody but I guess that's his job.

It's sad, poignant, engrossing. Heart-rending. A real ball of fire!!!! Not too many books are better, in my opinion.

The Shootist is perhaps most famous in its incarnation as the final film of screen legend John Wayne. Most do not realize that before it was a starring vehicle for Duke Wayne, it was a novel by Glendon Swarthout. This review focuses on the novel, with little to nothing about the film.

The Shootist is the story of J.B. Books, a legendary shootist (gunfighter) dying of prostate cancer in El Paso, Texas. There are wonderful moments throughout this truly wonderful story of a man who must confront his celebrity and consider what legacy he'll leave behind.

My problem lies with Swarthout's writing style. His words are sparse, yet he finds no poetry or rhythm with his spartan use of words. I felt that he was relating a story, line-for-line, event-after-event, rather than truly summoning my emotions or trying to involve me in the tale being told. His prose style is very weak, and uninteresting.

Other than Books, Dr. Hostetler is the only interesting character, and we are only treated to two short sections with him. Gillom is treated as a typical, starry-eyed youth who undergoes absolutely no character development throughout the narrative, and Mrs. Rogers, the landlady, is portrayed as a weak woman who has almost no qualities that make her more interesting than Bella Swan of the Twilight saga. She is overly-emotional, and completely subservient to masculine influence.

The strong central character and the brilliant story idea are The Shootist's only redeeming qualities, and those two factors alone save it from being an unenjoyable read. Great western literature it is not, but a great afternoon read nonetheless.

I was a much younger fella when the John Wayne movie version of "The Shootist" sent me scrambling to find Glendon Swarthout's story. As a college freshman, I was not yet a writer and just beginning to be an astute critical reader, but Swarthout's original story grabbed me like few others had before. I became a big fan of his style, his sense of story, and this particular book's ending. I was delighted to find this new edition -- with a foreword by his son Miles, who adapted the novel into a script that would become the Duke's last movie -- and I put it on my shelf where I'll be reminded of Swarthout's early influence. I never wrote a western, but growing up in the West, my books have had western themes, no matter where or when they were set. So I can't help but think there's a little bit of Glendon Swarthout in my stories, too. If you want to see a master at work, "The Shootist" is one of those tales that's definitely worth your time and money.

Winner of the 1975 Spur Award as Best Western Novel of that year, the Western Writers of America in their 2000 survey ranked The Shootist #6 on their list of the Greatest Western Novels written in the 20th century. The film made from it the following year, 1976, is ranked among the top 10 Best Westerns made by the King of the Celluloid Cowboys, the legendary John Wayne.

The Shootist is John Bernard Books, a man of principle and the only surviving gunfighter in a vanishing American West. He rides into El Paso in 1901, on the day of Queen Victoria's demise, there to be told by a doctor that he must soon confront the greatist Shootist of them all: Death himself. In such a showdown against such an antagonist, J.B. Books cannot win. Most men may end their days in bed or take their own lives, but a mankiller has a third option, one which Books decides to exercise. He may choose his own executioner. As the word spreads that the famous assassin has reached the end of his rope, an assortment of vultures gathers to feast upon the walking corpse--among them a gambler, a rustler, a clergyman, an undertaker, an old love, a reporter, even a teenager. Books outwits them, however, by selecting the where, when, who and why of his death and writing in fire from a pair of matched Remingtons the last courageous act of his own legend.

The Shootist will rank with such classics as Shane and The Ox-Bow Incident, but it is much more than just a Western. When in the final afternoon of his life, J.B. Books crosses an El Paso street and enters a saloon to make something of his death, we cross, we enter, with him. He is us....

Reviews -- "A taut, leathery, masterful tale." the Los Angeles Times

"This is definitely more than a Western; the characterization is flawless, the plot absorbing and convincing." Barbara Branstad, Library Journal

"Chilling...grisly...extremely exciting to the very end." the Times of London

"The final gun-battle is entirely convincing...I do not ever remember reading one better described." David Holloway, London Daily Telegraph

"Such style...such a strong central idea...the showdown is as unremitting as the build-up to it." the Sunday Times of London

"The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout is the tale of the Old West's version of the modern 'hit man.' It is a splendid story, well-told and with a really satisfying ending." Charleston, South Carolina Evening Post

"This is an extremely well-written Western and gives the reader vivid insight into the workings of the mind of a wanderer and gun man." Baton Rouge, Louisiana Sunday Advocate

"This excellently written novel will keep you glued to your chair for a couple of hours...The author is most adept with our language. His descriptions of the anatomical disturbances made by the violent passage of heavy caliber bullets through a man's body are spine-tingling." San Rafael, California Independent Journal

"How J.B. Books manages to salvage his pride and honor and chose the time, place and manner of his death, makes suspenseful, gripping reading. And the legacy he passes along will make readers shudder. The Shootist is not a Western. It is a fine novel that happens to be set in the early West." Albert F. Nussbaum, Abilene, Texas Reporter News

"The final gunfight for Books is a classic--an incredible tale about an incredible man by an incredible author...The best sections of the novel involve the way in which Books arranges for compensation from those who will profit most from his death; the undertaker, a photographer, the Marshal, the barber...It's a fascinating tale, and once started, is difficult to leave until the final sentence has been absorbed." Robert Shotwell, the Arizona Republic