Mattie Ross, a 14-year-old girl from Dardanelle, Arkansas, sets out to avenge her Daddy who was shot to death by a no-good outlaw. Mattie convinces one-eyed "Rooster" Cogburn, the meanest U.S. marshal in the land, to ride along with her. In True Grit, we have a true American classic, as young Mattie, as vital as she is innocent, outdickers and outmaneuvers the hard-bitten men of the trail in a legend that will last through the ages.
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Editorial Reviews
©1968 Charles Portis; (P)2006 Recorded Books, LLC
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
104 of 110 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I love this novel, having stumbled across it in a used bookstore some 20 years ago, having read it expecting not much more than stilted prose and shootouts, and having returned to it again and again since that first reading.
It's written in the first person, kind of like a memoir, by an old woman describing a youthful adventure. And what an adventure! Shootouts are the least of it.
Mattie Ross, the adolescent girl, is stingy, opinionated, unsentimental, and as tough as John Wayne, if not as big and strong. She conforms to Northrop Frye's concept of the "ironic" hero -- too naive to understand the things she's dealing with, like Voltaire's "Candide." When her ability to keep up during the pursuit of some outlaws is questioned, she answers defiantly, "Pappa took me on a coon hunt once." Camping overnight with the two lawmen, she registers a succinct complaint, "One of the officers made a wet snoring sound. It was disgusting."
But the prose is delirious throughout, like the events they describe. There's a laugh on almost every page, far too many to give examples. I should mention too that the prose is historically and regionally accurate. About a bucket of milk, Matty says, "It looks like bluejohn to me." I looked up "bluejohn" in the Dictionary of American Regional English, and there it was, an old term used in and around Arkansas for skim milk. Likewise, kerosene becomes coal oil. Tall scrubby weeds are a "brake." And all of these regionalisms are woven into a prose style that is memorably idiosyncratic and unintentionally funny as all get out! Rooster Cogburn intends to shoot an unsuspecting man in the back because, "It will give them to know our intentions is serious." Now that's a sentence to savor. First of all, there is the absurdity of the plan.... Read more ›
It's written in the first person, kind of like a memoir, by an old woman describing a youthful adventure. And what an adventure! Shootouts are the least of it.
Mattie Ross, the adolescent girl, is stingy, opinionated, unsentimental, and as tough as John Wayne, if not as big and strong. She conforms to Northrop Frye's concept of the "ironic" hero -- too naive to understand the things she's dealing with, like Voltaire's "Candide." When her ability to keep up during the pursuit of some outlaws is questioned, she answers defiantly, "Pappa took me on a coon hunt once." Camping overnight with the two lawmen, she registers a succinct complaint, "One of the officers made a wet snoring sound. It was disgusting."
But the prose is delirious throughout, like the events they describe. There's a laugh on almost every page, far too many to give examples. I should mention too that the prose is historically and regionally accurate. About a bucket of milk, Matty says, "It looks like bluejohn to me." I looked up "bluejohn" in the Dictionary of American Regional English, and there it was, an old term used in and around Arkansas for skim milk. Likewise, kerosene becomes coal oil. Tall scrubby weeds are a "brake." And all of these regionalisms are woven into a prose style that is memorably idiosyncratic and unintentionally funny as all get out! Rooster Cogburn intends to shoot an unsuspecting man in the back because, "It will give them to know our intentions is serious." Now that's a sentence to savor. First of all, there is the absurdity of the plan.... Read more ›
54 of 57 people found the following review helpful
By Carol Madsen
Format:Paperback
I'm not sure what more I can say than, "Wow!" I don't know if I've ever been more surprised by a book. I ran across it a few times in the library and thought about checking it out, but then I kept remembering that John Wayne won his only Oscar in the movie version (which I haven't seen), and I don't really care for John Wayne, so that must have subconsciously led me to keep leaving it on the shelf. But, I finally picked it up, took it home, dipped into it -- and was instantly hooked. This is a gripping book about the single-minded pursuit justice in the 1870s, written in the amazing voice of a deadpan, plain-speaking prose of a woman looking back at the events some 30-40 years later.
Mattie Ross's beloved rancher father was murdered by a drunk hired hand while they were away on business, and Mattie's ineffectual mother sends her to town to collect the body. She does so, but also seeks out a U.S. Marshall whom she can tempt into heading into the Indian Territory of modern-day Oklahoma to track down and kill or capture the murderer. The crusty lawman she eventually hires has his flaws, including a taste for the drink and sordid service in the Civil War with Quantrill's Raiders (or one of the other loose raiding companies). But he also has a code he follows which makes him the right match for Mattie, who sees life in black and white absolutes. They are joined by a Texas lawman pursing the man for another crime (and substantial bounty) and the trio head off to find their man. Adventures and surprises ensue, including plenty of shooting and killing -- all recounted in the sparse and often unintentionally funny voice of the elder Mattie. Her voice is singular and riveting, making Mattie instantly into one of my favorite characters in American literature.... Read more ›
Mattie Ross's beloved rancher father was murdered by a drunk hired hand while they were away on business, and Mattie's ineffectual mother sends her to town to collect the body. She does so, but also seeks out a U.S. Marshall whom she can tempt into heading into the Indian Territory of modern-day Oklahoma to track down and kill or capture the murderer. The crusty lawman she eventually hires has his flaws, including a taste for the drink and sordid service in the Civil War with Quantrill's Raiders (or one of the other loose raiding companies). But he also has a code he follows which makes him the right match for Mattie, who sees life in black and white absolutes. They are joined by a Texas lawman pursing the man for another crime (and substantial bounty) and the trio head off to find their man. Adventures and surprises ensue, including plenty of shooting and killing -- all recounted in the sparse and often unintentionally funny voice of the elder Mattie. Her voice is singular and riveting, making Mattie instantly into one of my favorite characters in American literature.... Read more ›
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I was eleven the first time I read this. I bought it at one of those book-mobile sales in school after seeing (and totally falling in love with) the movie. Probably the only thing I ever bought in elementary school that I still have. I thought it was incredible then, and (20 years later) I still love it! The writing style is so straight-forward and unaffected that you can't help but be drawn into Mattie's adventure (and you can't help but believe every dang word that comes out of her mouth). How refreshing to read a story about a fourteen year old girl who isn't mooning over some boy or whining about some stereotypical teenage dilemma. We're talking about a girl out to avenge her father's death - I mean, here is a girl with a mission! What a great story. I think the title says it all.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have read True Grit about 16 times. Every time I go into The Strand or any book store I find a copy and prop it up on the fiction table hoping to infect someone else with the Portis bug. I have read all of his work, even "Gringos," and it is all as funny and real as "True Grit," especially "Norwood." I lobby high school teachers to get "True Grit" or "Norwood" on reading lists and I lend out copies left and right or give them away in the hopes of widening Portis' sphere of influence.
But enough about me. "True Grit" is such a great read, full of jokes. I know I won't do them justice but here are a couple of scenes I like: The degenerate Marshall Rooster Cockburn lives in the back of a general store with a Chinese guy and a cat called Genera Price. He sleeps in a string bed (!) and shoots a rat during a business meeting with Mattie, the 14-year-old protagonist out after her father's killer. Or after Mattie tries to buy a horse from a local business man, vexing him beyond all limits, the business man sees her walking up the path and says "I heard tell of a young girl drowning in a well last night. But I can see you are fine." And the horse Blackie is such a good horse and the scene near the tail of the book where Blackie meets his end is so succinct and sad!
This is a great book that I think just about everyone would enjoy from 10-year-olds to 75 year-olds
Portis is supposedly holed up in a fishing shack in Arkansas writing a new book. I have a google search on his name to keep track of all Portis activity! I can't wait!
But enough about me. "True Grit" is such a great read, full of jokes. I know I won't do them justice but here are a couple of scenes I like: The degenerate Marshall Rooster Cockburn lives in the back of a general store with a Chinese guy and a cat called Genera Price. He sleeps in a string bed (!) and shoots a rat during a business meeting with Mattie, the 14-year-old protagonist out after her father's killer. Or after Mattie tries to buy a horse from a local business man, vexing him beyond all limits, the business man sees her walking up the path and says "I heard tell of a young girl drowning in a well last night. But I can see you are fine." And the horse Blackie is such a good horse and the scene near the tail of the book where Blackie meets his end is so succinct and sad!
This is a great book that I think just about everyone would enjoy from 10-year-olds to 75 year-olds
Portis is supposedly holed up in a fishing shack in Arkansas writing a new book. I have a google search on his name to keep track of all Portis activity! I can't wait!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
True Grit
The story is both simple and deeply intricate. It is at tale of justice, strength and determination. It is truly inspirational!
Published 2 days ago by MARY
4.0 out of 5 stars
i like it
alot of the movie dialouge in here, plus some extra parts the movie didn't have nice to read this even after seeing the newer movie, and imagine the characters
Published 1 month ago by chris k vaughan
5.0 out of 5 stars
True Grit was ordered as an impulse item
I have not read this book as yet, but is part of the stack of books I am saving to read on vacation.
This book came promptly and it is just like new.
This book came promptly and it is just like new.
Published 1 month ago by Joyce S. Flippin
5.0 out of 5 stars
W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L
Love it, love it, love it so much that have bought as gifts for loved ones of all ages. Read all the positive things in the other reviews here & double them.
Published 1 month ago by D
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Great American Novel
Charles Portis is an incredible writer and one that makes you feel rather than think. You feel the words and the emotions of the story. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Josh
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Novel
I loved this book! It gave more detail then the old version of the movie with
John Wayne and the new version with Jeff Bridges. The novel is an awesome
read. Read more
John Wayne and the new version with Jeff Bridges. The novel is an awesome
read. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Angela Baines Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like me, like my books!
I read it myself and then bought a copy for a discriminating and well-read friend. Since she liked it, too, I gave the book a high rating.
Published 1 month ago by John E. Ingle
5.0 out of 5 stars
True Grit was very entertaining
I had seen the movie years ago with John Wayne but did not remember it. It was a very good western. Anyone that enjoys reading and is looking for good entertainment will like it.
Published 2 months ago by doris beattie
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good book really dry
I thought it was entertaining but also very dry. It was very hard for me to work my way through it as a result but in the end it was worth it
Published 2 months ago by Wolf
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a Surprisingly Wonderful Read
I must say I was very pleasantly surprised and delighted by this short gem of a novel. Although I enjoyed both movie versions, the book in the first person voice of Mattie is an... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Todd and In Charge
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