Customer Reviews

The U.P. Trail (Large Print Edition)

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3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
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I started reading Zane Grey's novels about 15 years ago, when a great-uncle told me of the times, as a youth in the 1920s, he had read Grey's novels on cold nights in front of a fire. It must be close to a decade ago when I first read this title, and I can't help but re-read it every few years. It infuses me with wonder and awe every time.

I knew enough about Grey's novels, by the time I read this one, to know that Riders of the Purple Sage was considered his best. But when I got to the end of The U P Trail, I said to myself, "This is the greatest book I have ever read." This novel, which is focused upon the construction of the Union-Pacific Railroad, has something incredibly passionate and elemental about it that not only elevates it above Grey's other numerous titles, including Riders, but makes it a giant in its genre. Grey himself says in his dedication that "it is the book for which I have written all the others."

The book's scope is akin to a giant mirror being held up to reflect, in one grand and allegorical image, the breadth of the human experience in the building of the American West, and the destruction of its frontier culture. It's a tale of heroism, virtue, sacrifice, greed, personal ruin, redemption, betrayal, saintliness, violence, bigotry, lust, depravity, nobility, and so many other aspects of human nature it's hard to list them all here. It is filled with unforgettable characters who represent every social group involved with both the building of the railroad itself, and the white man's ambition to expand the nation to the Pacific coast. Some of the incidents and moments created by Grey will remain with readers long after they have finished the book, if not forever. And central to it all is the tortured story of the lovers Neale and Allie.

As to drawbacks: modern readers may struggle, in places, with the novel's tone and language. The dialogue of its characters sometimes contains the vernacular and political perspective of the era in which the book was written, and held up to modern standards it could occasionally be labeled politically incorrect. Readers may also have trouble accepting the extra-innocent, almost saintly Allie, and the numerous occasions in which her virtue is preserved against all odds.

Generally, though, I believe that the power and beauty of the book will be the primary impression left with those who read it. It should not be missed by anyone who is a Zane Grey fan OR a fan of historical fiction pertaining to the American West. It's a great view of the legacy in which all Americans live today.

I have read Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Louis L'Amour and many other modern and classic authors. I am disabled and read a lot all my life and when disabled for 20 years or more. I enjoy all fiction and Historical, and Zane Grey has written some of the best all around fiction that I have read. He gets tedious at times describing the terrain as did L'Amour, but the meat is worth the gristle. He tells a hell of a story that you can't put down any more than the latest Stephen King thriller. It is free and worth what King and Koontz get for theirs. Try it, you will love it. Fredt

Without doubt, this is the single greatest western novel that I have ever read. It was a gift given to me as a boy, and I have reread it periodically ever since.

This is a magnificant epic of a novel in a single volume. The collossal enterprise of building the first transcontinental railroad from start to finish connects everything, but is really about Neale's love for Allie Lee- and everything he and their friends go through to rescue her. I know that sounds more like a romance novel than it does a western, but, trust me, this is THE western. You actually care about the many skillfully drawn characters- and it hits you hard when they die in heroic sacrifice. I know that some readers will see the characters as western charactatures and stereotypes, but that is only because Hollywood later overused them- the book came first.

By the way, Larry Red King's rescue of Allie Lee from Belle's "Dance Hall" is still the greatest single scene in any western novel, or film, as far as I am concerned.

Oh yeah, not all the language is "politically correct" these days. That's because the men who built this nation weren't politically correct- empire builders never are.

One more thing, the hero of this novel is an engineer, a civil engineer, and a great role model. At least to me, he was.

"The U.P. Trail" is basically the story of the endless perils of young Allie Lee. And when I say endless, I mean endless. Allie and her mother are fleeing her nefarious step-father when their wagon train is attacked by Indians. Everyone but Allie is killed. She's rescued by the man who will become her one true love. She goes to live peacefully with an old trapper. Things are fine until she's kidnapped by some rough desperados. Before they have the chance to do anything to her, the whole gang is attacked by Indians and Allie is taken captive by the Sioux. She manages to escape the village and finds another wagon train. Who should be in this group but her evil step-father she was trying to escape from in the first place. This means she has to escape him yet again. Briefly she's reunited with her one true love. Then the outpost is attacked by Indians, during which Allie is kidnapped by outlaws and returned to her stepfather. With help she escapes from him again. For a short time she's imprisoned in a bawdy house but with help escapes from there, only to be captured again by her evil step-father. This is it. This is the whole book - Allie being held against her will by someone and the Indians having nothing else to do but constantly attack. If you approach the book one way you may enjoy wondering just what else will happen to Allie to keep her separated from her one true love. Have fun wondering what crimes did she commit in a previous life in order to deserve all this.

This is an ambitious novel, as Zane Grey tried to weave the tale of a pair of star-crossed lovers with the story of the building of the Union Pacific Railroad. The novel includes every piece of action that becomes the staples of Hollywood Westerns: deadly gunfights, redskins' attacks, corrupt politicians, dastard villains, forgotten treasure. Unfortunately I think the author included too much, diluting the impact of simpler story lines in his other classics such as Riders of the Purple Sage, or Last Man Standing. Replaceable minor characters appeared and disappeared only to serve to drive the story forward. The male protagonist, Warren Neale, is not a very well-drawn, rather inconsistent character, a victim of episodic disappearances from the narrative. Allie Lee is a bit better drawn, but she served no more than damsel-in-distress role. The female characters in the other mentioned novels are much stronger characters who played crucial roles in the stories.

That said, the story does have its amazing moments. The escape of Allie Lee from the Indian camp. The burial ground in the dying Benton.