Wednesday 3 July 2013

Devouring Books: True Grit by Charles Portis

"He drank even as he rode, which looked difficult. I cannot say it slowed him down any, but it did make him look silly. Why do people wish to be silly?"

Something weird happened the other week- Someone on the internet said a book was good and I ACTUALLY read it. I know what you're thinking- that's not even weird, most of what she reads now has been recommended by the internet, and you're right, of course. But normally I read things go 'yeah, that sounds cool' I maaaaybe buy it and if I do, it stays on my shelf forever until I read it. Every. Time.

BUT! Alley read True Grit the other week and within mere DAYS I was down at the library getting it (I also got Where'd You Go, Bernadette? at the same time, and what a TREAT that was too!) which I'm obviously going to attribute solely to Alley's review and not to the fact that I watched the film last year (Or... the year before? Who knows!) and meant to read the book and never got round to it and actually it's just the same old story all over again, isn't it? Whatever- thank you Alley for being inspiring/reminding me of stuff. Nice work.

So, True Grit is awesome. It's a Western, which I have basically no experience of other than The Sisters Brothers (which was also amazing) so I don't know if its typical of its genre or not- I'd like to think it's exceptional because otherwise I'm missing out on this whooole world of books, and also because it kind of feels exceptional- not least because it's about a girl, who also happens to be the fucking badassest of all 14 year old girls in the whole of human history. I mean, seriously- teenage girls who are reading YA should probably just read this if they want a good role model because seriously, Mattie is the toughest teen- probably one of the toughest people in all the books in the whole world. 

(I might be exaggerating, but at this point I don't even know- just accept the fact that she's awesome and we'll move on.)

SO. Mattie's deal is that her father has just been killed and she's gone down to Fort Smith to get his body and sort out his affairs AND, her real mission is to hunt down her father's killer (Tom Chaney) and avenge her father's death (she's fourteen. And a girl. And it's the nineteenth century. And she's the best. Have I mentioned that yet?) To do this, she goes to hire a US Marshal- she asks who the best one is, and then chooses the one with the most 'grit', Rooster Cogburn. Now, Cogburn is awesome (he's sort of a drunk but he's pretty tough for a one eyed fat dude) but I think we all know that the character with TRUE grit is Mattie. Just... Solving the title for you there. You're welcome.

Making the plot a little richer is Laboeuf, a Texas Ranger (so yeah, you pronounce it LaBeef and all of France just died) who's also hunting down Chaney for separate reasons and who, being less drunk-all-the-time than Rooster is less keen on taking a 14 year old girl into the wild to hunt down a known murderer, all of which is sensible in real life terms, but in book terms makes him a total blowhard. Regardless, Mattie's reaction to his douchiness makes everything worth it:
"'Earlier tonight I gave some thought to stealing a kiss from you, though you are very young, and sick and unattractive to boot, but now I am of a mind to give you five or six good licks with my belt.'
'One would be as unpleasant as the other,' I replied."
I mean, really that's the only way to react to someone who said he wanted to kiss you who also pronounces his name Labeef. What a dick.

 ANYWAY. The three of them set off on their quest, hijinks ensue and the last 50 pages are kind of the best- they're all action packed and exciting and you're not really sure what's going to happen (ahem... unless you've seen the film. But I didn't remember it completely) and it's all very tense and possibly I read these pages in one go. And also some other pages. Yeah, it's really good to read. And obviously I'm not going to tell you if they catch Chaney or WHAT even happens, but the thing is, that's not really the point of it by the end- as in so many things, it's all about the journey rather than the actual end result.

So. True Grit would be worth reading solely for Mattie's narration (it's very matter of fact and to the point as is her speaking style, and this sometimes translates as being unintentionally hilarious, but never in a laughing-at-Mattie way) because she is so excellent, but luckily it also has the story and action and excitement to back it up. It's a really quick read, and, dare I say it? Almost perfect for summer/beach reading. But it'll definitely take some of the romance out of horse riding for you, if that's a thing you were ever romantic about. It sounds very ouchy.

And I leave you with these words of wisdom:
"Nature tells us to rest after meals and people who are too busy to heed that inner voice are often dead at the age of fifty years." Naps FTW.

18 comments:

  1. I have this. I may have to read it now so well done for keeping the blogger recommendation wheel going!

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    1. Hahaha, YAY! That is the whole point of this blogging business, riiiight?! It is AWESOME, as is the movie. Which I feel like I didn't big up enough in my review. (JEFF BRIDGES. Seriously.)

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  2. I was browsing around the library yesterday and looking at DVD's and almost rented True Grit, but then I was like "Nah I should read the book first. I should go look for that... ehhh I'm lazy I'll do it later."

    DAMN my lazy self, I should've gone and borrowed the book! Cause now I super-duper want to read this. And I feel like this would be one of the popular books that I would actually like! (I'm always the oddball out...)

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    1. DUDE, you so should have. Also you should have rented the movie because it is AWESOME. For reals. I mean, it's pretty much the book only also JEFF BRIDGES is there and so everything is just excellent.

      I feel like you would definitely like this. Did you read The Sisters Brothers? Because they're not exactly *the same* but they're in the same genre area and also both are awesome. So there's that.

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  3. I have had this on my shelf since seeing the movie two years ago. I need to pick it up immediately! I'm a sucker for a book with a great and unique narrator.

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    1. Oh you SO do. Especially if you like those things because Mattie is SO awesome. Did that come across in my review? Hopefully since that's basically all I said hahahaha

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  4. True Grit is Sisters Brothers-adjacent, which makes me love it without even having read it. I am very reasonable when it comes to bestowing my affections, you see.

    I've been pronouncing his name "La-BUFF" even though I saw the movie and it was obviously pronounced correctly in there. How embarrassing.

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    1. That is a fair reason to love True Grit- anything that is even remotely associated with Sisters Brothers I now pretty much love. Like teeth-brushing and beaded curtains. It's a strange life.

      La-BUFF is clearly closer to the way you should pronounce it than La-BEEF!! IT IS A FRENCH WORD, SAY IT LIKE THAT PLEASE! Dammit, Texas.

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  5. I basically just fist pumped the air in excitement at the mere thought of a badass fourteen year old girl. Seriously, YA writers need to take a leaf...

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    1. FOR REALS they do. Not that I've read that much YA. But, you know, Twilight and shit... (Haven't read that either. But NEVER MIND. It all clearly sucks.)

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  6. I don't know why I picked this up when I did, a few years back. I was SO HAPPY that I did! Wait, now that I think of it I probably read it because the movie was coming out? Whatevs, it was a freaking awesome book :)

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    1. Yessssssss! The movie is also freaking awesome, so there's that. I didn't even realise this was a book until after I saw the movie, and THEN I was like 'I must read it!' and... This is the first time I've gotten round to it. But at least I did, finally!

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  7. *quietly puts True Grit back onto wishlist* Dammit, I hate it when I finally cull my bookshelves/my epic wishlists and then have to put things straight back onto them. YOU ARE NOT HELPING LADY.

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    1. Shit, I'm sorry. Except I'm not because THIS IS AWESOME. And also, it's teeny! You can read it in no time!

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  8. I'm sorry I'm 1000 years behind commenting. Especially given I got you to read a book.

    Isn't Mattie the best? If all westerns feature people like her, I will read all the genre has to offer. Except I don't think this is the case at all and thus I will stick to the anomalies. also naps ftw indeed. Mattie is so smart.

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  9. GOD Alley. I read this just for you and you don't even comment and SOB.

    I'm assuming most Westerns aren't narrated by a plucky 14 year old girl, no. In fact I kind of assume that they don't feature women at all. Or possibly only prostitutes. But HOW ARE WE GOING TO FIND OUR NEXT ANOMALY?! Someone will find it. Hopefully.

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  10. I've had this on my TBR for more than a year now. Maybe this will finally give me the push to read it. I was really excited when I bought it from a charity shop, but you know how it is...

    ARGH. I added Where'd You Go, Bernadette? to my wishlist last week after I saw it in Waterstones, but then deleted it again for some reason. Back on it goes... I blame you!

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  11. I do the same thing when I read recommendations online! I bookmark them for later and then never really go back to them. BUT sometimes I do or I realize after I have read a book that so many people recommended it to me so maybe I just had all those in the back of my subconscious when choosing something to read...

    I really liked the movie True Grit, so I bet the book is even better!

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