Define Books In Pursuance Of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
| Original Title: | The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford |
| ISBN: | 0060976993 (ISBN13: 9780060976996) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Jesse James, Frank James, Robert Ford, Charley Ford, Wood Hite, Dick Liddil |
| Literary Awards: | PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Nominee (1984) |
Ron Hansen
Paperback | Pages: 320 pages Rating: 3.91 | 2563 Users | 281 Reviews
Identify Based On Books The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
| Title | : | The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford |
| Author | : | Ron Hansen |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 320 pages |
| Published | : | February 26th 1997 by Harper Perennial (first published October 12th 1983) |
| Categories | : | Westerns. Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction |
Narration As Books The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
One of the great classic tales of The Great American West...IT IS 1881. Jesse James, at the age of 34, is at the height of his fame and powers as a singularly successful outlaw. Robert Ford is the skittish younger brother of one of the James gang: he has made himself an expert on the gang, but his particular interest - his obsession - is Jesse James himself. Both drawn to him and frightened of him, the nineteen-year-old is uncertain whether he wants to serve James or destroy him or, somehow, become him.
Never have these two men been portrayed and their saga explored with such poetry, such grim precision and such raw-boned feeling as Ron Hansen has brought to this masterful retelling.
'Wonderful. This is great storytelling, not undermined by our knowin how it turns out. The reader is driven - by story and by language and by history... the best blend of fiction and history I've read in a long while!' -- John Irving, author of The World According to Garp
Rating Based On Books The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Ratings: 3.91 From 2563 Users | 281 ReviewsCommentary Based On Books The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Look, I don't know how much of the "novel" THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD is true; I don't know how much of the dialogue and interaction and actions of the characters actually took place, or were embellished by a very gifted Ron Hansen. But does it matter? The account of the final days of infamous outlaw Jesse James (and the subsequent final days of his killer) is "historical fiction", in any case (the definitive oxymoron, if you ask me). What does matter is thisThis is a very good story but, somehow, I find myself liking the movie better than the book.There were some great moments, every single time Jesse James & Bob Ford would interract I would hold my breath. Their love / hate relationship was truly fascinating.That said, I struggled a bit with the writing style which I found a bit dull and dry. For me the excitment and the tension of the story was somewhat lost in all the details and the very uneven pace.
I fell in love with this book on the first page, with the opening lines, He was growing into middle age and was living then in a bungalow on Woodland Avenue. Green weeds split the porch steps, a wasp nest clung to an attic gable, a rope swing looped down from a dying elm tree and the ground below it was scuffed soft as flour.There begins a master class in description that continues until the novels end, and the environment becomes almost as large a character as the protagonist himself as Hansen
Absolutely, and without any shred of doubt, one of the best books I have read ever. Period. No argument. Mr. Hansen's writing is so clear and precise that it cuts straight through you. He splendidly weaves the tale of the infamous Jesse James, the lives he touched (and changed forever), as well as paints a complete portrait of the ever-expanding American West (and the industrialization that followed--how everything was changing so quickly). For my money, the novel is quintessential reading, and
Ron Hansen entitled this remarkable book "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" not because he agrees that Robert Ford was coward, indeed, Bob Ford spends much of the last third of the book attempting to prove that he was not a coward, instead, Hansen seems to be drawing our attention to the fickle attitudes of a public that romanticized Jesse and demonized Bob. Yet Hansen's Jesse James, while one of the most compelling and well wrought characters ever committed to a novel,
Jesse James was one arrogant son of a bitch! During a train robbery, he introduced himself to the engineer and the stoker as "Jesse James, the man they'd read so much about." He took a certain pride in his fame, and infamy. Jesse extricated himself from his heavy coat and laid it on the sofa with his hat. "Did I ever tell you about meeting Mark Twain?""No.""He was in this country store and I recognized him, of course, and went over to shake the man's hand and congratulate him on his good
Dont be fooled by the title. This isnt just a fictional retelling of a murder, of one of the most infamous celebrity assassinations in United States history. This is the story of two lives that once-upon-a-time intersected, and were forever changed, each by the other, for better or worse. Jesse James: train robber, thief, husband, father, ex-bushwhacker and hero to many, at the long and lonely end of his night riding ways. Bob Ford: young, impressionable, and desperate to be like his childhood
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