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Nevada
Zane Grey. "Nevada". New York: Grosset and Dunlap, [1928]. Reprint. Octavo. 365 pages. Publisher's binding and dust jacket.
365 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1928
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About the author
Zane Grey
2,069 books590 followersPearl Zane Grey was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the rugged Old West. As of June 2007, the Internet Movie Database credits Grey with 110 films, one TV episode, and a series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater based loosely on his novels and short stories.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
June 9, 2024
Well, I think I see why this was a favourite book of mine during my teens. Even then I appreciated a complex plot. This western has it all—wild country, horses, cowboys, gamblers, horse thieves, cattle rustlers, gun fighters, not to mention plots of both the good guys and the bad ‘uns.
Following on from Forlorn River, this book promises in the title to be about Nevada, whom we know to be Ben Ide's pard in California and the love of Hettie Ide's life. But at the end of the first book, he shot three men and headed out to the wild country, hoping that he had dealt with Ben's problems for him. No longer known as Nevada, he has resumed his real name, Jim Lacy. Lacy has a reputation as an honourable gun fighter who is death to his opponents.
The first half of the novel deals with the Ide family, who decide to sell up their California ranch and move to the wilder Arizona. Both Ben and Hettie secretly hope to find Nevada again. Ben has bought land and cattle from Cash Burridge and has found that the cattle count is wildly inaccurate. But he has good neighbours, one of whom is a judge. These two neighbours put their heads together and turn to one of their foremen, Texas Jack. Yet another alias for our main man Jim.
The second part of the book follows Lacy as he infiltrates the criminal element. Can he ingratiate himself with the rustlers and ascertain who leads the infamous Pine Tree Outfit? Can he achieve justice without running into Ben or Hettie? He must play his role with care and keep his gun loose in its holster as he attempts to clear his name.
I could only access this title as an audiobook and it was a frustrating experience. Even sped up, it took much longer to listen to it than it would to read it. Plus, hearing it read aloud, I realised how Grey overused some words, others have changed meanings, and still others reveal the prejudices of the times. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable trip down memory lane (not that I actually remembered what I read 50 years ago). Worth the time spent.
Following on from Forlorn River, this book promises in the title to be about Nevada, whom we know to be Ben Ide's pard in California and the love of Hettie Ide's life. But at the end of the first book, he shot three men and headed out to the wild country, hoping that he had dealt with Ben's problems for him. No longer known as Nevada, he has resumed his real name, Jim Lacy. Lacy has a reputation as an honourable gun fighter who is death to his opponents.
The first half of the novel deals with the Ide family, who decide to sell up their California ranch and move to the wilder Arizona. Both Ben and Hettie secretly hope to find Nevada again. Ben has bought land and cattle from Cash Burridge and has found that the cattle count is wildly inaccurate. But he has good neighbours, one of whom is a judge. These two neighbours put their heads together and turn to one of their foremen, Texas Jack. Yet another alias for our main man Jim.
The second part of the book follows Lacy as he infiltrates the criminal element. Can he ingratiate himself with the rustlers and ascertain who leads the infamous Pine Tree Outfit? Can he achieve justice without running into Ben or Hettie? He must play his role with care and keep his gun loose in its holster as he attempts to clear his name.
I could only access this title as an audiobook and it was a frustrating experience. Even sped up, it took much longer to listen to it than it would to read it. Plus, hearing it read aloud, I realised how Grey overused some words, others have changed meanings, and still others reveal the prejudices of the times. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable trip down memory lane (not that I actually remembered what I read 50 years ago). Worth the time spent.
July 20, 2016
I'm a little fuzzy on the details of the story, though I do recall that it read like a "B" western movie...cowboy works under cover in a gang of rustlers, and identifies and eliminates same. Of course there is a wholesome girl involved, and her brother, who also seems to have a man-crush on the hero. All very unlikely fare but decently written.
I do have a problem with the book, or at least the edition I read, and the issue is with the cover. It bothers me to the point that I have never forgotten this book, and on occasions when I could get anyone to listen to my ravings I would rail at great length about the atrocity committed in the name of cover art. A cowboy is shown firing what are clearly two cap and ball (percussion) revolvers....suspended in the smoke are six cartridge casings apparently ejected from the revolvers. The artist is clearly oblivious to the fact that (a.) these revolvers do not utilize cartridges; or (b.) even if the revolvers were converted to take cartridges they would not, could not, eject casings like a flippin' machinegun!!! Jerk....still pisses me off!
I do have a problem with the book, or at least the edition I read, and the issue is with the cover. It bothers me to the point that I have never forgotten this book, and on occasions when I could get anyone to listen to my ravings I would rail at great length about the atrocity committed in the name of cover art. A cowboy is shown firing what are clearly two cap and ball (percussion) revolvers....suspended in the smoke are six cartridge casings apparently ejected from the revolvers. The artist is clearly oblivious to the fact that (a.) these revolvers do not utilize cartridges; or (b.) even if the revolvers were converted to take cartridges they would not, could not, eject casings like a flippin' machinegun!!! Jerk....still pisses me off!
January 1, 2021
*Emotional rating*
Merit rating: closer to 4*
This story, about Nevada/Jim Lacy having to choose between his honorable new life and in revisiting his past life in order to save his friend and the woman he loves, gripped me right off and didn’t let me go until I reached the end. Nothing was as I predicted and I really enjoyed the fast-paced journey.
Merit rating: closer to 4*
This story, about Nevada/Jim Lacy having to choose between his honorable new life and in revisiting his past life in order to save his friend and the woman he loves, gripped me right off and didn’t let me go until I reached the end. Nothing was as I predicted and I really enjoyed the fast-paced journey.
March 8, 2017
This book has had five stars on my ratings ever since I joined Goodreads. That's because for the past 30 or so years, it has ranked among my list of all-time favorites.
Sadly, rereading it after a two-decade absence, I see that it's not a five-star book, even by Zane Grey standards.
The first 100 pages are interminably slow (I remember struggling with the early chapters even in my first reading). There are a couple of key action scenes in that span, but they both happen off camera, and the reader only gets details secondhand or from the aftermath. In one such scene, the chapter ends when it seems that disaster is imminent--and the next chapter flashes forward several years. The "action" is referenced later as something that happened long ago.
The second key scene is, in my opinion, the best and most memorable part of the book, and it is genuinely thrilling even on a third reading. However, looking at it now, I see that it includes a character whose only role in the book was to show up at that moment and be killed. It doesn't seem like it would have been too much for an editor to ask for a rewrite that drops this poor sap's name earlier in the book, sprinkling in details here and there to make the action seem more like fate than a contrived spectacle.
Finally, without going into detail, the plot, when viewed in hindsight, is perplexing. The extensive machinations of the title character, though entertaining, are apparently completely unnecessary to achieve the plot's satisfying conclusion.
Based on this review, I could go three or even two stars, but I won't. Because in 1986, this book rocked, and that memory still holds some influence.
Sadly, rereading it after a two-decade absence, I see that it's not a five-star book, even by Zane Grey standards.
The first 100 pages are interminably slow (I remember struggling with the early chapters even in my first reading). There are a couple of key action scenes in that span, but they both happen off camera, and the reader only gets details secondhand or from the aftermath. In one such scene, the chapter ends when it seems that disaster is imminent--and the next chapter flashes forward several years. The "action" is referenced later as something that happened long ago.
The second key scene is, in my opinion, the best and most memorable part of the book, and it is genuinely thrilling even on a third reading. However, looking at it now, I see that it includes a character whose only role in the book was to show up at that moment and be killed. It doesn't seem like it would have been too much for an editor to ask for a rewrite that drops this poor sap's name earlier in the book, sprinkling in details here and there to make the action seem more like fate than a contrived spectacle.
Finally, without going into detail, the plot, when viewed in hindsight, is perplexing. The extensive machinations of the title character, though entertaining, are apparently completely unnecessary to achieve the plot's satisfying conclusion.
Based on this review, I could go three or even two stars, but I won't. Because in 1986, this book rocked, and that memory still holds some influence.
December 23, 2008
I like Zane Grey's hand in describing the environment, but I've never been that enamored of his characters or his basic storytelling. This one isn't too bad but it never made me want to read a lot more.
January 29, 2020
I'm glad I read this one after the first one in this two-book series. In the first book, you learn that Nevada has a secret past, but the book shows he can be a good fellow, not just a devil-may-care gunslinger. Here he comes across as a too-cool-for-school type as he goes undercover to, in effect, right all wrongs in his part of Arizona. It's a kind of spy story in Western garb. On audio, I found it a bit confusing to keep up with the players and the curious plot, but the action, once it got going, kept going. I see from looking at the "inside look" on Amazon that the author uses vernacular with non-standard spelling for some of the dialog. When I read that I usually don't like that it slows me down, but the audio didn't have that problem. It was understandable throughout. I found it interesting in the use of some words and phrases in this book from the 1920s. Those words today would denote a book considered "racy". Use the alternative, dated definitions for highest enjoyment of this (mostly) chaste story (although there is some kissin' -- after all this is a Western).
February 13, 2021
My first ever delve into Zane Grey has opened my eyes onto a whole new (ironically "old/dated" 1920's fiction) realm of written beauty! I'm an instant fan of this classic famous artist! Story was great, extended along expertly with truly marvelous characters, many and varied. I must have MORE! Lovely and masterful... and not just for Colonel Potter (of MASH fame and which was referred to endlessly)!
March 7, 2023
Zane Grey was noted for his descriptive prowess, and this book demonstrates it. I wish I'd read the first book about Jim "Nevada" Lacy, Forlorn River, as the early chapters were a bit hard to follow, not knowing what had happened previously. But, that soon passed and the story holds up on its own. Here are a couple of samples of Grey's writing:
Winthrop [Arizona], the same as many other Western towns of the period, supported more saloons than all other kinds of business houses combined. It had a vast area of range land to draw from; and if there were a thousand cowboys and cattlemen in this section, there were probably an equal number of parasites who lived off them, from the diamond-shirted saloon-keeper and frock-coated gambler with all their motley associates, down to the rustler who hid in the brakes and the homesteader who branded as many calves not his own as he raised from his stock.
Once a month, if not oftener, the men of the range could be depended on to visit town, "to paint it red" and "buck the tiger." These customs were carried out as regularly as the work of punching cows.
"...I want to make clear in your mind just what such men as Jim Lacy mean to me. I have lived most of my life on the frontier and I know what its wildness has been, and still is. There are bad men and bad men. It is a distinction with a vast difference. I have met or seen many of the noted killers. Wild Bill, Wes Hardin, Kingfisher, Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, an' a host of others. Those men are not bloody murderers. They are a product of the times. The West could never have been populated without them. They strike a balance between the hordes of ruffians, outlaws, strong evil characters like Dillon, and the wild life of a wild era. It is the West as any Westerner knows it now. And as such we could not progress without this violence ... The rub is that only hard iron-nerved youths like Billy the Kid, or Jim Lacy, can meet such men on their own ground. That is all I wanted you to know. And also, that if my daughter cared for Jim Lacy I would be proud to give her to him."
December 22, 2021
În timp ce calul, îmboldit, se năpustea pe drum, Nevada privi îndărăt peste umăr. Calea pe care şi-o despicase prin mulţime îi îngădui să vadă, înapoi, cercul în care cei trei oameni zăceau cu faţa la pământ. Din gura ţevii pistolului, fumul albăstrui se ridica uşor şi se îndepărta plutind. Faţa lui Ben Ide, albă ca varul şi frământată de emoţii, strălucea în lumina vie a soarelui.
— Cu bine, prieteni! strigă răguşit Nevada şi se ridică în scări să-şi fluture sombrero-ul.
El socotea că-şi ia rămas bun pentru totdeauna de la prietenul care-i salvase viaţa, îl ajutase şi-l sprijinise să reintre în rândul oamenilor şi care acum îi era mai drag ca un frate.
Apoi Nevada întoarse capul spre drumul gălbui pe care gonea calul: furia lui sinistră şi cumplită îl năpădi iarăşi, înăbuşind emoţia puternică ce-i sfâşiase pentru o clipă inima. Era ceva familiar şi batjocoritor în fuga aceasta grăbită, pe un cal iute spre câmpurile de salvie şi spre munţii cei întunecaţi. De câte ori, gonind ca să scape cu viaţă, nu simţise vântul biciuindu-i faţa, dar acum nici frica şi nici dragostea de viaţă nu făceau din el un fugar.
Nevada ţâşni pe ultima poartă deschisă a ranch-ului1 şi părăsi drumul, zburând peste câmpul de salvie, în jos, pe cărarea ce ducea de-a lungul lacului. Călărea între apa verzuie şi câmpul cenuşiu de salvie. Furia care-l mai stăpânea încă îi înceţoşa ochii, de nu mai vedea nici poteca şerpuită. Acum nu mai trebuia să gonească atât de nebuneşte.
— Cu bine, prieteni! strigă răguşit Nevada şi se ridică în scări să-şi fluture sombrero-ul.
El socotea că-şi ia rămas bun pentru totdeauna de la prietenul care-i salvase viaţa, îl ajutase şi-l sprijinise să reintre în rândul oamenilor şi care acum îi era mai drag ca un frate.
Apoi Nevada întoarse capul spre drumul gălbui pe care gonea calul: furia lui sinistră şi cumplită îl năpădi iarăşi, înăbuşind emoţia puternică ce-i sfâşiase pentru o clipă inima. Era ceva familiar şi batjocoritor în fuga aceasta grăbită, pe un cal iute spre câmpurile de salvie şi spre munţii cei întunecaţi. De câte ori, gonind ca să scape cu viaţă, nu simţise vântul biciuindu-i faţa, dar acum nici frica şi nici dragostea de viaţă nu făceau din el un fugar.
Nevada ţâşni pe ultima poartă deschisă a ranch-ului1 şi părăsi drumul, zburând peste câmpul de salvie, în jos, pe cărarea ce ducea de-a lungul lacului. Călărea între apa verzuie şi câmpul cenuşiu de salvie. Furia care-l mai stăpânea încă îi înceţoşa ochii, de nu mai vedea nici poteca şerpuită. Acum nu mai trebuia să gonească atât de nebuneşte.
April 11, 2020
Nevada could have been a straight forward story of an affair between a ‘bad man’ and a cattleman's daughter, but Zane Grey offers more. Lavish panoramas best describes his approach to the Arizona landscape, and he does justice to his characters, Nevada and Hettie Ide, who are deeply in involved in a romantic relationship that is tested by passing years and distance and only a hope they will meet again. A deep friendship between Hettie Ide’s brother and Nevada is treated with the same respect and intensity
Zane Gray’s command of the language in setting his words on the page do stand the time. Yes, there are a few ‘hiccups’ which a present day read may find ‘out of date,’ but then again, Grey’s people ‘make love’ and never take their clothes off. Physical relationships aren’t paramount while emotional ties are the ones which are tested.
The read is solid, while the story goes beyond the gun slinging shootouts which do occur, but happen off-stage. Nevada’s true identity is feared by Hettie Ide, but is revealed in a way which allows readers realize it themselves without feeling mislead.
A great deal of time and story tension is presented by Zane Grey and the novel is rewarding. To the pleasant surprise of this reader, who learned that Nevada is a sequel to Forlorn River. A book I’ll have to go back of course.
Zane Gray’s command of the language in setting his words on the page do stand the time. Yes, there are a few ‘hiccups’ which a present day read may find ‘out of date,’ but then again, Grey’s people ‘make love’ and never take their clothes off. Physical relationships aren’t paramount while emotional ties are the ones which are tested.
The read is solid, while the story goes beyond the gun slinging shootouts which do occur, but happen off-stage. Nevada’s true identity is feared by Hettie Ide, but is revealed in a way which allows readers realize it themselves without feeling mislead.
A great deal of time and story tension is presented by Zane Grey and the novel is rewarding. To the pleasant surprise of this reader, who learned that Nevada is a sequel to Forlorn River. A book I’ll have to go back of course.
October 11, 2022
If this book was written today it would be banned as inappropriate, politically incorrect, sexist and racist. But it was written in 1926, in a time when the sensitivities we have today couldn't have even been dreamt. It was written about an old west time when the phrase "making love" meant "to pay amorous attention as part of courtship, or to woo", or the word "greaser" was used without pause. Just a different era.
Zane Grey had such a way with words and stories. And this story was such a good one. The main character had three names: Jim Lacy, Nevada (because his original name was infamous, so he needed to become someone else), and Texas Jack when he was a ranch hand. He loved Heddy with deep emotion, a selfless love that wanted only the best for her. But as he rode away, having cleared her brother's name, he mourned a life he would never have with her, entering an uncertain future as someone else.
Did I like it? Yes. Couldn't stop listening all day. Cleaned my kitchen after two days of cooking for a large group and listened to it in my earbuds. Listened to it as I edited photos the rest of the day. Yep. It was good. It also gave me such fond memories of my dad who loved westerns. I've no doubt he read this one and loved it.
Zane Grey had such a way with words and stories. And this story was such a good one. The main character had three names: Jim Lacy, Nevada (because his original name was infamous, so he needed to become someone else), and Texas Jack when he was a ranch hand. He loved Heddy with deep emotion, a selfless love that wanted only the best for her. But as he rode away, having cleared her brother's name, he mourned a life he would never have with her, entering an uncertain future as someone else.
Did I like it? Yes. Couldn't stop listening all day. Cleaned my kitchen after two days of cooking for a large group and listened to it in my earbuds. Listened to it as I edited photos the rest of the day. Yep. It was good. It also gave me such fond memories of my dad who loved westerns. I've no doubt he read this one and loved it.
October 31, 2024
A Great Western Book.
Zane Grey knows how to build a western story with great characters and great descriptions of the area to make you feel like you are there and part of the action. He doesn’t over play one character over another. The romance part seems real and part of the story and not fake like some new authors. Men are men and women are women. All the characters had their part and lived up to it, not one over playing a part that isn’t for them. This book has just about everything that happened in the west at that time but Indians. All of Zane Grey’s books are good, but this is one of his better books. Read and enjoy.
Zane Grey knows how to build a western story with great characters and great descriptions of the area to make you feel like you are there and part of the action. He doesn’t over play one character over another. The romance part seems real and part of the story and not fake like some new authors. Men are men and women are women. All the characters had their part and lived up to it, not one over playing a part that isn’t for them. This book has just about everything that happened in the west at that time but Indians. All of Zane Grey’s books are good, but this is one of his better books. Read and enjoy.
March 28, 2023
I absolutely love Zane Grey and try always to have a Zane Grey novel in the cue. His enjoyment of words makes him a master wordsmith.
This is the second book in the Jim Lacey series, if Im not mistaken. Lacey AKA Nevada is an all American hero. Who can change personalities like a chameleon changes colors. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
This is the second book in the Jim Lacey series, if Im not mistaken. Lacey AKA Nevada is an all American hero. Who can change personalities like a chameleon changes colors. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
December 8, 2023
A wonderful read! I first read it when a teenager. Read it again recently and then read Forlorn River, so I read nNevada again right after. Jim Lacy is one of Grey’s best defined characters, you can’t help but like him
November 12, 2025
This is the sequel to “Forlorn River.” It is the superior book. The characters' motivations, selfish as they may be, are what make this such an incredible read. Grey was a great writer, but in the western genre, he has few equals.
August 16, 2020
so good. expect the unexpected
December 2, 2021
Another amazing book by Zane Grey.
July 29, 2022
great example of this genre.
February 20, 2023
Standard Zane Grey. Not his best volume but not his worst. It does make me want to visit Arizona.
July 30, 2024
First book I've read by Zane Grey. I enjoyed his love for Arizona and the Old West. I like the plot twists and the way it all comes together in the end.
October 26, 2024
Zane Grey
Excellent read......... .. Great author of good books. One of the all time legends of western writers and authors. Thank you!!
Excellent read......... .. Great author of good books. One of the all time legends of western writers and authors. Thank you!!
December 23, 2024
O carte foarte frumoasă și plină de acțiune!Este mult mai frumoasă decât ,,Drumul de Fier”!
November 23, 2025
This is the perfect blueprint for a western! Love how Zane describes the Wild West and the reverence for nature and high ideals intermingled with the gunplay and romance. Always happy endings!
December 23, 2025
not great but very good
April 23, 2025
Mi primer vez leyendo este autor, con una novela incréible del viejo Oeste. Con una pequeña probadita de todo, centrado en lo que significaba ser un Gunman y lo que significaba para alguien quien portaba vergonzosamente hacía si mismo el titulo. Una historia preciosa de amor y fidelidad. Qué describe el cambio de la situación que nos rodea por nuestro entorno e historia, gracias a aquello que más valoramos en el mundo
January 3, 2024
Nevada, Zane Grey (western)
Jeff Book Review #234
"Nevada" has the great prose, over-romanticization, and smart characters Grey is well-known for. Nevada is the nickname of a drifting gunman who has committed a killing that will set his best friend free of some charges he was being held on, thereby separating himself from his friend but also his friend's sister, who he has feelings for. The story moves on and the point-of-view switches to the friend and sister as they deal with their own side of the event.
Grey wrote some sequential serials published 1927-1928 and they were later combined into this book. It is hard to sum up these novels because they are more like a long season of a TV show than a movie; the characters have overarching hopes and dreams but their adventures change with every chapter. The kid "Nevada" is a great character, and his friend and sister are great, too. The bad guys are relatable and tragic, and Grey really works the room, letting us see how all these folks view each other, showing them tell each other what they've seen and think about everyone else, and all the while this "Nevada" character is looming in and around all their orbits.
Verdict: It has some old cowboy dialogue, so some words and phrasing require second looks, but it is a pleasure to read. When not restricted by the yokel dialogue, Grey more paints a wonderful picture than tells an edge-of-your-seat story.
Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG
Jeff Book Review #234
"Nevada" has the great prose, over-romanticization, and smart characters Grey is well-known for. Nevada is the nickname of a drifting gunman who has committed a killing that will set his best friend free of some charges he was being held on, thereby separating himself from his friend but also his friend's sister, who he has feelings for. The story moves on and the point-of-view switches to the friend and sister as they deal with their own side of the event.
Grey wrote some sequential serials published 1927-1928 and they were later combined into this book. It is hard to sum up these novels because they are more like a long season of a TV show than a movie; the characters have overarching hopes and dreams but their adventures change with every chapter. The kid "Nevada" is a great character, and his friend and sister are great, too. The bad guys are relatable and tragic, and Grey really works the room, letting us see how all these folks view each other, showing them tell each other what they've seen and think about everyone else, and all the while this "Nevada" character is looming in and around all their orbits.
Verdict: It has some old cowboy dialogue, so some words and phrasing require second looks, but it is a pleasure to read. When not restricted by the yokel dialogue, Grey more paints a wonderful picture than tells an edge-of-your-seat story.
Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG
November 11, 2012
Forlorn River and its sequel, Nevada, are my two favorite Zane Grey novels.
I find these novels brimming with Grey's loving descriptions of frontier wilderness. They also maintain Grey's tradition of simplifying characterization to maximize the epic qualities of all people trying to lead good lives in the face of evil.
I like to escape into these novels--and it's easier with these two novels in particular because the cultural biases present in Grey's lifetime are not as prevalent in these novels as in others, even though they are present.
--Women are more sensitive, insightful, and intuitive than men. This attitude is really a slam against both men and women. In these novels, though, the women characters come across as very strong and the men as capable of love and loyalty.
--"Injuns and Greasers": Minorities get minimized by Zane Grey, and that is true in this novel also, yet to a lesser degree. One minor character, "Modoc," has a significant role in the novel.
--"Steely-eyed Mormon men": Hidden wives and bold-eyed Mormon men are given a pass-through in the novel as the protagonists pass through a Mormon town with their wagons.
Both novels follow the same plotline. Good people are conned by bad people, eventually to be saved by a good man who possesses a hidden, bad past--and a large, deadly pistol.
In Forlorn River (published in 1927), young Ben Ide is cast out by his rich dad, branded a wild horse hunter and possible rustler. Ide befriends a wounded man, whom he nicknames "Nevada." Ide does the same for "Modoc," an Indian he pulls out of a saloon. All three men form bonds of loyalty in their isolated state as they hunt wild horses in the California wilderness.
Meanwhile, as in all romances, there is romance. Ina Blaine comes back from college with a degree of sophistication and independence that her parents find disturbing. She hasn't forgotten her early values, though--or Ben. In addition to this, Hettie Ide, sixteen years old, finds the mysterious Nevada to be tall, dark, and handsome.
In Nevada (published in 1928), another romantic couple comes along, Marvie Blaine, and the daughter of backwoods rustlers, Rose Hatt. The primary action of this novel is in Arizona, where the forces of good and evil clash as honest ranchers are threatened by pernicious rustlers. All conflicts are resolved, and lovingkindness breaks out at the end of the novel--after the gunfight.
In the biographical material at the end of Nevada (Thorndike edition), Loren Grey, Zane Grey's son, is quoted as saying, "There was so much unexpressed feeling that could not be entirely portrayed that, in later years, [Zane Grey] would weep when reading one of his own books."
The Thorndike edition biography also states, "Zane Grey was not a realistic writer, but rather one who charted the interiors of the soul through encounters with the wilderness."
The fact that those souls he charted were white, Anglo-Saxon souls wears thin about a hundred years after the writing. The cultural landscapes are always too lily white, even within the beautifully painted descriptions of the American frontier wilderness. Forlorn River and Nevada do not project so obviously the prejudices of the time--or rather do so within the context of main characters stepping beyond or around those stereotypes.
Mostly, though, I like how even a hundred years ago, in the end, goodness and happiness can prevail.
I find these novels brimming with Grey's loving descriptions of frontier wilderness. They also maintain Grey's tradition of simplifying characterization to maximize the epic qualities of all people trying to lead good lives in the face of evil.
I like to escape into these novels--and it's easier with these two novels in particular because the cultural biases present in Grey's lifetime are not as prevalent in these novels as in others, even though they are present.
--Women are more sensitive, insightful, and intuitive than men. This attitude is really a slam against both men and women. In these novels, though, the women characters come across as very strong and the men as capable of love and loyalty.
--"Injuns and Greasers": Minorities get minimized by Zane Grey, and that is true in this novel also, yet to a lesser degree. One minor character, "Modoc," has a significant role in the novel.
--"Steely-eyed Mormon men": Hidden wives and bold-eyed Mormon men are given a pass-through in the novel as the protagonists pass through a Mormon town with their wagons.
Both novels follow the same plotline. Good people are conned by bad people, eventually to be saved by a good man who possesses a hidden, bad past--and a large, deadly pistol.
In Forlorn River (published in 1927), young Ben Ide is cast out by his rich dad, branded a wild horse hunter and possible rustler. Ide befriends a wounded man, whom he nicknames "Nevada." Ide does the same for "Modoc," an Indian he pulls out of a saloon. All three men form bonds of loyalty in their isolated state as they hunt wild horses in the California wilderness.
Meanwhile, as in all romances, there is romance. Ina Blaine comes back from college with a degree of sophistication and independence that her parents find disturbing. She hasn't forgotten her early values, though--or Ben. In addition to this, Hettie Ide, sixteen years old, finds the mysterious Nevada to be tall, dark, and handsome.
In Nevada (published in 1928), another romantic couple comes along, Marvie Blaine, and the daughter of backwoods rustlers, Rose Hatt. The primary action of this novel is in Arizona, where the forces of good and evil clash as honest ranchers are threatened by pernicious rustlers. All conflicts are resolved, and lovingkindness breaks out at the end of the novel--after the gunfight.
In the biographical material at the end of Nevada (Thorndike edition), Loren Grey, Zane Grey's son, is quoted as saying, "There was so much unexpressed feeling that could not be entirely portrayed that, in later years, [Zane Grey] would weep when reading one of his own books."
The Thorndike edition biography also states, "Zane Grey was not a realistic writer, but rather one who charted the interiors of the soul through encounters with the wilderness."
The fact that those souls he charted were white, Anglo-Saxon souls wears thin about a hundred years after the writing. The cultural landscapes are always too lily white, even within the beautifully painted descriptions of the American frontier wilderness. Forlorn River and Nevada do not project so obviously the prejudices of the time--or rather do so within the context of main characters stepping beyond or around those stereotypes.
Mostly, though, I like how even a hundred years ago, in the end, goodness and happiness can prevail.
May 5, 2009
In this novel a good guy who has a name as a notorious gunman leaves the family who has come to know him by another name and strikes off for parts unknown. Little do they know they will come across him in another state after they sell their family ranch and resettle elsewhere. When their cattle, along with everyone else's, is being rustled to the point of financially crippling them, Nevada the good guy has a chance to go undercover and clear his name as well as save the general area from a band of thieves and bloody rustlers. There are a good woman characters in this novel (well, typical Zane Grey characters, fiesty, independent but just dependent enough on men to make them desirable, etc.)
April 5, 2016
Five years have passed since Nevada saved Ben Ide and his family, and Nevada has disappeared into the wilderness of the western frontier. Ben cannot forget his old friend and searches for him relentlessly, but what he feels is nothing compared to what his sister, Hettie, feels for Nevada. The years apart have only made her love for him grow stronger.
When Ben decides to move his family to Arizona for the health of his mother, he has ulterior motives - hoping that he might find his old friend. What he finds, however, is trouble. And although he doesn't know, his old pard may just be behind the scenes.
Another wonderful Zane Grey novel. I loved getting more insight into Nevada's character, as well as Hettie's. And the romance is always clean and great.
When Ben decides to move his family to Arizona for the health of his mother, he has ulterior motives - hoping that he might find his old friend. What he finds, however, is trouble. And although he doesn't know, his old pard may just be behind the scenes.
Another wonderful Zane Grey novel. I loved getting more insight into Nevada's character, as well as Hettie's. And the romance is always clean and great.
May 26, 2016
For its genre, western fiction first published in the 1920s, it's a gem, with all the criminals and lovelorn characters popular at the time. I particularly liked the depiction of the Ide family, who sell their ranch in California and move to a developing ranching area a long ride from Winslow, Arizona. Decades since I've read a Zane Grey novel, and enjoyed it.
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