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The Man Who Rode Midnight
Elmer Kelton. The Man Who Rode Midnight. Garden City: Doubleday, 1987. First edition, first printing. Octavo. 261 pages.
Aging cowboy and bronco-buster Wes Hendricks just wants to be left alone on his poor ranch, even when town developers offer him big money to sell it. Wes's grandson reluctantly tries to convince him to give up his home, but that was before he, too, succumbs to the ranch's--and a young cowgirl's--wild beauty.
Aging cowboy and bronco-buster Wes Hendricks just wants to be left alone on his poor ranch, even when town developers offer him big money to sell it. Wes's grandson reluctantly tries to convince him to give up his home, but that was before he, too, succumbs to the ranch's--and a young cowgirl's--wild beauty.
261 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
4 people are currently reading
247 people want to read
About the author
Elmer Kelton
196 books258 followersElmer Kelton (1926-2009) was award-winning author of more than forty novels, including The Time It Never Rained, Other Men’s Horses, Texas Standoff and Hard Trail to Follow. He grew up on a ranch near Crane, Texas, and earned a journalism degree from the University of Texas. His first novel, Hot Iron, was published in 1956. Among his awards have been seven Spurs from Western Writers of America and four Western Heritage awards from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. His novel The Good Old Boys was made into a television film starring Tommy Lee Jones. In addition to his novels, Kelton worked as an agricultural journalist for 42 years. He served in the infantry in World War II. He died in 2009.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
November 13, 2022
Back in 1973 Elmer Kelton published his most critically acclaimed novel, one that won both a Spur Award and a Western Heritage Award. It was The Time It Never Rained, which one admiring critic conceded wasn’t “the Great American novel,” but may have very well been “the Great Texas Novel.”
It was the story of Charlie Flagg, a tough-minded Texas rancher who in the 1950s was hanging on with all he had as he tried to survive the worse drought to hit that part of Texas, and that even included the dust bowl days of the ‘30s.
Wes Hendricks, the protagonist of The Man Who Rode Midnight, could be viewed as the reincarnation of Charlie twenty years down the road. In his seventies, Wes is not facing drought, though he, like Charlie, is forced to run sheep on his west Texas hill country ranch because they are profitable, in order to stay in the cattle business which isn’t. It is a sacrifice that any self-respecting cattleman would regret, but a man has to do what a man has to do.
But Wes does have to confront another problem, one even more relentless and intractable than prolonged drought; his foe is progress. In his youth Wes had swung a wide loop as a cowboy, bronc buster, and rodeo rider. He was one tough galoot. After all, he was “the man who rode Midnight.” All he wanted now was to be left alone so that he could live out his days on his ranch. But then progress intervenes.
The little town of Big River is dying and on its last legs and its citizens are behind a proposal by developers to dam the river and create a lake that would attract tourism. The only fly in the ointment is Wes; said lake would cover his ranch.
Wes is offered much more money than what his ranch is worth but that isn’t the issue. He doesn’t want to sell for any price, not even when the local sheriff who has vested interests threatens him.
Other characters in the story include Wes’ grandson, Jim Ed, who grew up in Dallas, but comes to live with Wes after flunking out of college during his senior year. He has been sent by his father to try to convince Wes to sell and to take up residence in a retirement home. Jim Ed, nicknamed “Tater” by his grandfather, a name he detests, finds himself falling for a young woman from a neighboring ranch named Gloria Beth Dawson, nicknamed Glory B, a name that she embraces.
Like The Time It Never Rained, The Man Who Rode Midnight is not a "western novel," but a novel set in the west. The winner of a Western Heritage Award, the themes of The Man Who Rode Midnight examine a generation gap, the conflict between old and new ways, love of land, uncompromising values, romance, and even aching despair over faded love.
Some evenings Wes takes his fiddle and moves away from the house in order not to disturb his grandson and each time plays the same haunting melody, one that his grandson does hear, and eventually recognizes.
As I look at the letters that you wrote to me
It's you that I am thinkin' of
As I read the lines that, to me, were so dear
I remember our faded love
I miss you darlin', more and more every day
As heaven would miss the stars up above
With every heartbeat, I still think of you
And remember our faded love
As I think of the past and all the pleasures we had
As I watched the mating of the dove
It was in the springtime that you said goodbye
I remember our faded love
I miss you darlin', more and more every day
As heaven would miss the stars above
With every heartbeat, I still think of you
And remember our faded love
And remember our faded love
Written by Bob Wills, James Robert (Bob) Wills, Johnnie Lee Wills • Copyright © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
It was the story of Charlie Flagg, a tough-minded Texas rancher who in the 1950s was hanging on with all he had as he tried to survive the worse drought to hit that part of Texas, and that even included the dust bowl days of the ‘30s.
Wes Hendricks, the protagonist of The Man Who Rode Midnight, could be viewed as the reincarnation of Charlie twenty years down the road. In his seventies, Wes is not facing drought, though he, like Charlie, is forced to run sheep on his west Texas hill country ranch because they are profitable, in order to stay in the cattle business which isn’t. It is a sacrifice that any self-respecting cattleman would regret, but a man has to do what a man has to do.
But Wes does have to confront another problem, one even more relentless and intractable than prolonged drought; his foe is progress. In his youth Wes had swung a wide loop as a cowboy, bronc buster, and rodeo rider. He was one tough galoot. After all, he was “the man who rode Midnight.” All he wanted now was to be left alone so that he could live out his days on his ranch. But then progress intervenes.
The little town of Big River is dying and on its last legs and its citizens are behind a proposal by developers to dam the river and create a lake that would attract tourism. The only fly in the ointment is Wes; said lake would cover his ranch.
Wes is offered much more money than what his ranch is worth but that isn’t the issue. He doesn’t want to sell for any price, not even when the local sheriff who has vested interests threatens him.
Other characters in the story include Wes’ grandson, Jim Ed, who grew up in Dallas, but comes to live with Wes after flunking out of college during his senior year. He has been sent by his father to try to convince Wes to sell and to take up residence in a retirement home. Jim Ed, nicknamed “Tater” by his grandfather, a name he detests, finds himself falling for a young woman from a neighboring ranch named Gloria Beth Dawson, nicknamed Glory B, a name that she embraces.
Like The Time It Never Rained, The Man Who Rode Midnight is not a "western novel," but a novel set in the west. The winner of a Western Heritage Award, the themes of The Man Who Rode Midnight examine a generation gap, the conflict between old and new ways, love of land, uncompromising values, romance, and even aching despair over faded love.
Some evenings Wes takes his fiddle and moves away from the house in order not to disturb his grandson and each time plays the same haunting melody, one that his grandson does hear, and eventually recognizes.
As I look at the letters that you wrote to me
It's you that I am thinkin' of
As I read the lines that, to me, were so dear
I remember our faded love
I miss you darlin', more and more every day
As heaven would miss the stars up above
With every heartbeat, I still think of you
And remember our faded love
As I think of the past and all the pleasures we had
As I watched the mating of the dove
It was in the springtime that you said goodbye
I remember our faded love
I miss you darlin', more and more every day
As heaven would miss the stars above
With every heartbeat, I still think of you
And remember our faded love
And remember our faded love
Written by Bob Wills, James Robert (Bob) Wills, Johnnie Lee Wills • Copyright © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
June 16, 2020
Indeed a mighty fine read. This novel is chock full of good stuff. A family saga whereas youth and the old meet in a heartwarming tale.
December 13, 2017
12/12/'17 ... Perhaps top five member of Kelton's novels? Sequel, sorta, to Time It Never Rained.
The Time It Never Rained
Quotes from Introduction
"Drive through ranching and farming country or the rural small towns which traditionally have depended upon agriculture and you'll see evidence of the theme that dominates The Man Who Rode Midnight. Abandoned houses on the land, towns with boarded-up storefronts, failed banks, vacant homes with forlorn 'For Sale' signs sagging in dried-up front yards tell of economic hemorrhaging, of social upheaval and a sad exodus.
"For a multitude of reasons, mostly economic, more and more people leave the land each year. It was their plight and the changing picture of ranching and farming which made me view The Man Who Rode Midnight, set in the 1980s, as a natural follow-up to my earlier The Time It Never Rained, set in the long Texas drought of the 1950s.
"The situation is by no means new. It prevailed in the 1930s and was the basis of John Steinbeck's classic The Grapes of Wrath. ...
"For rural America, the late 1970s and at least the first half of the 1980s was the harshest economic period since the great Depression. Tens of thousands lost their land and were forced into involuntary retirement or into the over-crowded urban job market. ...
"For ranchmen whose livelihood revolved around cattle, the years between the drastic cattle-market crash of 1973-74 and its long-delayed recovery in the late 1980s were traumatic. Many ranches which had been in one family for two to four generations were lost, crushed under a burden of debt compounded through a dozen or more years in which income from calves fell far short of the cost of their raising.
... "In ... Midnight, the plight of the small operator is exemplified in Wes Hendrix, a 78-year-old ex-rodeo cowboy. There had been a time, when he was younger, that his little ranch provided for himself and his wife, raising and educating their two sons. Now, an aging widower, he finds it will no longer support even him, and land once free and clear has sunk deeply into debt.
... "Wes Hendrix faces another problem common to many who live to his age. Most people see him only as he is, neither knowing nor caring what he has been or what he has done in the past. Wes in his youth won acclaim for being one of the few ever to ride the famous bucking horse Midnight. Now that has largely been forgotten, and to most of the people of Big River he is simply an old man in the way.
"The character of Wes Hendrix is based to some extent on an old cowboy--also named Wes--who had considerable influence on my youth. A contemporary of my grandfather, he had his roots in the open-range era of the late nineteenth century, and he had firm ideas about the right and wrong ways to do things. He helped raise my father and train him to be a good cowboy. His attempts to do the same for me were much less successful ...
" ... my memories of the real Wes kept me from straying too far from the againg cowboy who never completely forgave me brother Myrle and me for scrubbing his blackened coffeepot and forever spoiling the ambiance left by thirty years of boiled coffee grounds."
***
first review : Thanks to the folks at Kirkus for providing another copied and pasted review, for another potential re-read :
"KIRKUS REVIEW
Another of Kelton's (The Time It Never Rained, The Good Old Boys) standard--but definitely not canned--20th-century westerns: the heartfelt story of an old rancher fighting off ruthlessly encroaching civilization. Nearly 70, (note: 77 in text) Wes Hendricks has led a tough and colorful life as a cowboy and broncobuster, and all he asks now is that he be left alone on his poor, hardscrabble ranch in the west Texas hill country. Not a chance--the powers that be in the little town of Big River (including Wes' old cowboy pal, druggist/mayor Orville Levitt) have decreed that an artificial lake will be created to generate tourism, and Wes' ranch stands squarely in their way. Wes is offered great sums of money and is even threatened by the strong-arm tactics of Sheriff Wally Vincent, but he stands firm. His grandson Tater--a smartaleck young college student--is sent out to convince Wes to give up and accept the ""comforts"" money can buy, but soon Tater is caught up in the wild beauty of the ranch (not to mention the charms of Glory B. Dawson, a beautiful young woman who runs the neighboring ranch). Finally, a double-cross brings Wes down--his own lawyer and his citified son (Tater's dad) conspire against him, and Wes is forced to sign away his land. But an unexpected twist brings a not-unexpected happy ending. Strong values, straightforward conflicts, and a realistic (and therefore somewhat depressing) modern West, all set against a colorful Texas backdrop. Poignant and highly readable."
The Time It Never Rained
Quotes from Introduction
"Drive through ranching and farming country or the rural small towns which traditionally have depended upon agriculture and you'll see evidence of the theme that dominates The Man Who Rode Midnight. Abandoned houses on the land, towns with boarded-up storefronts, failed banks, vacant homes with forlorn 'For Sale' signs sagging in dried-up front yards tell of economic hemorrhaging, of social upheaval and a sad exodus.
"For a multitude of reasons, mostly economic, more and more people leave the land each year. It was their plight and the changing picture of ranching and farming which made me view The Man Who Rode Midnight, set in the 1980s, as a natural follow-up to my earlier The Time It Never Rained, set in the long Texas drought of the 1950s.
"The situation is by no means new. It prevailed in the 1930s and was the basis of John Steinbeck's classic The Grapes of Wrath. ...
"For rural America, the late 1970s and at least the first half of the 1980s was the harshest economic period since the great Depression. Tens of thousands lost their land and were forced into involuntary retirement or into the over-crowded urban job market. ...
"For ranchmen whose livelihood revolved around cattle, the years between the drastic cattle-market crash of 1973-74 and its long-delayed recovery in the late 1980s were traumatic. Many ranches which had been in one family for two to four generations were lost, crushed under a burden of debt compounded through a dozen or more years in which income from calves fell far short of the cost of their raising.
... "In ... Midnight, the plight of the small operator is exemplified in Wes Hendrix, a 78-year-old ex-rodeo cowboy. There had been a time, when he was younger, that his little ranch provided for himself and his wife, raising and educating their two sons. Now, an aging widower, he finds it will no longer support even him, and land once free and clear has sunk deeply into debt.
... "Wes Hendrix faces another problem common to many who live to his age. Most people see him only as he is, neither knowing nor caring what he has been or what he has done in the past. Wes in his youth won acclaim for being one of the few ever to ride the famous bucking horse Midnight. Now that has largely been forgotten, and to most of the people of Big River he is simply an old man in the way.
"The character of Wes Hendrix is based to some extent on an old cowboy--also named Wes--who had considerable influence on my youth. A contemporary of my grandfather, he had his roots in the open-range era of the late nineteenth century, and he had firm ideas about the right and wrong ways to do things. He helped raise my father and train him to be a good cowboy. His attempts to do the same for me were much less successful ...
" ... my memories of the real Wes kept me from straying too far from the againg cowboy who never completely forgave me brother Myrle and me for scrubbing his blackened coffeepot and forever spoiling the ambiance left by thirty years of boiled coffee grounds."
***
first review : Thanks to the folks at Kirkus for providing another copied and pasted review, for another potential re-read :
"KIRKUS REVIEW
Another of Kelton's (The Time It Never Rained, The Good Old Boys) standard--but definitely not canned--20th-century westerns: the heartfelt story of an old rancher fighting off ruthlessly encroaching civilization. Nearly 70, (note: 77 in text) Wes Hendricks has led a tough and colorful life as a cowboy and broncobuster, and all he asks now is that he be left alone on his poor, hardscrabble ranch in the west Texas hill country. Not a chance--the powers that be in the little town of Big River (including Wes' old cowboy pal, druggist/mayor Orville Levitt) have decreed that an artificial lake will be created to generate tourism, and Wes' ranch stands squarely in their way. Wes is offered great sums of money and is even threatened by the strong-arm tactics of Sheriff Wally Vincent, but he stands firm. His grandson Tater--a smartaleck young college student--is sent out to convince Wes to give up and accept the ""comforts"" money can buy, but soon Tater is caught up in the wild beauty of the ranch (not to mention the charms of Glory B. Dawson, a beautiful young woman who runs the neighboring ranch). Finally, a double-cross brings Wes down--his own lawyer and his citified son (Tater's dad) conspire against him, and Wes is forced to sign away his land. But an unexpected twist brings a not-unexpected happy ending. Strong values, straightforward conflicts, and a realistic (and therefore somewhat depressing) modern West, all set against a colorful Texas backdrop. Poignant and highly readable."
March 28, 2024
"Things ain't like they use to be," regret came into his voice, "times I wonder if they ever was."
Boy Howdy
Old age isn't for sissies particularly for old cowboys.
Yet good stories never grow old and this is another excellent Texas hill country western by Elmer Kelton. Just what I needed after last week spent in the drawing rooms of Jane Eyre.
In these old western tales there's great descriptions and love for the country, ranches, cows and always a romance but what I like most is the good guys and bad guys are recognizable from the get go and they alway get what's due.
It made me fall in love with reading all over again. The narration by George Guidall was excellent. a 5 star great listening experience. May have to get back to Craig Johnson and the Longmire series soon.
P.S. I can be a little dense. It took me half the book to understand the meaning of the title.
Boy Howdy
Old age isn't for sissies particularly for old cowboys.
Yet good stories never grow old and this is another excellent Texas hill country western by Elmer Kelton. Just what I needed after last week spent in the drawing rooms of Jane Eyre.
In these old western tales there's great descriptions and love for the country, ranches, cows and always a romance but what I like most is the good guys and bad guys are recognizable from the get go and they alway get what's due.
It made me fall in love with reading all over again. The narration by George Guidall was excellent. a 5 star great listening experience. May have to get back to Craig Johnson and the Longmire series soon.
P.S. I can be a little dense. It took me half the book to understand the meaning of the title.
September 24, 2019
Look up "cliché" in the dictionary and you might find a picture of this book. We have:
A love triangle.
A city slicker learning the ropes on a ranch.
Rich people trying to take the ranch away.
Cowboys are a dying breed.
Any surprises that Kelton tried to throw at us (and there aren't many) can be seen coming from a mile away. Also, Kelton can't seem to focus on more than one subplot at a time. Either we are watching the love story unfold and the ranch being taken away is forgotten about, or we are focused on the Ranch and totally forget about the love story.
In the end, this felt a whole lot like a cheap Hallmark made for TV movie.
A love triangle.
A city slicker learning the ropes on a ranch.
Rich people trying to take the ranch away.
Cowboys are a dying breed.
Any surprises that Kelton tried to throw at us (and there aren't many) can be seen coming from a mile away. Also, Kelton can't seem to focus on more than one subplot at a time. Either we are watching the love story unfold and the ranch being taken away is forgotten about, or we are focused on the Ranch and totally forget about the love story.
In the end, this felt a whole lot like a cheap Hallmark made for TV movie.
December 23, 2013
Unlike Kelton's historical novels, this story takes place in the 1980s Texas as oil drillers and developers place old time hard scrabble cattle ranchers on the endangered list. Although it is primarily a coming of age novel, at age 76 I identified more with the grandfather and his contemporaries as they cope with declining health, the death of old friends, and social changes.
December 8, 2023
I just found my new favorite Elmer Kelton western. Up there with the Good Old Boys for me!
An old man and his grandson form a strong connection as the grandson flees from college and the grandfather fights to keep his ranch from becoming a tourist lake.
The characters wormed right into my heart. They jerked a couple tears and warmed my heart.
An old man and his grandson form a strong connection as the grandson flees from college and the grandfather fights to keep his ranch from becoming a tourist lake.
The characters wormed right into my heart. They jerked a couple tears and warmed my heart.
February 28, 2021
This Western was written in 1987 and provides a picture of the Texas's Hill Country (LBJ's stomping grounds) and the diminishing ability of old timers to maintain their cattle ranches. Kelton won a lot of Spur and Western Heritage awards in his time, but if this book is an example, his work is not literary. In other words, he is no Cormac McCarthy.
The story lines in this book are rather unoriginal. Grandson Jim Ed, called Tater by his grandfather and Pilgrim by his contemporary, a cowgirl called Glory B, failed this classes in his last year of college. To assuage his angry father, Jim Ed agrees to spend the summer or longer with his grandfather Wes and spy on him. Jim Ed's father wants Wes to sell the ranch and come live in Dallas. Wes, who is 76, has no desire to leave his land but he's being pushed not only by his son but also by some folks in town as the town wants to create a lake, which cover most of Wes's ranch in water. Jim Ed and Glory B quickly go from fighting to loving. Jim Ed begins to find himself and understand his grandfather's desire to stay on his ranch.
Overall, it is a nice, if unoriginal, story. The writing is pedestrian. It is more 2 star than 3, but I gave it 3 because of the deer.
The story lines in this book are rather unoriginal. Grandson Jim Ed, called Tater by his grandfather and Pilgrim by his contemporary, a cowgirl called Glory B, failed this classes in his last year of college. To assuage his angry father, Jim Ed agrees to spend the summer or longer with his grandfather Wes and spy on him. Jim Ed's father wants Wes to sell the ranch and come live in Dallas. Wes, who is 76, has no desire to leave his land but he's being pushed not only by his son but also by some folks in town as the town wants to create a lake, which cover most of Wes's ranch in water. Jim Ed and Glory B quickly go from fighting to loving. Jim Ed begins to find himself and understand his grandfather's desire to stay on his ranch.
Overall, it is a nice, if unoriginal, story. The writing is pedestrian. It is more 2 star than 3, but I gave it 3 because of the deer.
April 22, 2021
A fairly average story of the Western-made-modern school that emerged in the 1980s and typified by Elmer Kelton. The keynotes are a misty nostalgia for the faded version of the Old West of the early decades of the 20th century, simple character driven plots, an inevitable romance, and a happy ending.
This novel uses the very common fish out of water concept to quietly insist that the past was a better place in the West, that while the essential character of the westerners closely hews to the essential honesty and tenacity of the old timers, that the place itself has changed. Life in the modern West no longer requires the hardscrabble and sacrifice that created the type of everyday hero typified by the mythic cowboy. Our fish [aka: ne'er do well urbanized grandson] drops out of college because of a lack of stick-to-it-iveness and heads out to the shabby almost pre-electric homestead ranch owned by his crusty old grandpa. While these two men bond through some dull macho nonsense I didn't pay much attention to, the boy outdoes all the local talent for the attentions of the most attractive and wealthy woman in town through a series of romance cliches.
Yeah, not a challenging book but a good enough one.
This novel uses the very common fish out of water concept to quietly insist that the past was a better place in the West, that while the essential character of the westerners closely hews to the essential honesty and tenacity of the old timers, that the place itself has changed. Life in the modern West no longer requires the hardscrabble and sacrifice that created the type of everyday hero typified by the mythic cowboy. Our fish [aka: ne'er do well urbanized grandson] drops out of college because of a lack of stick-to-it-iveness and heads out to the shabby almost pre-electric homestead ranch owned by his crusty old grandpa. While these two men bond through some dull macho nonsense I didn't pay much attention to, the boy outdoes all the local talent for the attentions of the most attractive and wealthy woman in town through a series of romance cliches.
Yeah, not a challenging book but a good enough one.
December 11, 2018
Goodness, one of the best I have read.
Elmer Kelton was truly magnificent. His books are full-bodied, without being wordy; passionate, without being explicit; and authentic without being haughty.
The Man Who Rode Midnight reminded me of the emotions I felt after reading The Time It Never Rained. A roller coaster of joy, sorrow and happiness. When a book causes you to hurt and cry happy tears, you know it's a winner. As much as I love some authors, there are very few that I really connect with.
Definitely making my Top 10 list to recommend.
Elmer Kelton was truly magnificent. His books are full-bodied, without being wordy; passionate, without being explicit; and authentic without being haughty.
The Man Who Rode Midnight reminded me of the emotions I felt after reading The Time It Never Rained. A roller coaster of joy, sorrow and happiness. When a book causes you to hurt and cry happy tears, you know it's a winner. As much as I love some authors, there are very few that I really connect with.
Definitely making my Top 10 list to recommend.
September 25, 2020
This was a a nice read. Different from my usual genre that I like reading. I did get some tears in my eyes. It made me think about my grandparents. It also didn’t help that I read it the week I had to go to a Wake for my husbands family. So that definitely set the mood for me as well as it being a very grey and rainy day for the majority of this read. Over all I enjoyed it. It had romance, family ties, and a bit of action. It ended on a happy note and was overall heart warming to read.
February 22, 2019
For some reason when I picture the protagonist of this book I always think of Michael J. Fox. I must have watched a similar movie where Fox plays a city slicker who visits the countryside and is charmed by the local lifestyle and a local woman.
February 26, 2017
This is a great modern western (circa 1980's), a coming of age for the grandson, and end of an era to the grandfather. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I loved it.
Read
June 16, 2024After failing his final semester of college, Jim Ed Hendrix is sent by his dad to stay at his grandfather Wes's West Texas ranch for the summer. Jim Ed, initially averse to Wes's ranching lifestyle, gradually comes to understand it, all the while falling in love with a local girl. At the same time, the independent Wes attempts to cling to his past as friends seek to build a recreational lake on his ranch.
I enjoyed this like I have every Elmer Kelton book I've read. It's a "western," yes, but there are no standard good and bad guys, no real violence to speak of. Instead, the story (which takes place in the contemporary 1980s) dwells on small-town politics and social life, as well as the specifics of cattle and sheep ranching. Like several other Kelton books, including The Time it Never Rained, this one is about change brushing up against the core of one's being. Wes is proud of his cowboying past, fiercely in love with the land, and content with his work. At the center of the book is the question of how to maintain your integrity when the world changes around you. Even though Wes' conflict is the book's major plotline, I wouldn't quite call him the main character. The story is mainly told from Jim Ed's perspective, along with a few others in the town. The book takes its time to dwell on their relationships to Wes and each other through many memorable scenes. My favorite scene is when Jim Ed and Wes play music together. It's perfectly written and perfectly affecting.
The major negative for me is that the ending is rushed. It's a good ending, but it could have used several more pages, if not another chapter. I also think the sheriff became too much of a caricature by the end. That said, I liked this book a lot. It might not be up there with Stand Proud and The Good Old Boys, but it's a mighty fine read.
I enjoyed this like I have every Elmer Kelton book I've read. It's a "western," yes, but there are no standard good and bad guys, no real violence to speak of. Instead, the story (which takes place in the contemporary 1980s) dwells on small-town politics and social life, as well as the specifics of cattle and sheep ranching. Like several other Kelton books, including The Time it Never Rained, this one is about change brushing up against the core of one's being. Wes is proud of his cowboying past, fiercely in love with the land, and content with his work. At the center of the book is the question of how to maintain your integrity when the world changes around you. Even though Wes' conflict is the book's major plotline, I wouldn't quite call him the main character. The story is mainly told from Jim Ed's perspective, along with a few others in the town. The book takes its time to dwell on their relationships to Wes and each other through many memorable scenes. My favorite scene is when Jim Ed and Wes play music together. It's perfectly written and perfectly affecting.
The major negative for me is that the ending is rushed. It's a good ending, but it could have used several more pages, if not another chapter. I also think the sheriff became too much of a caricature by the end. That said, I liked this book a lot. It might not be up there with Stand Proud and The Good Old Boys, but it's a mighty fine read.
December 6, 2020
I normally don't read Westerns, but I needed a change of pace. I happened to think of Elmer Kelton, of whom I read four or five enjoyable novels several years ago.
This novel fits my memory of Elmer Kelton's work. His books are slow starting. It takes me thirty or forty pages to get into them, but once I do, they work. This book fit that pattern.
Because the world is full of mediocre Westerns, they are sometimes considered a second class genre. But no genre is inherently good or bad, it depends upon what one does with it. Elmer Kelton brings a lot of intelligence and cultural insights to his novels, which are ultimately about the environment, changing cultural values, the importance (and dangers) of tradition, etc. Combine all that with interesting characters and good writing, and you've got a quality Western.
This novel fits my memory of Elmer Kelton's work. His books are slow starting. It takes me thirty or forty pages to get into them, but once I do, they work. This book fit that pattern.
Because the world is full of mediocre Westerns, they are sometimes considered a second class genre. But no genre is inherently good or bad, it depends upon what one does with it. Elmer Kelton brings a lot of intelligence and cultural insights to his novels, which are ultimately about the environment, changing cultural values, the importance (and dangers) of tradition, etc. Combine all that with interesting characters and good writing, and you've got a quality Western.
March 24, 2021
The Book was boring for about fifty pages, I even put it down and read two more book, but I hate to start one and not finish it, so I thought I would give it another try. When I started again it became very interesting and turned out to be a really exceptionally good book. A story about and old cowboy being forced from his home by progress and his Grandson who becomes a man living and learing from the old man.
May 18, 2017
Elmer Kelton is a national treasure. This book, while not one of his best, is still better than most. Failed college student goes to his grandfather's ranch to help his dad get the old man off the ranch. However, he soon finds he likes the old man and the ranch. How they survive the townspeoples plans to steal the old man's ranch makes for interesting reading. Recommended.
July 19, 2017
This was a really good book and I think that covers a lot of the feelings of the "gentrification" that rich land developers instill when they come in and try to make things that serve no purpose other than to make the rich richer.
June 17, 2021
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this listen. George Guidall's narration is a large reason why. He gave a mood and life to the characters that few others could. I'm not normally into westerns but I would recommend this one.
December 15, 2025
“only a fool would pay the fiddler for a dance”
I loved this book. Grandpa, Tater, Glory, Livy and Shorty are all interesting characters. Grandpa drops all kinds of wisdom throughout. This is more of a modern western, but it is still a great book.
I loved this book. Grandpa, Tater, Glory, Livy and Shorty are all interesting characters. Grandpa drops all kinds of wisdom throughout. This is more of a modern western, but it is still a great book.
July 3, 2019
Love Kelton’s books. They weave the old west with modern problems. Great writing.
January 27, 2021
The story was good, the only thing , it was too predicable.
February 3, 2021
Not sure if the I really loved the book or if the narrator that I love made me love the book, but I loved my time loving the book!
February 15, 2021
A sweet contemporary story about family, ranching, and romance in West Texas. George Guidall does a fabulous narration.
April 9, 2021
This is the third book of EK’s that I have read and they just keep getting better. 😊
July 19, 2022
This was a great character study. It was a tremendous read. Kelton never fails.
December 3, 2015
One of my absolute favorite Elmer Kealton books, The Man Who Rode Midnight is the story of Wes Hendricks and his failing ranch in the early 80's. While it is appears similar to The Time It never rained, it is a completeley diffrent story. It shows how even the two most diffrent people, Wes and his grandson Jim Ed, can find common ground about the land that one already loves and one comes to love. In the ever uncertain times, Wes holds true to his values and teaches his grandson why he feels the way he does. It is a must read for anybody that wishes to understand the mind of a real old school rancher. I gained a new found knowledge for the inter workings of an american ranncher. The end of the book is oddly satisfying because of the reality of it, its no story book ending, but if it had had one it would of ruined the book. I felt a lot of nostalgia in this book because i felt this man resembled my own grandfather. I gave this book 5 stars because of how real this story is and how much detail he gave it. The story line swithes back and forth between several characters, giving the book depth.
July 12, 2010
My husband is a real fan of the Western novel and thought this was one I would appreciate, and I did. Set in the 1980's this is a story of a dying way of life and the struggle to preserve it. This book won the Western Heritage Award and deserves it. The story is skillfully woven about a modern college student unwillingly sent to work on his grandfather's ranch. His struggles with the hard work, his grandfather's struggles to save his ranch, and the struggles of neighboring ranchers and formen to keep their ranches afloat all make for an engrossing story. Then, of course, there is the girl wearing a grubby outfit at the roundup. Enough said!
November 24, 2013
I have read several of Elmer Kelton's books. They are all terrific but rather than cowboys and indians, this is a story about a family. The last quarter of the book is a real tear jerker; the elderly grandfather is being forced to give up his ranch, partly because of debt and partly because he is just too old to handle it anymore. Fortunately, the last page or so has it coming out right. What an amazing story teller, Elmer Kelton is.
September 1, 2015
Probably my second favorite Elmer Kelton book after The Pumpkin Rollers. It made me understand my dad and grandpa a little more. I realized that some farmers don't care so much about profits. Even when they lose money, they'll keep on farming because it's a part of who they are and they wouldn't be themselves without it.
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