Big Range

by Jack Schaefer

Ten stories of the western frontier, by the author who gave us the magnificent *Shane*

Genres: Westerns, Fiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Schaefer was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of an attorney. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1929 with a major in English. He attended graduate school at Columbia University from 1929-30, but left without completing his Master of Arts degree. He then went to work for the United Press. In his long career as a journalist, he would hold editorial positions at many eastern publications.

Schaefer's first success as a novelist came in 1949 with his memorable novel Shane, set in Wyoming. Few realized that Schaefer himself had never been anywhere near the west. Nevertheless, he continued writing successful westerns, selling his home in Connecticut and moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1955.

In 1975 Schaefer received the Western Literature Association's Distinguished Achievement award.

He died of heart failure in Santa Fe in 1991. Schaefer was married twice, his second wife moving to Santa Fe with him.

Schaefer's novel Monte Walsh was made into a movie in 1970, with Lee Marvin in the title role, and again in 2003 as a TV movie starring Tom Selleck. Shane was also made into a movie and a series.

from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Sch...

Reviews

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1953, 'The Big Range' is a collection of 7 Western short stories. The book is split into two sections, the first of which are connected in having the same main character who also tells the tale as a first person narrative. The second section contains 3 stories of a more random nature. All of the stories are superbly written with a directness that is typical of the author. Very enjoyable.

[David Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering that most of Jack Schaefer’s renown comes from his novel Shane, I assumed these stories would be of the same ilk in that they would be told from the sugarcoated perspective of a young boy, contain heroes who create their own justice when the law fails, and be composed of characters who–like the horses they so love–are free to do as they please so long as they don’t transgress some reductive inner morality that is commensurate with the storytelling of this era.

And the first story, “Jeremy Rodock,” basically does just this. When mischievous bandits begin stealing Rodock’s horses, he must track them down on his own and find the right balance of sympathy and retribution to set things right again.

But Schaefer changes the formula after this. He complicates issues of morality and makes a break from the worn out nostalgia of the settler mind. In “Miley Bennett”–perhaps the best story of the bunch–he shatters the mythic image of the west as a place anyone can start over with enough grit and determination. He does something similar in “Kittura Remsberg” except his unattached male leads are replaced with a married couple whose love for each other turns bitter as they must give up every aspect of the lives they’ve known for a chance at freedom.

He scrounges up some humor in “Major Burl,” all while raising questions about what constitutes a real town: the proper infrastructure or the spirit of community. He shows the ugly face of discrimination and paternalism in “Sergeant Houck” when a white woman has a baby with a native (even if the story ends unsatisfactorily). And, even if it wasn’t meant this way, he manages at least one story, “General Pingley,” that seems eerily fitting of our current times, as it focuses on a cranky old confederate soldier who begins as a nuisance and grows to become dangerous in his departure from reality.

All in all, this is a far more eclectic bunch of stories than I would have imagined.

[Jeff Bradbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good book. A good solid enjoyable western. A set of seven very well written short stories. Schaefer is such a good writer. He puts his characters in tough situations and he handles them with compassion even when they don't deal with life all that well. I could see reading this again in the future. Very satisfying.

[Jeremiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having previously read Shane and adored it and Monte Walsh I’m ashamed to say this was my first time reading Jack Schaefer’s short stories and I’ve been missing out. Absolutely fantastic collection without a stinker in the bunch.

[Richard Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice diverse collection of stories about the west.