So Far from Spring

by Peggy Simson Curry

A gripping and startlingly frank novel of life on a cattle ranch set on the Colorado-Wyoming border during the 1890s. The principle characters are Kelsey Cameron, his wife, Prim Munro, the ranch foreman and the foreman’s wife. The novel’s high point centers on a storm-beaten cattle drive over a mountain barrier to get the cattle to feed and their survival which exposes the core relationships among the characters whom the reader has come to care about deeply.

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 1983

Reviews

[Dave Weller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Make no mistake. This book spends a lot of time talking about cattle ranching. Nevertheless, I plowed through it, and for the most part enjoyed it. The pace and my relationship with the characters accelerated in the last 25 per cent of the book. I think I read a review of this book in the Denver Post Roundup email, and when I noticed that it took place in North Park, I put it on my Goodreads Want to Read list. Kelsey Cameron leaves behind his beloved Scotland and his love, Prim Munro, to seek his fortunes and a new life in the western region of the United States. Based on correspondence with his cousin, Tommy Cameron, he travels to the North Park area of Colorado. He begins his new life at the bottom as a manure slinger and fence mender. As he adapts to life in the stark surroundings of North Park, he corresponds with his girl friend, Prim, and he learns that she is pregnant with presumably his child. With the goal of bringing Prim to the U.S., Kelsey befriends Monte Maguire, the owner of three fairly expansive ranches as well as a large herd of cattle. The reader assumes that Monte is a man, but in an early meeting, we discover that Monte is a woman. I will stop there so as to avoid revealing more of the story. The author does a superb job of developing the main characters including the Camerons and all the ranch hands and characters that scratch out a living in the small community of North Park. This novel takes place at the turn of the previous century, and the author's descriptions allow one to imagine living in the harsh frontier environment of North Park with very few amenties. These were clearly tough people. The weather, the cattle, the importance of water, the mountains, and the depressing winters are expertly described. I am not sure there are more books by this author, but I would certainly sign up for another read.

[Chanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up a copy of SO FAR FROM SPRING a few years ago at a sweet used bookstore called the Old Sage Bookshop in Prescott, AZ when I was traveling in the area for my job.

I’ll be the first to admit, this book will not be for everyone. The plot is a very heavy (yet accurate) view on cattle ranching at the turn of the century in the North Park area of Colorado. A fact that I found fascinating, but I know it would not be everyone’s cup of tea.

The story is a good old fashioned western and focuses on the life of Kelsey Cameron (MMC) who leaves his home (and sweetheart) in Scotland to travel and work at his cousin’s cattle ranch in Colorado. It’s a learning curve for the young man, but he has a goal of owning his own ranch and will stop at nothing to get there.

This book ends up being a multi-generational coming of age saga that includes a strong mix of characters accurate to the period and setting. I did find some of the age differences in the various relationships alluded to in this book difficult to support, but then I had to remember not only the time/setting of this story, but also the date of the original publication (I believe in the early 1980s).

Overall, I did like this story and probably would have added an extra star to the rating except I felt the ending was rushed and unresolved.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a tough life on a Montana ranch!

[Sheryll · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect a lot from this book, but it turned out to be a good old-fashioned western that rang true in its depiction of ranching in Colorado-Wyoming. The characters are interesting, and the plot flows. I really enjoyed it!

[Reff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old school story-telling--hard men, harder women against the bare plains of Colorado 1898. Great descriptions, characters that don't conform to stereotypes. A book to while away the afternoon.