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Paso Por Aqui
Norman, University of Oklahoma Press, 1973. 1st Printing, Thus, Hardbound, about 7.75 inches tall, 128 pages. Volume number 50 in the Western Frontier Library series.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 8, 2008
One day when I was looking at some old Zane Grey editions he had for sale, my friend Allan Milkerit, the used and antiquarian bookseller in the Mission, told me that I'd probably like Eugene Manlove Rhodes, and suggested I start with Paso Por Aqui, a short novel originally published in the Saturday Evening Post in 1926.
Allan died unexpectedly last year (as I discovered when I went to the San Francisco Library book sale, only to find it dedicated to his memory), so when I recently came across the scrap of paper on which he'd written the title of this book, I decided I had to seek it out.
It's spare, and at first I didn't know why he recommended it, but it ends with a punch, and leaves a long, slow smile on your face. I'm still savoring it.
Somehow it reminds me of the way I felt the first time I read Thornton Wilder's Woman of Andros, touched, uplifted, given the gift to see something beautiful through someone else's eyes.
Rhodes isn't as lyrical as Grey at his best. (That's a long story. I contend that if Grey had written only his six best books, and not the fifty or sixty others where he shamelessly plagiarized himself and wore his vision thin by repetition, he'd be considered a great author. As it is, he was a supreme mythmaker, with a deep influence on how America sees itself, an achievement not to be underrated.) But this spare book shares the same love for the American west, the country and the people who lived there.
Allan died unexpectedly last year (as I discovered when I went to the San Francisco Library book sale, only to find it dedicated to his memory), so when I recently came across the scrap of paper on which he'd written the title of this book, I decided I had to seek it out.
It's spare, and at first I didn't know why he recommended it, but it ends with a punch, and leaves a long, slow smile on your face. I'm still savoring it.
Somehow it reminds me of the way I felt the first time I read Thornton Wilder's Woman of Andros, touched, uplifted, given the gift to see something beautiful through someone else's eyes.
Rhodes isn't as lyrical as Grey at his best. (That's a long story. I contend that if Grey had written only his six best books, and not the fifty or sixty others where he shamelessly plagiarized himself and wore his vision thin by repetition, he'd be considered a great author. As it is, he was a supreme mythmaker, with a deep influence on how America sees itself, an achievement not to be underrated.) But this spare book shares the same love for the American west, the country and the people who lived there.
January 26, 2021
A powerful, redemptive novel; Rhodes has created with few words and wry dialogue, a masterful literary morality tale set on the stage of the last frontier of the Southwest (Central New Mexico and its Tularosa Basin).
This ranks by many Western literary enthusiasts as ‘the’ best Western story ever written. It is surprising then how little known it is. This is not a ranch romance, nor is it a blood and thunder novel about a two-gun man. In a sense, it’s not a Western in any contrived sense, but rather a timeless American Novel set in the West. It’s an homage to the vast beauty of New Mexico; to the goodness even in flawed people; to a golden age where morality trumps bureaucracy; to the fact that all men can change.
Despite its ambition, the novel is entirely without pretense or sanctimony. The prose is bright and honest; the dialogue authentic; the characters, as real as your neighbor. Rhodes affirms the sanctity of life, but gets you to laugh and cry the whole way. The underdog always wins -it’s as-good-as-it-gets American fiction.
This should be read by all lovers of Americana, and valued as one of the best examples of fiction set in the American West, bar none.
This ranks by many Western literary enthusiasts as ‘the’ best Western story ever written. It is surprising then how little known it is. This is not a ranch romance, nor is it a blood and thunder novel about a two-gun man. In a sense, it’s not a Western in any contrived sense, but rather a timeless American Novel set in the West. It’s an homage to the vast beauty of New Mexico; to the goodness even in flawed people; to a golden age where morality trumps bureaucracy; to the fact that all men can change.
Despite its ambition, the novel is entirely without pretense or sanctimony. The prose is bright and honest; the dialogue authentic; the characters, as real as your neighbor. Rhodes affirms the sanctity of life, but gets you to laugh and cry the whole way. The underdog always wins -it’s as-good-as-it-gets American fiction.
This should be read by all lovers of Americana, and valued as one of the best examples of fiction set in the American West, bar none.
February 21, 2021
This is the second Rhodes story I have read , and what I am learning is that he is not afraid to have good prevail. Not in a mawkish or cheesy way, often at great cost to the hero, but in a way that just makes you feel good and want to be your best. This is a gem. Being a product of a more cynical age I kept waiting for something bitter to happen, but bless Rhodes, he didn't falter. The only reason I am not giving this 5 stars is that he lost me at times with the descriptions of the parts of the country that he obviously loves but for which I felt I needed a map. I will read those sections again slowly and re-evaluate though.
August 2, 2010
I read this short novella in a couple of days, and it was a quick but tender read. There are several storytellers, and characters come and go and return again, but it is all with thorough character development and well-thought plot. I enjoyed it immensely as it certainly shares that not all criminals lack heart and not all sheriffs are unforgiving. I recommend this for someone who wants a taste of western literature that's not pulp and highly stereotypical characterization. Rhodes paints his characters with kind and thoughtful brushstrokes.
February 6, 2015
I am not a fan of shoot 'em up Westerns in either book or cinematic form and have never read any Zane Grey or Louis L'Amour. However, I have become interested in the Alamogordo area of NM since a relative lives there and I have spent some time in the area. Rhodes lived in NM for many years (the Western Room at the Alamogordo PL is named for him) and had a real understanding for this hostile yet beautiful country and the community it fostered. I would definitely recommend this edition, which has an excellent introduction by the historian WH Hutchinson and provides helpful context and insights. A comment about the why the movie version (Four Faces West) wasn't a big hit fits the book as well "an intelligent western, with not one shot fired, not even a fist fight". The book is now considered by many to be the finest western ever written. That I cannot judge, but Rhodes' descriptions, characters and great use of dialogue ("The way you hop from conversational crag to crag" said Jay, "is beyond all praise") make for a great story I think most would enjoy.
November 26, 2012
A cowboy, Ross McEwen, robs a store in turn-of-the-century New Mexico, then flees down the mountains, hounded by pursuers, herded by new roads and telephone lines. At last he saddles a steer and rides him into the desert. McEwen is nearly done when he spots a windmill and a lonely cabin. He staggers toward water and shelter, only to find it occupied by a family suffering from diptheria. "I'm here to help," he says. Meanwhile the sheriff, Pat Garrett, is still on his trail.
Written by a cowboy who knew Pat Garrett and was once pursued by him, and once rode a steer into the desert to elude the law. The prose is beautiful, as is the view of human life. I have been re-reading this book with pleasure for, oh my, 30 years now.
Written by a cowboy who knew Pat Garrett and was once pursued by him, and once rode a steer into the desert to elude the law. The prose is beautiful, as is the view of human life. I have been re-reading this book with pleasure for, oh my, 30 years now.
August 4, 2017
Re-read, August 2017 (originally read in 2013).
March 2, 2024
A short, entertaining yarn. The size of the text in the pages reminded me of school but made it very easy to read! I enjoyed it, in particular the bits where Ross McEwen is on the run from sheriffs and townsfolk alike. The descriptions of him thinking and planning about what he should do next and the hardship that he went through in the name of freedom were exciting and engaging. But I didn't give it more than 3 stars because there wasn't enough of this type of content. Definitely worth a read though and with the large font and at only 137 pages it's an short but enjoyable experience.
February 2, 2018
Wow, short but really good!
October 4, 2023
Paso Por Aqui, Eugene Rhodes (western)
Jeff Book Review #170
A really old western, "Paso Por Aqui" is a short novel, written in 1925 and published originally in the Saturday Evening Post. The author Eugene Rhodes grew up and lived in New Mexico when the first cowboys and ranchers went through there, so he writes of the west and its characters with first-hand perspective. His writing style is like Zane Grey but without the attempted romanticization.
It is a simultaneously tense and hopeful chase narrative across the barely-tamed west. (You know how much I like chase movies). Rhodes apparently was on the run from a local sheriff once and infused this adventure with parts of his experience, including the bit about trying to saddle and ride a steer so he could throw off the sheriff tracking his horse.
Verdict: A short, smart western. Kind of a Hemingway- or Fitzgerald-ish snapshot of a very specific time, place and character that captures much more about the era, environment, and human nature.
Jeff's Rating: 4 / 5 (Very Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG
Jeff Book Review #170
A really old western, "Paso Por Aqui" is a short novel, written in 1925 and published originally in the Saturday Evening Post. The author Eugene Rhodes grew up and lived in New Mexico when the first cowboys and ranchers went through there, so he writes of the west and its characters with first-hand perspective. His writing style is like Zane Grey but without the attempted romanticization.
It is a simultaneously tense and hopeful chase narrative across the barely-tamed west. (You know how much I like chase movies). Rhodes apparently was on the run from a local sheriff once and infused this adventure with parts of his experience, including the bit about trying to saddle and ride a steer so he could throw off the sheriff tracking his horse.
Verdict: A short, smart western. Kind of a Hemingway- or Fitzgerald-ish snapshot of a very specific time, place and character that captures much more about the era, environment, and human nature.
Jeff's Rating: 4 / 5 (Very Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG
March 21, 2012
Read my review at my blog.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews