Reading the 20th Century discussion

Welcome to our July 2024 buddy read of....



True Grit

by

Charles Portis


All are welcome

Feel free to comment at any time



n the 1870s, young Mattie Ross learns that her beloved father was gunned down by his former handyman. But even though this gutsy 14-year-old is seeking vengeance, she is smart enough to figure out she can't go alone after a desperado who's holed up in Indian territory. With some fast-talking, she convinces mean, one-eyed US Marshal "Rooster" Cogburn into going after the despicable outlaw with her.

Thank you for setting this up! I think True Grit is going to be a great summer read. :)

I’m sure you’re right

I read this 50+ years ago. Just got it on audible - read by Donna Tartt. She sounds good in the sample.

I'm looking forward to it.

Enjoyable, cleverly written and Mattie Ross has a distinctive voice and character. Hoping that some of you will join me!

I’m finishing up The Far Side of the World, part of the outstanding Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. Then I’ll be ready to start. :)

Started today. I am caught up in the narrative voice of an adult Maddie telling the story of her father’s murder. I hear the outrage and grief of her 14-year-old self.

Hope you enjoy it Renee . Maddie is one of my favourite fictional characters of all time . Outrage as a motivator has never been so well personified .

Charles Portis did such a wonderful job with the writing that I keep forgetting him as the person behind the narrative.

Rooster Cogburn makes his appearance!

It was fun reading Portis's original version and contrasting his Rooster with John Wayne's

Good comprehensive article about Portis in the 20 June edition of The New York Review of books, which I access through my library-sponsored Libby app.

I will be starting this soon. I kept away from Westerns, but read a couple in the last few years and liked them , and who can not love John Wayne and his Rooster Cogburn!

Thank you for that recommendation, Ben. I’ve found I can access the article through my library as well! I’m looking forward to reading it.

Ben wrote: "It was fun reading Portis's original version and contrasting his Rooster with John Wayne's"

Better to watch the Coen Brothers version. It's Mattie's story! But with John Wayne in the original movie it just becomes another John Wayne movie.

I haven't started listening to it yet. Read it years ago.

I look forward to the Coen Brothers treatment of the novel, but I loved the 1969 version. My young self identified completely with Kim Darby’s Mattie Ross. I’ll enjoy comparing the versions and the cinematic culture in which each was created.

Renee wrote: "I look forward to the Coen Brothers treatment of the novel, but I loved the 1969 version. My young self identified completely with Kim Darby’s Mattie Ross. I’ll enjoy comparing the versions and the..."

In the extras on the Wayne TG dvd it is made clear that Kim Darby kept pushing to keep it closer to the book and her character.

Good for her! Although I haven’t seen the film in decades, I have very vivid visual & emotional memories of certain scenes.

Did you experience the book primarily as telling the story of a brave young girl in the Old West, as a Western quest for Justice, or as a comedy?

I definitely see the novel as Mattie’s story, both because the narrative is told in her voice and because she’s the character with which eye so identified. She is brave, tenacious, and resourceful.

I don’t have a wide history with the Western as a genre, but I have read a few. Notably The Virginian and Riders of the Purple Sage. True Grit certainly fits with these as examples of this type of writing. However, in telling the story from her perspective, Charles Portis may have created an opportunity to portray a western hero, who is flawed in ways that are not typically explored in novels (and movies) of the same genre. But may be closer to the reality of the times/places/circumstances. Cogburn is aged, out of shape, and alcoholic, with a history of violence and criminality. LaBoef seems rather young, opinionated, and antagonistic. Yet both have experience in tracking criminals and are currently allied with the law as it was represented in the developing West.

Although the author employs humor in places, I would not call this a comedy.

There was something about Mattie's way of telling the story, perhaps combined with her narrating the story when she was already an old woman -- (view spoiler)[ and a spinster who spent her life building up a bank and having no compunction about squeezing her customers for money (hide spoiler)] -- that made me see this as more of a comedy than either as a straight western, a coming of age story about a young woman or a feminst tale. Her use of religion and the Bible in her speech and her narrative, the ways she used logic, gamesmanship, bribery and threats in gaining the advantage over the older male characters, or at least holding her own, and the way she single-mindedly repeated her mission over and over all contributed to that.

But I guess most of all the deciding factor for me is that fact that I spent a good amount of my time reading the book laughing.

It's also possible I have an odd sense of humour.

I think it might be the dry, deadpan voice of the elderly Mattie. It renders the stark violence into seeming uneventful and therefore darkly humorous. I listened to Moby Dick read by Frank Muller in his perfectly dry, deadpan voice and so I regard the first half (at least) as quite amusing. I do not think of either novel as “comedies,” but I enjoy a good chuckle at a dry observation.

Also, I would not categorize a book as a “feminist tale” simply because a character has some grit of her own. The women of the West must have been pretty badass just to survive.

Yes . it's the deadpan nature of the storytelling that is so funny , Renee M . She is truly a fabulous creation .

Finished this today and really loved it. I found it to be a book of revenge and coming of age. The fact that it is told through a 14 year old girl, kept the revenge acceptable. When I say young girl telling it she is an elderly woman, explaining how she felt at 14

I finished the book and enjoyed it very much. Reading it after so many years, I felt much more for Mattie as a young person stepping into the role of an adult due to circumstances.

I then treated myself to a viewing of the excellent Coen Brothers’ film version of the story. I was delighted to see how much of the dialogue from the novel was preserved onscreen. (I was annoyed that LeBoef kept running off, but I can see how his absence streamlined some of the scenes.) I was surprised that the role of Mattie was considered a supporting, rather than a leading, character. I thought Hailee Steinfeld gave an amazing performance which was every bit a leading role. (She was nominated for several awards as Best Supporting Actress. In spite of the fact that she had the most screen time and was the protagonist of the story. I don’t know if she was slighted or if she was put forward in the Supporting category so she would have a better chance of winning… because I don’t know how the nomination process works for those types of awards.)

Yes, that doesn't seem right ....True fact . one boring wet Saturday my brother decided to record only John Wayne's dialogue in True Grit with a portable cassette player .....Yup, Yup , Get on your hoss....became a catch phrase in our family ...

The Coen brothers film is one of my go too pleasures when feeling jaded / ill ..Mattie is so well realised I simply love it .

I love the Coen’s adaptation too


Sadly I cannot fit this read in but have thoroughly enjoyed following the discussion

I finished listening to this on my drive to Chicago the other day. It was enjoyable. I thought Donna Tartt did an excellent job. Also included was an essay she had written about it. She thought it was one of the best books she'd read.

I originally read it in 1969, after having seen the movie with John Wayne. I remembered most of it so I guess it did make an impression on me.

I really liked Haillie in the second movie.