Review: Interesting sort of "soap opera"ish Western
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 08 19, 2012
The novel starts right in the middle of of Caucasian trailblazers settling further and further west, and doing so by removing native Indians from their lands. So we have Two Bulls and his lost land and fraying family, and John and Mary's unhappy lives on a fruitless farm. Two Bulls is written in a drifting sequences of inner thought while John and Mary tend to be written in a more traditional way. I think this dichotomy is a successful storytelling technique that allows the reader to empathize with both sides of the conflict. The further we go into the story, the more intriguing it becomes as Two Bulls plays a cat and mouse game with John and John and Mary become more and more paranoid and angry with each other.The writing drags a bit in places and becomes repetitive, but it is clear and understandable with few typos (that I noticed). The setting feels authentic enough that I didn't notice incongruities, and both sets of characters are given equal consideration and dignity in their motivations. They feel real enough in their flaws and decisions. The ending wraps everything up nicely. This novella isn't perfect, but it is a very good read nonetheless.