cluckingbell's review
3.0
My first Elmore Leonard, and while I had heard that his writing style was rather pointedly minimalist, I found it so sparse that a couple times I wasn't even sure what had just happened. But I seemed to enjoy the later stories more than those earlier in the book, which may indicate there was a bit of a 'learning curve' to reading his work.
Once I got into the stories, it seemed like there was often a small twist at the end that made me think, "THAT was the point of this story?" Different than a lot of short stories I've read in that the twist was so distracting that I didn't wonder what happened to the characters at all; it was almost like the twist completely erased all that had gone before, so I didn’t have any unresolved tension. I don't like feeling manipulated by modern short stories, but I guess I do like the unresolved tension that leaves me thinking about them long after I've stopped reading. For that reason, some of these stories missed their mark for me.
Still, I'd probably like to try a novel by Leonard.
Once I got into the stories, it seemed like there was often a small twist at the end that made me think, "THAT was the point of this story?" Different than a lot of short stories I've read in that the twist was so distracting that I didn't wonder what happened to the characters at all; it was almost like the twist completely erased all that had gone before, so I didn’t have any unresolved tension. I don't like feeling manipulated by modern short stories, but I guess I do like the unresolved tension that leaves me thinking about them long after I've stopped reading. For that reason, some of these stories missed their mark for me.
Still, I'd probably like to try a novel by Leonard.
davidscrimshaw's review
5.0
Even though I love Elmore Leonard's writing, I had always avoided his early cowboy stories because I'm not into cowboy stories.
But I really enjoyed these.
The stories move right along and with just a few words, he gets right into someone else's head.
If you're thinking you might like to try something different from what you usually read, try some Elmore Leonard.
But I really enjoyed these.
The stories move right along and with just a few words, he gets right into someone else's head.
If you're thinking you might like to try something different from what you usually read, try some Elmore Leonard.
drexedit's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
shksprsis's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
octavia_cade's review
3.0
This might actually be the first western I've ever read, and I only read it to tick off Task 7 of BookRiot's 2018 Read Harder Challenge. And you know what, I'm glad I did. Leonard's writing is pacy and (at its height) compulsively readable, and for most of these seven stories I was genuinely interested. However, given that it's a short story collection I found, as is often the case, that I liked some stories more than others. For example "The Captives" was really excellent, the high point here I think, but I can't say I cared much for "Under the Friar's Ledge". On the whole, though, the quality was pretty high. I finish this task not entirely convinced that I'm going to be a western convert from here on out, but thinking that I'd definitely like to read more of this particular author.