A review by mattaukamp
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford by Ron Hansen

3.0

What a strange book. Not quite a history book, but extremely well-researched and laden with dry facts that prevent any real dramatic tension. Not quite a novel, but full of well-written fictional imaginings of events people could never know, which may grate on you as you wonder what's true and what's not. I enjoyed it, but I'm not entirely sure exactly what I got out of it. That's why I think it lingers at a 3/5... It felt hollow, somehow. Smart scenes, interesting facts, and a few beautiful bits of prose strung together by a web of pointlessness. Was it meant to be entertaining? Informative? It's a little of both but not fully either. A good book, but not a great one.