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A review by icarusabides
True Grit by Charles Portis
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Hard to fully articulate quite why I love this book so much and why I keep coming back to it over and over again because my brain mostly refuses to progress past because it's great, that's why.
It's just a really charming novel overall. It's witty and funny throughout, the prose is enthralling and appropriately poetic, without being too flowery, in how it portrays the time and place of the setting. Portis writing about landscape and Mattie's journey through it, with her very unique voice, is just magnetic to read.
"What have you done when you have bested a fool?"
Mattie's voice and force of personality run right through this book and every line of her narration is imbued with that righteous personality that drives the adventure along as a fourteen year olds' stubbornness and sheer determination leads to her accompanying these two, very, mismatched peace officers on an expedition into the winding stair mountains.
"Goodbye, Reuben, a love for decency does not abide in you."
Then there's Rooster, who would be a rather hard man like in real life to the point that I'm not even sure Mattie would have gotten along with him all that well in regular circumstances, even after their adventure together which us probably why the somewhat bittersweet ending works. He is nevertheless very much the man for this job despite his slovenly ways, questionable morals, and penchant for taking on some very dubious work throughout his life. He probably shouldn't be likeable at all really but Portis writes him so damn well, he's just the right amount of curmudgeonly, world weary, cutting, and bold - very very bold - that his character works brilliantly.
Basically it's just bloody great and I adore rereading it even if the why of that greatness escapes my understanding.
It's just a really charming novel overall. It's witty and funny throughout, the prose is enthralling and appropriately poetic, without being too flowery, in how it portrays the time and place of the setting. Portis writing about landscape and Mattie's journey through it, with her very unique voice, is just magnetic to read.
"What have you done when you have bested a fool?"
Mattie's voice and force of personality run right through this book and every line of her narration is imbued with that righteous personality that drives the adventure along as a fourteen year olds' stubbornness and sheer determination leads to her accompanying these two, very, mismatched peace officers on an expedition into the winding stair mountains.
"Goodbye, Reuben, a love for decency does not abide in you."
Then there's Rooster, who would be a rather hard man like in real life to the point that I'm not even sure Mattie would have gotten along with him all that well in regular circumstances, even after their adventure together which us probably why the somewhat bittersweet ending works. He is nevertheless very much the man for this job despite his slovenly ways, questionable morals, and penchant for taking on some very dubious work throughout his life. He probably shouldn't be likeable at all really but Portis writes him so damn well, he's just the right amount of curmudgeonly, world weary, cutting, and bold - very very bold - that his character works brilliantly.
Basically it's just bloody great and I adore rereading it even if the why of that greatness escapes my understanding.