A review by goodstrongwords
True Grit by Charles Portis

5.0

never in my life did i think i would choose a book like this - i thought it was a classic western full of violence and sexism and generally not my bag.

in some ways, true grit is exactly that -- but Mattie Ross makes it so much more. she may be one of the strongest narrative voices in all of literature, this tenacious fourteen-year-old with a no-nonsense attitude. when no-one is showing the initiative to chase after her father's killer, she rolls up her sleeves and moves to go after him herself with the unenthusiastic help of marshal rooster cogburn. 

this novel feels less like you're reading an account, and more like you're tucked under a blanket on a porch, listening to mattie recount her adventure. it is pacy and exciting and genuinely funny -- a concise and tightly tied masterpiece.