Rating: 
Summary: Hugely disappointing!
Review: After enjoying McMurtry's masterpiece "Lonesome Dove," I had high expectations for this book. However, I can honestly say that it is one of the worst books I have had the misfortune of reading. The numerous characters are unlikely caricatures and the rapidly occurring events are equally ridiculous. There is never an opportunity to understand or care about any of the main characters, and each surprising turn left me rolling my eyes and wishing the book would simply end and spare me the trouble. The tongue-in-cheek language used both in the narrative and in the dialogue suggest that it was meant to be a farce, but the plot unfolds with such ponderous self-importance that I wonder what the author could possibly have been thinking.
Rating: 
Summary: What a Wonderful Romp in the American West!
Review: It's idyllic, funny, romantic and picturesque. The Mandans might not have seen it this way, but as long as the reader knows that it's a fun read. Although laced with some tragedy, the overall story is laden with the amusing and idiosyncratic Berrybender family and this makes even the tragedies seem less painful. As they work their way up the Missouri river in 1832 on their "floating Europe", the Berrybender family intends to reach the Yellowstone River by winter. And so the tale begins. The precocious Tasmin meets the Sin Killer himself, Jim Snow, and thus begins a central story in the novel. Along with this are the travails of Tasmin's father; Lord "B", her sisters, mother and other ship hands. We also meet Indians (of course), French fur trappers, buffalo and the Great Plains.This book is a picturesque, well-written and memorable tale that left me looking very much forward to the next installment.
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