Hondo

Rating:
Summary: Always a good read.
Review: The events of this very solid and compelling story are clearly based on, or at least loosely inspired by, real events in Arizona in 1861. There are many parallels with the Boscom affair and the kidnapping of Mickey Free, events that led to the Apache Wars and the campaigns of Cochise. It's L'Amour's comprehensive knowledge of the history and landscape of Arizona that helps to make this book special. The writing is consistently good, occasionally sublime; "...the tips of the cottonwoods turned gold, like the sun-tipped lances of a moving army." L'Amour is particularly good with dialogue, a skill which is sadly lacking among most Western writers, making Zane Grey for example, almost unreadable. The only thing preventing "Hondo" from being great literature is the paper-thin characterization. Hondo Lane is an idealized, 'Hollywooden' hero and the villains lack any redeeming features that would make them credible. The depiction of the Apache is sympathetic, even to the extent that they too are often idealized ("No Apache ever hit his child"). The author's attempts to describe the developing feelings of the hero and heroine for each other are particularly gauche. L'Amour, it seems, cannot write l'amour. But, so what? If we want profound insights into human nature, we read Jane Austen. If we want the romance and drama of the Old West, we read Louis L'Amour.

Rating:
Summary: Fifty years on, still riding strong
Review: The events of this very solid and compelling story are clearly based on, or at least loosely inspired by, real events in Arizona in 1861. There are many parallels with the Boscom affair and the kidnapping of Mickey Free, events that led to the Apache Wars and the campaigns of Cochise. It's L'Amour's comprehensive knowledge of the history and landscape of Arizona that helps to make this book special. The writing is consistently good, occasionally sublime; "...the tips of the cottonwoods turned gold, like the sun-tipped lances of a moving army." L'Amour is particularly good with dialogue, a skill which is sadly lacking among most Western writers, making Zane Grey for example, almost unreadable. The only thing preventing "Hondo" from being great literature is the paper-thin characterization. Hondo Lane is an idealized, 'Hollywooden' hero and the villains lack any redeeming features that would make them credible. The depiction of the Apache is sympathetic, even to the extent that they too are often idealized ("No Apache ever hit his child"). The author's attempts to describe the developing feelings of the hero and heroine for each other are particularly gauche. L'Amour, it seems, cannot write l'amour. But, so what? If we want profound insights into human nature, we read Jane Austen. If we want the romance and drama of the Old West, we read Louis L'Amour.

Rating:
Summary: Hondo: A novel's portrayal of the American myth.
Review: The western myth over the years has slowly become the American myth. The old west has come to represent the ideal American characteristics of independence, heroism, and ruggedness. So, too, the cowboy has been given an almost god-like status in the mind of America. In the book Hondo, Louis L'amour captures both the qualities of the west and of the cowboy. This book has rightfully become an American classic. It has been read by thousands, but still finds a place in today's world of political correctness and multi-culturalism. But, how has the book not only survived but thrived through the years? For the answer, we need only analyze three things: the main characters, the descriptive use of the west, and L'amour's writing style. The main characters of Hondo and Angie are the back bone of the book. It is through the development of these two characters that L'amour is able to keep the reader's attention and entertain, as well. Hondo contains just about every masculine characteristic that is viewed by American eyes as desirable. He is truly a man's man. He possesses great physical strength and mythic-like reflexes. He is rugged and independent and as with most heroes, in the end, he gets the girl. Perhaps his most important characteristic is his tendency for both good and evil. He is a true middle grounder who is able to exist between the two worlds of the Indians and the settlers - the worlds of chaos and order. Angie falls in love with him for these characteristics, and so does the reader. We admire him because he is fixed, right or wrong; he is what he is. Angie tends to have all the desirable characteristics of a woman as well. L'amour portrays Angie in a manner which allows the reader to choose how Angie is seen. She can be seen as a strong, brave, independent women who survived the west on her own and became involved with Hondo out of want and not necessity. Or, she can be seen as loyal, domestic, and allowing herself to be swept off her feet by a handsome cowboy. By leaving the interpretation of Angie to the reader, L'amour can capture both sides of how the west is viewed. On one hand, the west is a place of opportunity for independent survival and on the other, it's a place where one can find true love and romance. Hondo and the scenery are paralleled throughout the book. Much like Hondo, the west is shown to be rugged, rough, and brutal. L'amour does not describe the west with great detail as other cowboy novel authors have, such as Zane Grey. This fact adds mystery of the west. Leaving the west as an unknown, L'amour is able to accentuate the frontier qualities associated with the west. What little description he does give is simplistic in nature. L'amour's writing style in general is very simplistic. Some critics have labeled this a negative aspect of the book; however, I feel it only adds to it. The cowboy myth itself is very simple in nature. In its purest form, it is the ability to survive independently, not relying on anything or anyone else. By keeping the language simple, L'amour is able to convey that myth and use it to the advantage of the work. The reader able to easily identify the feelings associated with both the west and the cowboy. Louis L'amour has given us a very entertaining work with Hondo. The western has become more than just another form of literature. The western myth has become the American myth. It sums up the qualities and characteristics of our nation. As Americans we have all come to identify ourselves with certain concepts such as individuality, independence, and resourcefulness. These qualities are all shown by our hero Hondo. L'amour and other western writers have given us a median in which we find an American at his best. We can all find aspects of the cowboy in our daily lives and that is precisely one reason why Hondo has lasted so long.

Rating:
Summary: One of the classic western novels.
Review: This was the first full-length novel by L'Amour (1910-1988) and it was voted in 1977 as one of the top twenty-five western novels by the Western Writers of America. It was also made into a classic film starring John Wayne. Hondo Lane, always accompanied by the dog Sam, is an Army scout in Arizona in the late 1800s. During an Apache uprising, he comes across a remote farm in which a woman, Angie Lowe, and her six-year-old son have been isolated for some time, her husband having abandoned them. Hondo tries to convince them to return with him to the Fort but she insists on staying. While at the Fort he has an altercation with the delinquent husband at the same time that the woman and her son meet and are befriended by the Apache chief, Vittorio.

Rating:
Summary: An American Classic
Review: Whether L'Amour wote this book from the screenplay, or vise versa, doesn't matter. This book is an American classic. This is my favorite of L'Amour's books, and the one book of his that will be remembered one hundred years from now. If you have any interest at all in frontier literature, you should read this book.