Born Of The Sun

by John H. Culp

Adventures Of A Young Man Who Grows Up In The Texas Cattle Country Just After The Civil War.

444 pages, Paperback

Published June 23, 2012

Reviews

[Steven]

I clued into this book from someone's local history web site that said Rich Coffey was a minor character in it. Very minor it turns out, but still kind of cool to see a fictionalized version of your first cousin, four times removed's father-in-law, right? Also, I'm involved in a reading challenge where one is supposed to read a book in a genre outside one's comfort zone. I'm not a big fan of western novels, so this fit the bill.

Still, I was pleasantly surprised. The book starts out with a young boy in the early 1870s getting off a stage coach in a small settlement in Texas' Concho valley in the middle of a winter storm and what is soon to be a Comanche raid. We learn that he's been orphaned and has moved here from the Texas coast to be raised by his Uncle Martin and Aunt Maybie on their ranch.

The boy, known through most of the book simply as "Kid," learns about the land, ranching, cattle, horses, guns, wildlife, and just about anything you'd might imagine. Central to this book is the idea of the large cattle drives of the period from Texas to Kansas. Uncle Martin's ranch, the Tail End, drives herds up every year, and the kid longs to go with him. He has to wait many seasons before earning his chance, but once he does, his real education begins.

The book is full of violence, but couched in very realistic conditions. Frontier life must have been hard, but trail driving, with its weather, outlaws, stampedes, exposure, Comanche raids, rustlers, etc., must have been truly difficult. No one could read this book and think otherwise. I lost track of the number of gunshot wounds, broken limbs, and fistfights. And, written in 1959, this book does show some mid-20th century prejudices. Black and Hispanic characters are portrayed speaking in cringe-worthy dialect and are sometimes played for comic effect by the author, but the characters themselves treat each other with a respect and matter-of-factness which I liked.

Despite all the violence, Culp writes characters that, though rough, are insightful and care about each other in their way. And the kid's observations of his surroundings, describing a sunrise or a view across a landscape, are truly beautiful. I liked this short segment, in which the kid has rescued a newborn longhorn calf after his crew defeated an outlaw gang that had tried to steal their herd:

We came to the bank and rode up under the dead men's trees, and it made me feel mighty different to hold something fresh and new and clean from this life in my arms - to hold something that wasn't even yet quite dry, but something that had seen that same blazing sun come up that day, a little mind new and open and free of trouble and killing, not like I saw the sun come up that morning and would forever see it.

Good stuff. I haven't been able to find out much about John H. Culp, but he seems to have written many novels set in the southwest. I might keep an eye out for them.

[Didn't actually read this edition. Got my hands on a re-bound first edition from 1959 via the University of North Texas on interlibrary loan. That edition doesn't seem to be in Goodreads. Also, can we talk about the covering having a saguaro cactus, which doesn't grow in Texas?]

[Dawn Bohl]

A fascinating novel of post-Civil War Texas

The kid tells about coming to live with his uncle and aunt who are trying to retain their ranch in the devastating poverty of a lost war. It's a straightforward tale of ever-present danger and heartbreaking struggle, but the characters are well portrayed. One of the most appealing aspects of this picaresque novel is the laconic description of the humorous events that an adventurous boy stumbles into in his efforts to be a man. There is some profanity but it reflects the situation and is not used for shock value.

If you enjoy pioneer tales, you'll remember this one with the realistic depictions of ranch life, Indian battles, catastrophic storms, and cattle drives. And if that sounds grim, you'll find plenty to laugh about--the kid's tongue stuck in the ice on a frozen wagon wheel, the skunks' revenge, too big pants and too heavy pistols, and the prank war between the kid and the "inveterate Confederate" ranch hands.

[Teri Clark]

I really liked this book. Written in 1960 it is the story of a boy growing up in Texas post civil war and follows his adventures on a ranch and on cattle drives. The boy's story is told in first person narrative. The voice is plain (common) and in language of the day. If you like the old black and white westerns, you will like this book.

[Martha Ryan]

Great book.

I read and re-read this book when I was a child. It is just as good as I remember. I ordered it so my 13 year old grandson can enjoy it as much as I did.

[Robert Yearsley]

Great book

I read this book when I was ten or twelve. It's great to reread after so many years. I looked for years to find it finally on Amazon