What do you think?
Rate this book
Missouri
This earnest, violent, yet utterly transfixing gay love story is set in the nineteenth-century American Midwest. Douglas Fortescue is a successful poet who flees England for America following a scandal; Joshua Jenkins is a feral young outlaw who was taught how to shoot a man at age six. The two men meet when Joshua robs Douglas’ carriage and takes him hostage; soon, a remarkable secret is revealed, and these two very different men grow closer, even as Douglas’ brother tries to “save” him from his uncivilized surroundings.
First published in Germany, Missouri is available in English for the first time.
First published in Germany, Missouri is available in English for the first time.
128 pages, Paperback
First published August 31, 2006
3 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 21, 2020
Ein bisschen enttäuscht war ich, als ich feststellen musste, dass Missouri keine tiefergehende Ausarbeitung einer Sequenz von Fortescues Fabrik ist, sondern eine ältere Erzählung, die Wunnicke dann in dem späteren Roman fast ohne Änderung übernommen hat.
Die Enttäuschung hielt habe aber nicht lange an, denn es ist schön zu sehen, dass diese Erzählung auch ohne die Einbettung in die größere Geschichte sehr gut funktioniert.
Dennoch muss ich sagen, dass ich die komplette Lebensgeschichte von Douglas Fortescue so liebgewonnen habe, dass ich der kürzeren Geschichte nicht ganz dieselbe Punktzahl geben kann.
Die Enttäuschung hielt habe aber nicht lange an, denn es ist schön zu sehen, dass diese Erzählung auch ohne die Einbettung in die größere Geschichte sehr gut funktioniert.
Dennoch muss ich sagen, dass ich die komplette Lebensgeschichte von Douglas Fortescue so liebgewonnen habe, dass ich der kürzeren Geschichte nicht ganz dieselbe Punktzahl geben kann.
December 12, 2010
Missouri” by Christine Wunnicke [Arsenal Pulp Press; Tra edition, 2010] is a story that either pleases or displeases; there is very little middle ground shown by its critics to date. Therefore, I will have to say that I liked it. I found it wonderfully zany; offbeat; and unlike any other gay, American Western tale I have every encountered before.
Douglas Fortesque is an ambitious court clerk in northern England, and not just a little bit of a con man. He therefore lets his hair down (literally), dyes it black, starves himself until he has that gaunt, poet-like appearance, and pens utter gibberish to the wild acclaim of an effete London literary society. Indeed, the more outlandish he becomes the more acclaim he receives from a pretentious, gullible public.
Eventually tiring of this masquerade he retires to the country, but legitimacy only makes him less interesting and also vulnerable to his critics, and in a thinly veiled allusion to Oscar Wilde’s persecution he escapes to the United States where his brother wishes to buy property.
Meanwhile, Joshua Jenkyns, the young, slightly psychotic half-breed offspring of a notorious American outlaw is terrorizing the Midwest, learning how to read and becoming enamoured by the disjointed words of one, Douglas Fortescue. In a bizarre turn of events, therefore, these two unlikely characters cross paths and Fortescue is hurried away on horseback to become Jenkyns’ coddled hostage.
Thus begins a process of assimilation whereby Fortescue is stripped of his pretentions, and Jenkyns of his savagery, until they meet in an ethereal love-making scene that is beautifully understated by the author. Any other approach—graphic for example—would have cheapened it.
One of the criticisms that has been leveled at this novella is that it is too short (134 pages) to develop a complex story of this nature; and I agree that it could have been longer. However, in those 134 pages Wunnicke has developed two very unforgettable characters, a unique love story set against a stark, primeval wilderness, and an outcome that is totally unpredictable.
Highly recommended. Five stars
Douglas Fortesque is an ambitious court clerk in northern England, and not just a little bit of a con man. He therefore lets his hair down (literally), dyes it black, starves himself until he has that gaunt, poet-like appearance, and pens utter gibberish to the wild acclaim of an effete London literary society. Indeed, the more outlandish he becomes the more acclaim he receives from a pretentious, gullible public.
Eventually tiring of this masquerade he retires to the country, but legitimacy only makes him less interesting and also vulnerable to his critics, and in a thinly veiled allusion to Oscar Wilde’s persecution he escapes to the United States where his brother wishes to buy property.
Meanwhile, Joshua Jenkyns, the young, slightly psychotic half-breed offspring of a notorious American outlaw is terrorizing the Midwest, learning how to read and becoming enamoured by the disjointed words of one, Douglas Fortescue. In a bizarre turn of events, therefore, these two unlikely characters cross paths and Fortescue is hurried away on horseback to become Jenkyns’ coddled hostage.
Thus begins a process of assimilation whereby Fortescue is stripped of his pretentions, and Jenkyns of his savagery, until they meet in an ethereal love-making scene that is beautifully understated by the author. Any other approach—graphic for example—would have cheapened it.
One of the criticisms that has been leveled at this novella is that it is too short (134 pages) to develop a complex story of this nature; and I agree that it could have been longer. However, in those 134 pages Wunnicke has developed two very unforgettable characters, a unique love story set against a stark, primeval wilderness, and an outcome that is totally unpredictable.
Highly recommended. Five stars
February 18, 2012
ARGH. I hated this so much I recycled it.
This book could see a half-decent book from where it stands, but only if it tippytoes on a chair and peers *real* hard. The prose had moments of beauty, the odd graceful line of description, but for the most part it blunders from wooden character to cliche' to wasabi-snorting idiocy.
That's it for the praise. To finish my review this thing buys into the ridiculous notion that it isn't sex unless somebody's something goes in somebody else. Women writing gay men seem particularly prone to this, and not just in fanfiction. LUBE. PLEASE. Look, you go try it dry then come talk to me, writer. Oy.
The book contains little to no conflict other than 'when and how will they get together'. Once they'd fucked she had nothing to do with them 'cept kill them. Which brings me to my biggest rage. YET ANOTHER DEAD GAY ROMANCE that someone had the NERVE to blurb as ...destined to become a gay men's classic for its earnest, romantic reinterpretation of a time and place in American history traditionally closed off to gay readers.
I bought the book because it had cowboys on the cover and I liked the font in which the title was rendered, so perhaps I deserved this.
This book could see a half-decent book from where it stands, but only if it tippytoes on a chair and peers *real* hard. The prose had moments of beauty, the odd graceful line of description, but for the most part it blunders from wooden character to cliche' to wasabi-snorting idiocy.
That's it for the praise. To finish my review this thing buys into the ridiculous notion that it isn't sex unless somebody's something goes in somebody else. Women writing gay men seem particularly prone to this, and not just in fanfiction. LUBE. PLEASE. Look, you go try it dry then come talk to me, writer. Oy.
The book contains little to no conflict other than 'when and how will they get together'. Once they'd fucked she had nothing to do with them 'cept kill them. Which brings me to my biggest rage. YET ANOTHER DEAD GAY ROMANCE that someone had the NERVE to blurb as ...destined to become a gay men's classic for its earnest, romantic reinterpretation of a time and place in American history traditionally closed off to gay readers.
I bought the book because it had cowboys on the cover and I liked the font in which the title was rendered, so perhaps I deserved this.
January 25, 2015
This, I would have thought, would be a very difficult thing to carry off - a love story about an 19th century decadent English poet and a bandit cowboy in the Wild West, yet she does it so suavely and with an admirable economy of prose, which at first seemed a bit sketchy but as the narrative progressed it became more and more believable.
May 20, 2021
The idea for the story line is fantastic. However, the book lacked dialogue, which made it flat and impossible to create deep characters. I'm so disappointed, because it had a lot of potential to be a great gay romance about the 19th century.
June 20, 2012
I think I liked this after it was finished breaking my heart.
July 31, 2025
this was a short and concise read. i was expecting something slightly different, more angst, more feelings and build up. however, the way the story of Douglas and Joshua is told is beautiful in it's own right, specifically the way Wunnicke portrays the intimacy and desire between them.
this is a very very underrated book, especially among English readers. i obtained my copy of the book in a second-hand store and had been very excited to read it since finding it.
the book presents Douglas and Joshua as two troubled individuals, struggling to find their place in the world, and rejecting parts of themselves, even their ancestry. i like the short interactions/chapters, i don't think the pacing was too quick either.
still, i would've preferred this book to be longer, for more detail. i feel it lacks an extra layer of depth which i was waiting for. the ending was rather bittersweet and brutal, and it leaves you feeling a sense of regret for what could've been.
this is a very very underrated book, especially among English readers. i obtained my copy of the book in a second-hand store and had been very excited to read it since finding it.
the book presents Douglas and Joshua as two troubled individuals, struggling to find their place in the world, and rejecting parts of themselves, even their ancestry. i like the short interactions/chapters, i don't think the pacing was too quick either.
still, i would've preferred this book to be longer, for more detail. i feel it lacks an extra layer of depth which i was waiting for. the ending was rather bittersweet and brutal, and it leaves you feeling a sense of regret for what could've been.
April 22, 2023
It was a slow burn and the romance didn’t make much sense to me? I think it was a little delusional but I love a Romeo and Juliet moment!
June 18, 2022
Eine gute Idee, aber sie hätte nur ein bisschen länger sein können, um richtig prima zu sein!
October 6, 2010
very simple and informative. even though the book was written originally in German and then translated to English, i believe both the author and the translator kept a very raw old English style of prose that formatted around the years the story took place.
i wonder how the writing of this book would look or sound in German, taking that the slang and way of phrasing sentences was based on a classic 19th century mid west America dialect.
maybe it was more like a challenge for the writer to take on such specific time and social period of America and develop it with such complicated and unacceptable circumstances of proper behavior back in western times and write it in another language beside English.
i give Ms. Wunnicke props for trying on this complicated subject. the book somehow lacks emotions, it is a bit predictable and unbalanced.
July 3, 2011
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The language was terse, which was fitting for the main character Joshua. On the occasions that Douglas, the English poet, was allowed to utter more than a few words, they seemed flowery and out of place, like he himself was in the American Midwest.
I made my way quickly through the book (about 4 hours) because I need to return it to someone in my book club, but I'm sure a deeper reading would reveal the importance of the characters in the gang all having Hebrew names, especially Joshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus). I imagine bathing in the river has some nice baptismal significance.
I made my way quickly through the book (about 4 hours) because I need to return it to someone in my book club, but I'm sure a deeper reading would reveal the importance of the characters in the gang all having Hebrew names, especially Joshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus). I imagine bathing in the river has some nice baptismal significance.
August 5, 2023
This short book is just wonderful - how a young cowboy (and most cowboy were nothing more than boys in reality) who is basically feral, to all intents and purposes a violent uneducated savage, falls in love through his beautiful words with a young Englishman, a poet and aesthete. The two could not be more different but what results is an utterly beautiful, funny, moving and trans-formative love story - I won't say anymore - just that it was brilliant book that stayed with me and that I love. I would give it ten stars if that were possible.
April 21, 2012
I found Missouri to be a very unique book, one that I know I'll have to read again just to pick up some of the finer points that passed me by. I had a hard time following the cadence of the story, it was uneven and disjointed. It would be easy to blame the translation from the original German to English, but I don't think the entire blame lays there.
Hopefully after a second reading I'll have a better understanding of this book. I give Missouri three and a half stars.
Hopefully after a second reading I'll have a better understanding of this book. I give Missouri three and a half stars.
March 26, 2024
What a wonderful surprise this small book by Ms. Wunnicke is! It seemed impossible to take the English dandy to the American frontier and create a love story with an outlaw. Somehow, she did it, and it is remarkably good. It is definitely a gay love story for the ages, and I'm so very happy to have read it.
Read
February 5, 2016Brokeback 2
April 3, 2011
4.5 Stars.
I just loved the characterisations in this quite short story.
I just loved the characterisations in this quite short story.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews