From the Bookshelf of Never too Late to Read Classics…

Butcher's Crossing

John Williams

Start date: April 1, 2023

Finish date: June 30, 2022

Discussion: Frontier Western Classics

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What Members Thought

Oct 26, 2023 Sara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, nature, literary-fiction, adventure, survival, american, historical-fiction, western, candi-said-read-it, coming-of-age

Butcher's Crossing is, in part, a coming-of-age story. Will Andrews, a young man of twenty-three, under the influence of reading Emerson, leaves Harvard and his Boston home and heads for the West and an untamed nature that he hopes will help him to define himself. He is offered a desk-job by Mr. McDonald, an old acquaintance of his father, but he decides instead to throw his lot (and all of his money) into a buffalo hunt with a wily and skilled hunter named Miller; Miller’s side-kick, Charley Ho ...more

49 likes · Like · see review

Sep 10, 2022 Chrissie rated it really liked it

Shelves: flora, love, usa, audible-uk, classics, hf, 2023-read, fauna, life-stages, westerns

It’s the 1870s. Will Andrews has been studying at Harvard. After his third year he finds himself questioning his future path in life. He is drawn to nature and the wide open spaces of the West. He takes himself off to the small settlement of Butcher’s Crossing, in Kansas. There he meets a hunter who tells of huge buffalo herds. Andrews is willing to pay for the expedition, for the experience of the journey. The buffalo hides will bring in a fortune. This is the lure for the hunter, but for Willi ...more

34 likes · Like · see review

May 28, 2016 GONZA rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I would have never thought that I would love so much a book about butchering bison in the snow, but it happened and so I'm reading Stoner and I have Augustus on my waiting list. When this "Williams fever" came I was a little bit suspicious, I'a a snob, but I have to admit that this book is remarkable for many different reasons. If you like Cormac McCarthy, then you may also love Williams.

Non avrei mai pensato che un libro sulla caccia dei bisonti nella neve mi avrebbe preso cosí tanto, invece é ...more

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Apr 22, 2018 Laura marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: nyrb-classics

5* Stoner
TR Butcher's Crossing
TR Augustus ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 20, 2016 Janet rated it really liked it

John Williams is a master craftsman. His character descriptions, site settings, clean, clear prose, and patient plot development give us a magnificent portrayal of real life in the western US during the late 1800s. This book is a memorable gem.

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Mar 31, 2025 AZ BOOKS rated it really liked it

"He felt that wherever he lived, and wherever he would live hereafter, he was leaving the city more and more, withdrawing into the wilderness." pg 48

"You live all your life on lies, and then maybe when you you're ready to die, it comes to you-that there's nothing but yourself and what you could have done." pg 250

...more

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Aug 10, 2022 Thomas Ross rated it really liked it

I just read the reviews here and I can't possibly add anything of import to what has already been written. I found Dolors' thoughtful review to mirror my thoughts. There is no way, however, that I could convey those thoughts as beautifully as Dolors does. ...more

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