From the Bookshelf of Around the World in 80 Books…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought
I was totally unaware that there had been a book until the remake of the movie came along. This is a great adventure tale relayed by way of monologue delivered by the irrepressible Mattie Ross, one of the most interesting female characters ever to grace the pages of a Western novel. The plot is uncomplicated, the dialogue brilliant. The ending will surprise anyone whose only exposure to the story came by way of the John Wayne portrayal of Cogburn.
I'm not sure what more I can say than, "Wow!" I don't know if I've ever been more surprised by a book. I run across it a few times in the library and thought about checking it out, but then I kept remembering that John Wayne won his only Oscar in the movie version (which I haven't seen), and I don't really care for John Wayne, so that must have subconsciously led me to keep leaving it on the shelf. But, I finally picked it up, took it home, dipped into it -- and was instantly hooked. This is a g
...more
To my complete surprise, I really loved this. I don’t read many Westerns, so I wasn’t expecting much, but I ended feeling deeply moved. Also to my complete surprise, Donna Tartt did a fantastic job reading the audiobook.
“You do not think much of me, do you, Cogburn?”...more
“I don’t think about you at all when your mouth is closed.”
“You’re making a mistake about me.”
“I don’t like this kind of talk, it is like women talking.”
“I was told in Fort Smith that you rode with Quantrell and that border gang.”
Mattie Ross is an incredibly rich character who had a mission and would stop at nothing until she saw it accomplished. I appreciated the references to what it was like to live in western Arkansas in the years right after Reconstruction. While she constantly refers to Rooster as the one with "true grit" it's clear that that term really refers to her. This book is enjoyable and shows a little sliver of American history (racism and all) while being an exciting tale of adventure on the wild frontier
...more
The strength in this book is the phenomenal narrative voice created by Portis for his young female protagonist. Her hard, unyielding character shines through and it is a character as hard as the men and the land she encounters. The most recent film adaptation actually adheres quite well to the book (or you might say that Portis adhered to Hollywood Western conventions in the book).
Ok, Westerns aren't my genre, but this book earns 3.5 stars from me. It has the spunky 14 year old heroine, whose language has always amused me with its funny stilted cadence, the crusty almost has-been cowboy hero, and some extremely funny moments.
My library had to fetch this up from the archives for me, and it looks like it hasn't been read in years, which is a shame. Is it really 40 years since the movie came out? And yet you can still hear the Duke as you read the lines! This book has true ...more
My library had to fetch this up from the archives for me, and it looks like it hasn't been read in years, which is a shame. Is it really 40 years since the movie came out? And yet you can still hear the Duke as you read the lines! This book has true ...more
"I have slept out at night. Papa took me and Little Frank coon hunting last summer on the Petit Jean."
"Coon hunting?"
"We were out in the woods all night. We sat around a big fire and Yarnell told ghost stories. We had a good time."
"Blast coon hunting! This ain't no coon hunt, it don't come in forty miles of being a coon hunt!"
"It is the same idea of a coon hunt. You are just trying to make your work sound harder than it is." ...more
"Coon hunting?"
"We were out in the woods all night. We sat around a big fire and Yarnell told ghost stories. We had a good time."
"Blast coon hunting! This ain't no coon hunt, it don't come in forty miles of being a coon hunt!"
"It is the same idea of a coon hunt. You are just trying to make your work sound harder than it is." ...more
Feb 07, 2009
Kathy Jo
marked it as to-read
May 03, 2010
Ching-In
marked it as to-read
Jul 17, 2012
Anie
marked it as to-read
Jul 29, 2013
Janna
marked it as to-read
Jan 28, 2016
Tammy AZ
marked it as to-read
Dec 14, 2018
Jean-Marie
marked it as to-read
Jun 14, 2020
Erica
marked it as to-read
Nov 16, 2020
Tanya
marked it as to-read
Sep 04, 2025
Anya
marked it as to-read
