Western Fiction Without the Sugar Finally a Western that does not sugarcoat frontier life or turn it into a nonstop/actionpacked gun fight! This novel is a refreshing well researched trip back to the frontier days of the Pacific Northwest. Gloss presents us with characters that feel very real and very ordinary but somehow adds a rare grace to their lives. The flow of her writing is delightful as always and I found myself very disappointed to reach the end of this novelI didn't want to stop reading!I should add though that this is not a novel for those who require books to be jampacked with actionyou will not find much adrenalin in this story! On the other hand if you are looking for a really good historical fiction read this is a great book for a rainy afternoon.
I love Molly Gloss! I loved "The Dazzle of Day" and now I love "The JumpOff Creek". Molly Gloss is a wonderful writer. The images are evocative the characters ring true the plot is interesting and engrossing. My only criticism is the frequency with which she describes "smiles" slow deliberate flat purposefully gently etc. it got a bit distracting. But that's a small criticism.
Another great book by Molly Gloss I loved The Hearts of Horses and this book is just as good. She writes a great story with wonderful characters.
It's all between the lines in the silences I probably shouldn't be reading Molly Gloss. I'm a guy after all. But maybe at 64 some of the nastiness of being a guy has finally worn off. Because I love the way this woman writes. The Hearts of Horses hooked me Wild Life wowed me and now this earlier absolute gem of a novel just blew me away. How does she do this thing where the essence of the story lies in what is not said? Lydia Sanderson Tim Whiteaker Blue Odell. None of them say very much of any real significance. All are stoic and uncomplaining of the narrow circumstances life has dealt them. In fact they are nearly inarticulate yet all these feelings of yearning and loneliness of sorrow and regret they are all somehow laid bare in the pauses. The descriptions the gestures the sidelong glances the facial expressions all become muted dialogue. Even the one character who seems unabashedly bad the angry bigoted boy that is Harley Osgood has an element of humanity in him that doesn't quite let you hate him. There are no simple blackandwhite characters in Gloss's fiction. There are instead infinite shades of gray and an attention to descriptive detail that makes you understand implicitly much of what is left unsaid. The yearslong friendship between the two cowboys Whiteaker and Odell is perhaps one of the best portrayals of love between men that fiction has to offer. And I'm not talking about any Brokeback Mountain kinda stuff here either. These are just two men who have stuck together through thick and thin mostly the latter and a bond has formed that is stronger than most marriages. Enough said. This is simply a superb story. There oughta be a tenstar rating for books of this caliber. And by the way what a wonderful film for thinking adults this could be. Thanks again Molly.
Go AheadJump into Jump Off Creek There is an old adage that two are better than one. But not according to Lydia Sanderson a stiff and awkward pioneer woman of the 1890's who left Pennsylvania after her husband died to make a stake in northeast Oregon country and the Blue Mountains. Fiercely independent and willing to face the hardships of living alone on a remote mountainside this story by Molly Gloss is based on original journals of the time and painstakingly accurate in its details of the area.The themewomen can be independent and do it as well or better than menis a popular one in these modern times though its spin gives me pause. Was this really so strongly portrayed in those days? To the author's credit however she did at times give a hint of Lydia's loneliness. I shall not see Evelyn Walker now nor any other woman until the Spring and must harden my heart not to be Lonely.
Life for a woman. The Jumpoff CreekI had a hard time getting started with this book but it grabbed me and I was hooked. Lydia's husband Lars passes away. She sells everything of his and moves to Eastern Oregon. She tries her hand at ranching. Life is hard all by yourself and the menfolk give her a bit of a hard time. Everyone raises their eyebrows. Can she do it? Lots of wildlife scenes.
If you like cowboy lit you will enjoy this. A wonderful past pace for western lit. Molly Gloss give her readers plenty of time to enjoy the setting that she has detailed in this book.
Realistic poetic and directionless I enjoyed this book. The character is compelling because her mission is and those around her each have fullydeveloped personae and thus are fascinating to watch but at the point where this story is ready to take off it goes nowhere. Lydia our strong female lead rejects male attachment but the author's point seems to be her soldiering on without needing something to fill that void. However the other void that of change or rise in her life is not addressed and the book ends up tapering out to a conclusion that reminds me of the null poetry of innumerable urban wordsmith slams I've attended. The point is the no point.
Great Book Molly Gloss is a great author with strong characters. Along with Hearts of Horses this book is a must have in ones own library. I have not found an author quite as good as Maeve Binchy but Molly Gloss in my books *sorry for the pun. *L** ranks right up there with Mrs Binchy.
Fantastic hard look like life in the Old West The JumpOff Creek is a fantastic work of fiction about the American West. Far from the aggrandized works of Louis Lamour or Zane Grey Gloss paints a picture of life on the marginswith all its attendant difficulty and most importantly plain old hard work. If you like me are a descendant of the pioneers who settled in the West this is a mustread.
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