READ ROUTINE
I, along with scads of other Americans who like to read, have put in my share of time spent reading what we used to call "westerns". They are referred to as "Oaters".Then, we also read a lot of fantasy, fantasy, murder mysteries and bundles of far-out books by authors who specialized in writing elegantly about future science discoveries we have yet to see. We called them "SI-FI," Who-done-its?" and, then we have another classification which brought us stories of feminine trepidation matched with male aggressiveness called "romances". These pulp-type books - far-ranging in new subject matter ran from "censored" to "best sellers" on an international market.
I read a "western" last week.
I rather enjoyed it, too. I usually do if I read them with an open mind and can recreate a feeling we had about that time. I admire the skill many such writers exhibit , too, in putting the story together to prevent readers from guessing the outcome or the events leading to the usually happy ending. Part of the enjoyment of reading westerns is to be found in the fact that you know what is going to happen. You compete with the author in finishing the process.
The novel I happened upon last week was titled "High Country Cowboy". It was written back in 1994, I find and seems to have been the first novel written by Sandra Moore, who, at that time, lived in Wyoming having moved there from Texas. That may be why the story had a widen feel for me -Texas plains and Wyoming uplands.
She followed all the usual guidelines for such a novel and did a fine job of it. The girl in the story is a bit more complex than usual - a college graduate who returned to her ranch home to find an auction in progress selling the equipment and livestock. A young neighbor has bought the family ranch from her father without her knowledge - all except the house and fifty acres. The reader is well aware whom he is to hate, distrust and suspect of all sorts of evil trickery right from the
start. As the girl is beset with all sorts of rumor about him and she gradually finds the accusations to be poorly founded or false,
she realizes she is in love with the young man. That's the way women are supposed to react in such books, which makes it all more interesting. Under mysterious circumstances her father is killed and we have suspects in mind promptly. There is a weak county sheriff; there are ranch hands, and an an old derelict loner who has a place nearby who styles himself as her father's "best friend."
It is the girl's actions as she tries to find out what happened to her father which leads to be climax of it all in the dramatic capture of the killer and an assurance that the girl will inherit the family ranch after all as the wife of the hero.
Readers of western novels always say they knew "how it was all going to end". A skilled writer can, however, keep them still wondering right down to the last lines.
A.L.M. Sept. 12, 2005 [c543wds]
