Rating: 
Summary: Worse than the movie?
Review: Apparently I was tainted by the classic 1952 film before I read this book. In the movie Alan Ladd plays the eponymous hero, and although the audience can see he represses whatever mysterious past he has, the film shows a reluctant gunfighter trying to fit into Homesteader life. The end of the film shows Shane facing down a "stacked deck," finally revealing how deadly his nature is, as he kills the villains in the story. I love the tension between two personas, as well as the conflict between the Starrett band of homesteaders versus the Rikker cowboys.I saw the movie so many times, I felt it was time to take on the book. The easy reading kept me occupied just over an hour, and was so disappointing. I was expecting more psychological tension between the lifestyles, more insinuated romance between Shane and Starrett's wife; perhaps more build up to the end of the greatest Western ever filmed. Instead I read this ego-trip version of Shane who knows how good he is and doesn't bother with modesty. His stint as a farmer seems more like killing time between gunslinging. The subtle romance of the movie, seems to spawn from the book's adulterous "could-have-been's". There is this cheezy scene our narrator catches between Shane and Starrett's wife about upholding honor over lust, and respect Joe Starrett as the proper husband. By the end of the book we already know how great Shane is, and expect him to win all the gunfights (though again, I did see the movie first). This book seems to have flat, one-dimensional characters. The plot of a drifting gunfighter landing into the hands of a family struggling against hired guns is still entertaining, but not enough to recommend the book. I recommend the movie, it's much more entertaining and date-compatible.
Rating: 
Summary: Shane & Old Yeller, the 2 greatest stories of all time!
Review: I first read this book at about 14 years of age. Now, perhaps I loved it because it was not assigned to me, but because I checked it out of the school library. At any rate, I doubt a better novel will ever be written. The only novel to equal Shane is Old Yeller. I'm working on my own novel, Hear Me Whimper, Feel My Pain (about Arabia after T.E. Lawrence) and can only hope to elicit a small portion of the emotion from readers that either Shane or Old Yeller yanked out of my heart. To be sure, there are a lot of good, heart-wrenching stories available. Where The Red Fern Grows, Gentle Ben come quickly to mind. Shane, though, and Old Yeller, are the top two stories of all time. In print, audio, or video, either of them will touch any open-minded person's heart.
Rating: 
Summary: I hated it
Review: ... Although it seems I am the only person who expressed my feelings for this book negativly my feelings are true. This book was BORING and students do not have to go threw the pain and sorrow. Sorry if any one got offended.
Rating:
Summary: I hated it
Review: I am a student from Saxton Middle school. Although it seems I am the only person who expressed my feelings for this book negativly my feelings are true. This book was BORING and students do not have to go threw the pain and sorrow. Sorry if any one got offended.
Rating:
Summary: It's awsome baby
Review: I think Shane was an excellent book. I especially like Shane. He puts so much character into this book. I mean he's a farmer a gunfighter and a look out for the Starrets and other homesteaders. I think Shane was a true hero when he shot Wilson and the mean old land owner. I recommend that anyone should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful and Exciting Novel of the American West
Review: In the autumn of 1965, I was required to read this book as a freshman in high school. I thought it was a great book then, and my appreciation for it has deepened over the many years since then. This is a truly great novel. As a high school freshman, I liked it because it told a good, traditional story of the American West. As I've grown older, I have also discovered its themes of fidelity, the struggle between the frontiersman and the farmer, and the question of whether violence can be a solution. Shane is not just one of the greatest novels about the American West. It is one of the greatest novels ever written.
Rating:
Summary: A Western in a category all in its own
Review: My father named me after the book's main character and perhaps that's what led me to write my own Western novel ("Bounties"). Of course, "Shane" can't be topped and is a unique Western in its own category. While I rely on humor to tell my stories, Jack Schaefer paints a picture of a man trying to escape his violent past and eventually has to accept who he is and that his destiny is something he can't escape. This book is not just a Western but a beautiful tale about growing up, boyhood dreams, and heroes that emerge from wide and unforgiving landscapes. Thanks to Schaefer for giving us a book that continues to inspire so many people.
Rating:
Summary: Intense and Beautiful
Review: The film version of Jack Schaefer's 1949 novel "Shane" is one of those touchstone movies of childhood, along the lines of the unforgettable tearjerker "Old Yeller." The last scenes of the film are sure to bring a lump to the throat of the most stalwart among us. With memories of the film firmly etched in my mind, I decided to read Schaefer's novel, to go to the source itself and see whether the book is better than the movie. I have to say Shane as a novel is a must read, even more important than watching the film version. The plot should be familiar to many people. The Starrett family is working some land in Wyoming, trying to cut a living out of the rugged landscape. Several other families are staking claims in the area even though Fletcher, the big rancher in the region, hates their presence and is working behind the scenes to drive them out. The homesteaders look to Joe Starrett to protect their interests in the face of this intimidation, a battle Joe is slowly losing until the arrival of Shane. When Shane arrives, he quickly takes up residence with the Starrett family, working as a hand around the place. Within a short period of time Shane finds himself sucked into the feud between Fletcher and the homesteaders. Ranch hands goad Shane into several violent fistfights, although Shane goes out of his way to avoid trouble. As the level of conflict escalates and the dangerous qualities of Shane emerge, Fletcher brings in a hired gun from the outside to deal with the troublesome homesteaders for the last time. The final scenes of the novel balance gripping action with the heartrending departure of Shane back into the wilderness from which he came. Schaefer pulls off a triumph of epic proportions with this short novel. Not only is the story told in a sparse, no nonsense style, Schaefer makes Joe Starrett's son Bob the narrator of the story. Through this touchingly innocent narration, Bob manages to convey the mysterious qualities of Shane while still revealing adult themes. For example, a rather platonic love emerges between Shane and Marion, Bob's mother. Joe knows about the love springing up between the two but chooses to keep it in perspective. The beauty of this incident is how Bob relates it; he discusses it just as a child would, without really understanding the implications of the situation while the reader understands perfectly what is happening. Brilliant, just brilliant! Shane is the main character of the novel even though we do not learn much about him. Shane is an enigma clad in dark clothing, riding in off the land like some mysterious omen of doom. Schaefer tells us nothing about Shane's past, although it is obvious he is a master with a pistol and that he has a checkered past involving trouble of some sort. Whatever trouble Shane is in, he is what we would call "good people." Shane wants to avoid conflict, but he will never back down from a fight or fail to help people who treat him as a friend. His past haunts his actions, making him reluctant to rely on his seemingly vast reservoirs of strength. When pushed to the wall, Shane lashes out with a terrible violence usually kept in check because he knows what he is capable of doing to a man. There are several themes arcing their way through this book. One deals with fate and how it is impossible to escape your past. Another involves violence; not reckless violence of the type employed by Fletcher and his goons, but a measured violence used to solve a seemingly insolvable situation. Schaefer shows us that no matter what our intentions in this life, there are going to be times when violence in the name of a cause is the only answer to those who are incapable of relying on any method other than intimidation to get what they want out of life. This is an excellent read for any type of reader both young and old, although that does not make it a necessarily easy book. The bare bones writing style makes it very easy to gloss over important themes and symbolisms. In other words, "Shane" is a book to think about both when reading it and after finishing the story. Reading the story more than once may not be a bad idea, as more themes are sure to emerge from this fascinating character study. Schaefer dedicated "Shane," his first book, to his first son. What a beautiful and wondrous tribute.
Rating:
Summary: Shane
Review: I just finished reading Shane right now. I picked it up at school and I didn't stop reading until I finished, if that tells you anything about it. It's an extremely powerful book. I feel a bit miffed reading other reviews by kids saying it's a boring, stupid book about a stump. Maybe they just skimmed it because they had to and didn't let themselves get involved with it or something because if you let yourself, there's no way you couldn't get involved in it.
Shane is a very powerfully written person. You grow to love him and it almost made me cry at his inner torment as he made himself face life head on, no matter how much it hurts, and while he does it teaching a little boy, too.
I wish that there hadn't been any killing. Yet, somehow if everything had worked out "happily ever after" the message of the book would not have hit me so hard.
This book teaches you so much about life and I can easily give it 5 shining stars.
Don't skim the book like a fashion magazine. It's a deep book. Let yourself get lost in it.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of Paper
Review: Don't get me wrong, the guy has talent. To fit a 1 paragraph story into a 119 page book takes skill. If Schaefer had any plot to the storey, it might actulally have been a good book. But it wasn't. There were about three things that actually happen in the story, and they are obvious. I wouldn't have read this book if I hadn't been forced to.
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