Rating: 
Summary: The writing alone rates
Review: a top score. The author writes a 19th century novel the way it might have been written 150 years ago. In terms of scope, I think this novel closely resembles A.B. Guthrie's, The Big Sky, more than anything else. It takes time to tackle these Post Modern pieces and it takes a while to care about anyone in here but gradually the reader begins to understand the relationships. A lot of stuff goes unsaid which I think speaks well for any writer. We know that Aloysius is a devoted friend to Custis and we figure it out without being clubbed with it. The relationship between Jerry Potts and Custis also figures in this vein. I would like to have read more of Potts' story. My only criticism and it is mild is that Charles narrates a bit too long.
If you want to read something ultimately satisfying in non traditional ways, this might be your ticket.
Rating:
Summary: A rousing epic of the Old West
Review: At the center of this epic, multi-voiced novel of the American and Canadian West is a lost Englishman and the motley crew that sets out across the prairie to find him. Acclaimed Canadian writer Vanderhaeghe uses this fairly ordinary plot device to tell a rousing, riveting tale of love, lawlessness and the vast cultural gaps that bind and divide.
Simon Gaunt is the missing young man. Favorite son of a self-made British industrialist, Simon disappeared during an 1870 mission to bring Christ to the Indians. The reader knows Simon got lost in a blizzard and was discovered - and maybe rescued - by an Indian "holy being." Simon's family knows only that the leader of the missionary expedition has been found dead, near Fort Benton, on the Montana frontier.
Henry Gaunt sends his two remaining sons, Addington, the militaristic one, and Charles, the artist, to America to find Simon. The cultural gulf between the Brits and their former colonials is instantaneous, wide and deep.
"Until Addington attempted to requisition this room for his own use, I was disgusted by the state of it, the very room which the proprietor boasts is the finest the Overland Hotel has to offer," reflects Charles, Simon's fraternal twin.
Haunted by memories of his gentle, otherworldly brother, Charles organizes the expedition, but waits impatiently on his older brother's leadership. Addington, loaded for bear (literally), has acquired a shady biographer in the tradition of all Western adventurers, and seems to look on the expedition as a rustic "Grand Tour," complete with a wagonload of claret and expensive brandy. Charles, chafing to leave, finds them a guide - Jerry Potts, a half-Indian, half-white woodsman, torn by his heart's allegiance to the two warring cultures he embodies.
But on the eve of their departure a young girl is murdered, and as an indirect consequence, the party grows by three. The girl's sister, Kate Stoveall, left in Fort Benton while her no-account husband sells whiskey to the Indians, joins the party as a cook, seeking the thugs who murdered her sister. Custis Shaw, Civil War veteran, loner and Bible-reading enigma, rides out after Kate, the woman he loves. And saloonkeeper Aloysius Dooley, loyal friend to Custis, goes along to keep an eye on his friend.
Vanderhaeghe ("The Englishman's Boy") moves seamlessly between viewpoints, going deep into his characters' psyches and memories, exploring their self-doubts, joys and demons, without, however, stinting on the action, of which there is plenty, both past and present.
Often the challenging terrain often seems adventure enough: "Powdery clay steams into the air, cloaks men and beasts in a choking, sallow cloud. Everyone is too dry-mouthed to speak, the only sounds accompanying the advance are the faint music of jangling trace chains, the plangent protest of axles, the dull plod of hooves."
And the ill-sorted companions begin to grate even more on each other. "Seeing Addington Gaunt prink and preen is a most grievous pain in the fundament," thinks Custis, who also notes: "The baleful gaze Potts is turning on the Captain makes me a tad uneasy." Custis has more serious matters on his mind, though. Kate and Charles Gaunt, an unsuitable pairing if ever there was one, are spending a lot of time sneaking off together. But Kate rejects his warnings and Charles is too much the gentleman to even acknowledge them.
Vanderhaeghe's West is much like the best of Larry McMurtry's - full of deep souls and vicious creeps, cruelty and kindness, paradox and contradiction and miles of beautiful, dangerous country. His prose is rich and vivid in every voice, from Custis' earthy vernacular to Jerry Potts' barely articulate pain, to Charles' earnest and natural refinement. A big, rousing, involving story from a writer who ought to be better known than he is.
Rating: 
Summary: Two Wests, one good story
Review: For more than 100 years, authors have sent their heroes into the twin uncharted territories of the wild West and the untamed heart, but few have risen above horse opera or dime novel. Owen Wister's "The Virginian" and Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove" remain the gold standard for literature of the frontier West.Uh, make that the American West. It's good to be reminded, as Guy Vanderhaeghe's "The Last Crossing" does, that Canada also had a vast, unexplored western territory. And while rails were rapidly being laid across virgin earth and Custer was hurtling toward his last stand, no territorial border truly divided the American and Canadian wildernesses. Marauding Indians, greedy whites, hungry animals and a budding mythology simply didn't appreciate international boundaries. Blending intense action with masterly characterization, Vanderhaeghe appeals on various levels. Whether his huge popularity in Canada will trickle south of the border remains to be seen, but this new novel is a sharp and eloquent import. The big question is: Can American readers embrace a sprawling adventure of higher literary value? He has sometimes been dunned by critics for excruciatingly detailed prose, but such criticism is neither warranted in this case nor unexpected in modern commercial publishing, where action is more highly valued than character. Vanderhaeghe disregards those boundaries. "The Last Crossing" is a far more satisfying story of a small band's westward journey than McMurtry's rambling, four-part Berrybender Narratives, which began in 2002 with "The Sin Killer" and will end later this year with "Folly and Glory." While Vanderhaeghe doesn't rival McMurtry in his prime, - these characters are not nearly as engaging as "Lonesome Dove's" Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call, nor are their travails as gripping - he has contributed a new frontier novel that is braver and more eloquent than all but a handful in the Western oeuvre, Canadian or American.
Rating:
Summary: Great storis of thw old west makes this a entertaining novel
Review: Hard to get into but when it does it's a great novel.It's fullof suspence,adventure,romance and action everything a novel should have.Parts do drag on and those parts are hard to get through becouse they are the first 100 when you get passed that you'll love this book.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting Mix
Review: Historical fiction with a modern eye overseeing all. Learned about some new people, but the pacing left a lot to be desired.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!!!
Review: I don't read many books (oh I've got enough hobbies to kill a horse), but on a tip from a friend I picked this one up. And did I enjoy it? It is amazing. Amazing. I dare say the best read I've ever had. It's a real pass-it-on-to-your-loved-ones-and-read-it-quick-so-we-can-talk-about-it-book. I so recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding In All Respects!
Review: I found this to be a superbly crafted epic. The writing is excellent and the story compelling. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: I loved this book and could not put it down. The story is interesting and the writing is wonderful. His characters are rich and complex. I'm going to tell everyone I know about this book. Such pleasure must be shared. Highly recommended. Order one now! Operators are standing by!
Rating:
Summary: Great Canadian Novel
Review: I tried to read the Englishman's Boy but couldn't, so I was hesitant to read the Last Crossing at my wife's behest. Hesitantly I began. But soon I was right in to it.
I enjoyed it! A great summer read.
Rating:
Summary: Not very interesting
Review: If you've read Lonesome Dove, then you've already read a similar, but much better book (and LD has it's own faults!).This is another book that needs fewer characters with more development.The character Charles was the most developed and his narratives just went on and on. In fact, that is my main complaint with the book: it should have been wrapped up in one tight ending instead of "this is what happened to Potts, this is what happened to Addington, then this happened to Charles....". Seemed way too drawn out.
Would have rather read about Simon than Charles. The book really grabbed me when Simon was crawling inside the buffalo and then that just got forgotten about.
And the resolution of the murder: the reaction seemed a little too "oh,well I'll be darned" to be believable. Another missed opportunity to bring excitement into the story. To sum up, fewer pages, more action, more character development of key characters.
|
