Rating: 
Summary: Not the Romantic West
Review: A woman homesteads by herself in eastern Oregon. There are the standard dangers, problems, terrors and tragedies. This is saved from being trite by the stoic and undaunted character of the woman. Gloss also avoids the usual romantic happily-ever-after with the man next door.Gloss has used journals and diaries of women in the West in hopes to draw out some of the nontraditional women's roles in the West, "I hope their strong, honest voices can be heard in this book." Showing that gender roles weren't fixed as many choose to believe, we see Lydia doing hard, manual labor, and Tim cooking and doing the wash. Lydia, the heroine of the book, abandons typical women's roles in the very beginning when she picks up and moves West alone to start a new life. "I'd rather have my own house, sorry as it is, than the wedding ring of a man who couldn't be roused from sleeping when his own child was slipping out of me unborn." Gloss attempts to break down the Western stereotypes for men. Tim and Blue are like real men we could meet if we were on the frontier, not larger than life heroes that commonly dominate Western myths. Unlike heroes admired for their independence, Tim and Blue are dependant on others and each other on the frontier . They become almost like children in their dependence on others, "He turned and looked at her, ducking his chin." Things don't come easily for them and they struggle like any human being would have, "Tim put the gun down in the mud and went, shaking, across the bloody wallow on his knees." Even being a cowboy is rejected in this book, "He said he'd seen years when a good cowboy couldn't by himself a job, but a good cook could pretty much always find work." Besides narrations from characters, Gloss utilizes Lydia's journal entries to make the story more real, personal, and familiar. This helps us recognize and remember Lydia's real identity, while the central narration builds the events of her daily life in a flowing form. Dreams of easy success are shot down in The Jump Off Creek. Giving a truer picture of the West, The Jump Off Creek is not a romanticized myth of adventure and easy success. Gloss establishes a view that shows the desperation of lives in a West where there is nothing new and glorious to see and experience every day. We see the miserable and wretched hard lives that one might have encountered. Fantasies of ease and comfort in the West are gone in this novel. It isn't a fairy tale like the traditional Western, where the good guy always wins, and the hero can handle any problem successfully. This book doesn't contain a lot of action, but instead it brings out the monotonous daily life of establishing a new home in the West and centers on the domestic side of the West. Gloss tells us of the every day grind and challenges of lives where sometimes people fail and hours of hard work are only the beginning of more hours of hard work.
Rating: 
Summary: Incredible and artistically portrayed
Review: An incredibly poignant novel that reads and feels as sharp and clear as a freezing cold running stream. The author writes crisply, economically and precisely to reflect the times and circumstances of the lifestyle of Lydia Sanderson. Lydia is widowed and decides to purchase what remains of a forsaken homestead in the Blue Mountains. The challenges that she must face up to are great, being a woman, even greater, still. The work she must do is brutal, the weather a force to break men's souls, the physical labor more demanding than anything she knows. Yet she accepts this completely. In brilliant detail the author portrays how this woman lived alone and prospered. It is a fascinating accounting of her lifestyle; the items she has in her possession, what she eats and how she transports herself and her animals. All of this is told conservatively as her journal recounts the challenges that unfold before her. In contrast to her personal life, the reader is introduced to the folk that live nearest to her. These are strong and beautiful characters, tough and tender, strong and bending. In very difficult times, they came together and helped each other. Their spirit is reflected through the accounting of Lydia's story.
Rating:
Summary: I love Molly Gloss!
Review: I loved "The Dazzle of Day" and now I love "The Jump-Off 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. Molly Gloss: write more, faster!
Rating:
Summary: I love Molly Gloss!
Review: I loved "The Dazzle of Day" and now I love "The Jump-Off 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. Molly Gloss: write more, faster!
Rating:
Summary: jump-off creek is an excellent example of great storytelling
Review: Molly Gloss has written an incredible tale of a pioneer woman who settles in the wilds of the Oregon frontier. To classify this book as a 'western' is to diminish not only the story but the excellent prose that Ms Gloss has given to the reader. Lydia Sanderson,the heroine of this story, is an example of the thousands of women who settled the western United States,surmounting extreme conditions, with or without a man. This story is told from the thoughts and perspectives of human beings in a time when words were important and not just 'bantied about' without thought.The book gives one, in this high tech day and age, a sense of the real and important, in daily living. It puts ones feet back on the ground and gives a new perspective to our lives. Thank you Molly Gloss for this heroic woman and the encouragement she is to women today.
Rating:
Summary: A woman's portrayal of the harshness of the West.
Review: Molly Gloss' The Jump-Off Creek is a story about a woman's independence in Western society. It follows the lives of the three main characters; Lydia Sanderson, Tim Whiteaker, and Tim's Indian friend, Blue. Throughout the book, Gloss tells her story by using the different perspectives of her characters. These changes in points of view allow the reader to understand the main characters personalities and to watch them develop. Gloss uses the harshness of the West and its winters to strengthen her characters, and she tries to show her reader that life in the West was not as easy as it normally appears to be in typical western stories. The Jump-Off Creek demonstrates life through hardships and trials. But, through them all, the main characters are able to persevere and are made stronger. It is my opinion that her portrayal of the West was well done and will challenge the reader to think differently about how he or she conceives the West. Gloss' book is a western which shows the reader how a woman saw the West. No longer is the western only about cowboys and Indians. Now, the reader is allowed to see how a woman, and an independent one at that, perceived the West and the trials that she had to go through just in order to survive the first winter. Lydia Sanderson's husband had recently died and had left their farm land to her. With a restless soul and the need for transformation, Lydia is driven West to find a new life. However, Lydia does not go West to find a new husband. She does not need any help from a man, and is rather reluctant to accept any help from the opposite sex. She intends to make it on her own, and throughout the book, she does maintain her independence. She does not conform to the lifestyle of the other women in the West. Gloss uses to reflect women's position in today's society. Gloss intends to prove that a woman and survive without a man. And, what better way to prove this for the young women of today than through a story of the harsh West? Gloss keeps the theme of her abnormal depiction of the West in her portrayal of Tim Whiteaker. Mr. Whiteaker was not a typical cowboy. In fact, none of the men in this story are. The men in this book depend on each other a lot more than the men are allowed to in other westerns. Tim and Blue rely on each other so much that, in the end when Blue dies, Tim becomes so lonely that he begins to rely on Lydia's company. These men are also quite squeamish when it comes to blood and injuries. For example, after Blue is injured during a fight with a bear, Tim calls Lydia to stitch up Blue as he cannot stomach the thought of doing it himself. Tim even feels the need to step outside while she is working. Tim shows that he is not a typical cowboy in many other ways. He is a cook, and he even gets a job cooking at a ranch during part of the story. He never finishes a fight, at one time he falls off of his horse, and many times the reader sees that Tim has bad aim while shooting a gun. None of these are characteristics of a cowboy, and may make one wonder how he has been able to survive the harshness of the West. In her journal entries, Lydia constantly refers to Tim in childlike terms, as she often does while she speaks to him. Throughout The Jump-Off Creek, the weather plays a big part in the characters' lives. Especially during the winters, the reader is able to see how hard a settler had to work in able to get through an ice storm. A settler did not only have himself to worry about, but any animals that he might have, as they could not care for themselves during this weather. If the animals were to die, the settler would have a hard year to look forward to as his livelihood would be gone. The toughness of the land, and the weather that came with it, eventually drew the characters closer as they tried to band together in order to survive. I feel that Gloss's portrayal of the sexes in her book are quite beneficial to young women in today's society. So many times, in literature and other areas of life, women are called upon to take the "back seat," or a supporting role. In The Jump Off Creek, Gloss shows that this secondary role is not necessary. She shows her female readers that they should feel free to take the reigns and strike out on their own adventures. No longer must a woman need a man. Also, Gloss shows her male readers that it is "O.K." to ask for help. They need not "do it alone" as so many men feel they need to do in today's society. I enjoyed this book, and I believe that while it may challenge a person's traditional view of the West, it does so thoughtfully. Now, the reader is allowed to make their own decisions about "how the West was won," and to consider the role of the female. Could the West have survived without the woman? Gloss does not think that it would have. And, she challenges her reader to think the same.
Rating:
Summary: A Nontraditional Western Female Plot Entwined with a Stereot
Review: Mrs. Lydia Sanderson had married and her husband had moved into her room at her father's house so that she could continue to run her father's farm and help nurse her sick father. After both her father and her husband die, she sells all her husband's possessions and buys a relinquishment claim in the Blue Mountains of Oregon, leaving her binding life behind: "The truth is. . . I'd rather have my own house, sorry as it is, than the wedding ring of a dead man who couldn't be roused from sleeping when his own child was slipping out of me unborn" (81). This novel is the story of about the first year and a half of her homestead. She is an incredibly laconic person and the converstations seem to drag on because more is understood or thought than is spoken. She is an incredibly positive woman who faces homesteadings challenges without self-doubt or equivocating whether it is evicting the squatters from her home, chasing a bear that is stalking her goats, or spitting cedar shakes for a new roof. However, she always tries to be proper. A neighbor rides up when she is nailing poles into the chinks of her log cabin, and she comments, "I smiled an presented myself as ladylike as liable to be with a hammer in my hand and nails in my teeth!" (102). Lydia Sanderson's character is awe-inspiringly solid and by the end, she is willing to teach the male hero how to put up hay. Unfortunately, the more traditional male physical conflict story of two ranchers, Blue Odell and Tim Whiteaker take over the narrative. Wolfers begin to shoot cattle to provide meat for their poisoned bait, and they set leg-hold traps that wound a bear so that it begins to prey on domesticated animals. Blue and Tim avenge their losses, but the "evil wolfers" always retaliate with stronger measures. The conflict escalates from words, to loosing a picketed horse, to a fist fight, to a horse getting shot, and finally culminating in a rifle shoot-out. The two plots are entwined because Mrs. Sanderson and Mr. Odell and Mr. Whiteaker are neighbors who help each other in times of need. The men's unthinking impulse to retaliate for injustices is in sharp contrast to Mrs. Sanderson's well-considered, steady progress in building herself a home and good neighbors. It is unfortunate that a woman homesteading alone in order to establish her own freedom wasn't enough.
Rating:
Summary: This is a simply beautiful story of pain and triumph.
Review: The Jump Off Creek: A Book Review The nineteen nineties feminist movement has been slowly permeating every domain of society. Female empowerment has become an increasingly common protagonist theme among all genres of literature as well. The American western novel has become subjugated to a new hero. In Molly Gloss's novel The Jump Off Creek the feminist literature movement finds a graceful home.
Jump Off Creek tells the story of Lydia Sanderson, a widow taking up a claim in the Blue Mountains of Oregon. The text begins with a spring journal entry. This is the beginning of Ms. Sanderson's endeavor. The journal entries are continued throughout the story, not only to keep the reader aware of the time line of the story, but also to provide a unique first person account of Lydia's life story. Lydia says of herself, "I am used to being Alone, in spirit if not in body, and shall not be Lonely, as I never have been inclined that way. I believe what I feel is just a keenness to get to that place and stand under my own roof at last." Lydia's strong and independent character is a careful mix of gracefulness and ruggedness. Her resourcefulness and amazing endurance makes the Ingalls family look passé.
Yet the feminist tones of this book manage to make concessions and include some strong male characters to compliment Lydia. On her way to the homestead Lydia meets Tim Whiteaker. Tim is a John Wayne figure minus the capacity for conversation. Early in the text the model for Tim's behavior is clearly etched. One passage describes him as such: " He stood at the edge of the creek, not looking toward (Lydia), while he pushed his hair back up under his hat with the heel of one dirty hand. Then he gave the dog a word, took hold of the bay's reigns and started off afoot..." Gloss managed to soften this granite figure by making him an excellent cook. Tim even ends up taking up cooking at a nearby ranches when funds are running out. But while his bread baking and cattle branding may be time consuming, Mr. Whiteaker still manages to take time out to pay special visits to Ms Sanderson. It is through these visits that a fragile and special friendship blossoms just as Lydia's wildflowers.
Tim also serves as an avenue for another friendship to develop for Lydia. This being with Blue Odell. Blue triumphantly beats the so-called Indian side-kick role in this novel. He develops more three dimensionally than Tim. This is in part due to the relationship he has with Lydia. While these two characters have more dialogue, it is their physical interaction that speaks the true message.
Of course the standard Western elements are retained in this novel, even though the main characters have been assigned the opposite sex's code of conduct. Man still has to fight nature; the weather and a bear. The conflict of man vs. man is also important. In this case there is only one drunken fight, but the altercations between some unscrupulous wolf hunters and Lydia's male friends nourish the western need for violence.
Another important characteristic of a Western novel is the main character's quest for identity. Molly Gloss obviously wrote in the previous characters to aide in this task. But it often takes a character of the same sex on the opposite end of the personality spectrum to clearly define that identity. The definition comes via the means of Evelyn Walker. She is a young, rotund, bubbly, mother of three. Gloss's careful attention to these two women allow Evelyn's brightly smiling face to enhance Lydia's stern beauty, not diminish it any.
Lydia's character is also enhanced in the story through a series of social gatherings at the Walker's. The reader admires her quiet, near invertedness among the chatty and whimsical fourth of July celebration. This process of the reader identifying with Lydia is a slow process throughout the story. In fact, the nature of the text never moves the reader to feel very strongly about any of the characters, because indeed, Lydia never demonstrates any strong emotions. Perhaps the only persons the reader may ever develop active feelings towards are Lydia's late husband and her parents, who aren't even active in the story!
The simple link that the reader develops with Lydia, and which Lydia in turn shares with the characters, is reflective of the style of prose in which this novel was written. The plain language is honest and appealing. The matter-of-fact narrative is believable. Simply put, the journey the reader embarks on with Ms Sanderson develops into a wonderful meditative exploration of self. I thoroughly enjoyed my journey and strongly suggest that other readers pack their bags for the trip.
Rating: 
Summary: Yawn
Review: This book and the setting seemed to have so much potential, yet Gloss failed to give soul to her characters. I never identified with any of the characters or cared about their future. The bad guys were evil, the heroine heroic, the cowboys shallow but no characterization beyond the stereotypes. Page after page of obstacles to overcome, yet no insights to be gained. If this book hadn't been a selection of my book group, I never would have stuck it out to the end.
Rating:
Summary: A realistic pioneer story
Review: This book has some of the most real and fascinating characters and interpersonal interactions I've read in any book. Author is similarly skilled in describing the natural world. An amusing contrast came to mind: the squeeky-clean pioneer life depicted in the "Little house on the prairie" books and the muddy, bloody, painful and filthy reality of Gloss's account of pioneering. Putting these things together you have a novel that is remarkably lifelike, believable, raw and experiential for the reader. I took this as a great and realistic story about pioneers in the mountains of Oregon at the turn of the 20th century. The depictions of the genders are interesting, believable. Both men and women are complex and have clear strengths and weaknesses in the book, and neither gender is held as superior. In the end the men and women seem more alike than not. But I'll note that I didn't see this book as being "about" gender. I find I'm commenting on the depiction of gender in this novel only because it is remarkably true to reality, which lies in contrast with much fiction, I believe. I highly recommend this book and Gloss's "Wild Life", and if you want more reading about women in the west during this era, I urge you to read Diane Smith's Letters from Yellowstone.
|
