True Grit by Charles Portis
The works of Charles Portis have irrevocably altered the American canon, making him one of the country’s most enduring and unmatched literary voices. His most well-known book, True Grit, was first released in 1968 and has since received high appreciation from many ardent readers for more than fifty years.
This tale of peril and excitement in the old west served as the inspiration for two acclaimed motion pictures, the first of which starred John Wayne as Marshall Rooster Cogburn and won him his only Academy Award. The second, directed by the Coen brothers and starring Jeff Bridges, received critical acclaim.
True Grit by Charles Portis
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In Fort Smith, Arkansas, coward Tom Chaney murders Mattie Ross’s father and robs him of his life, his horse, and $150 in cash. Mattie is just fourteen years old at the time. With an unquenchable desire to get revenge for her father’s murder, Mattie tracks down and, after some persistent manoeuvring, recruits one-eyed Rooster Cogburn, the toughest US Marshal available, as her partner in pursuit. Together, they set out into Indian Territory in search of the murderer.
Reading True Grit is necessary. Not merely a classic Western, but a timeless work of American literature that is every bit as oddball, cool, hilarious, and honest as Mattie Ross.
Fans of the John Wayne classic or the more contemporary Coen brothers film have the opportunity to relive Mattie and Rooster’s journey and experience it as it was first told. It will be enjoyable to experience in its original form for aficionados of witty, taut storytelling. The 1968 release of Charles Portis’ famous western novel True Grit has Mattie Ross as the narrator. The finest summary of the plot may be found in the publisher’s book description: “True Grit chronicles the story of Mattie Ross, who is just fourteen years old when the coward Tom Chaney shoots her father in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robs him of his life, his horse, and $150 cash.
With an unquenchable desire to exact revenge for her father’s murder, Mattie locates and, after some persistent manoeuvring, recruits one-eyed Rooster Cogburn, the most vicious American available. Marshal joins her in the hunt for the murderer as they venture into Indian Territory. The real joy of this story is watching the relationship between these three very different characters who, at first, don’t want to work together as a team, but reluctantly do so. True Grit is essential reading, an undeniable American classic as eccentric, cool, funny, and unflinching as Mattie Ross herself. They all eventually come to realize that, when they cooperate, each of them is entirely capable of putting Chaney behind bars. In particular, Rooster and Mattie develop a close friendship as they learn to know one another…
