A Book for Readers and Writers: True Grit by Charles Portis

One of the best things an aspiring writer can do to become a better writer is read good books. Let’s face it. That is simply a gift for me. I can sit down and read a good book (or even a not so good one, for that matter, because I will learn from that as well) and not feel guilty about ignoring the laundry that has piled up or put off going to the grocery store one more day even though we have only two tablespoons of milk and one slice of bread left. It’s work. It’s my job. It’s a way I can fulfill my potential as a writer.

So recently, after all the brouhaha about the new True Grit movie, I decided to read the book. I never had. I liked the original John Wayne movie. I always thought it was a good story with great characters, but I never got around to reading the book. I heard part of an interview with the Coen brothers who made the new film. They talked about how taken they were with the language in the book and tried very hard to respect that. I was anxious to know what they were talking about.

Let me start by saying, True Grit is a magnificent book. Great characters; a well-crafted, compelling story; but most of all, extraordinary dialogue– unlike any other you will read in modern literature. And that, perhaps, is the point. A great story often tells itself through dialogue. The story is set at the turn of the century (the last one) and folks talked differently then – much more formally. At first, the dialogue was disconcerting. It was rather like walking next to someone who was wearing new corduroy pants. There was a sound in the background that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but something was “there.” The dialogue alone is a good enough reason to read this book, but there is so much more. It’s a very “writerly” book, without being too much so.

Mattie Ross, fourteen years old, the protagonist, wants to be a writer. There is a passage in the book that may have been placed there to remind writers not to fall too much in love with their own words, a danger to all writers.

“I have a newspaper record of a part of that Wharton trial and it is not an official transcript but it is faithful enough. I have used it and my memories to write a good historical article that I titled, You will now listen to the sentence of the law, Odus Wharton, which is that you be hanged by the neck until you are dead, dead, dead! May God, whose laws you have broken and and before whose dread tribunal you must appear, have mercy on your soul. Being a personal recollection of Isaac C. Parker, the famous Border Judge.

But the magazines of today do not know a good story when they see one. They would rather print trash. They say my article is too long and ‘discursive.’ Nothing is too long or too short either if you have a true and interesting tale and what I call a ‘graphic’ writing style combined with education aims.” (The bolding is mine.)

This just cracked me up! First, you’ve got to love that title. I’ll bet if I dug deep enough into my box of old writings, I could find something that sounds like that. I know I still feel like screaming, “Nothing is too long if it’s a good story!”  Notice, I didn’t say too short. No one has ever accused me of writing too short. As I have often said, I have trouble making a grocery list in under a thousand words.

But I digress. Back to the story. Mattie is a character who, in some ways, should be a role-model for all girls. She is single minded, focused, purposeful, and lets nothing get in her way. That said, she takes ridiculous risks, and if I had a kid like her (whoops, maybe I do!) I would lie awake nights. Rooster Cogburn is the man we would all want as a friend. He will keep his promises, no matter what. He does have true grit and, like this good book, never disappoints.

I’ve heard the new movie is terrific. I haven’t seen it yet, but I will. Our daughter, Maggie, an actor/director/psychologist/writer/singer/songwriter and all-around bright woman (see her fascinating blog at http://wandernest.wordpress.com/), says the girl who plays Mattie is outrageously good, and if she says so, it must be true. Anything with the under-rated Jeff Bridges is always worth the time.

In a sense, True Grit is a love story. Not the kind of romantic love that phrase usually implies, but the deep and abiding love that grows out of a mutual respect between these two friends. At times it was a slow and easy journey. At other times it was so intense, I forgot to breathe for pages and pages. It is a powerful story and well worth your time to read. I’m so glad I took the time. Thank you, Charles Portis, wherever you are, for such a lovely read. It was out of print, but will be re-released the end of May, but like the new movie, you can pre-order a copy now. Or if you happen to have a Kindle, you can buy the e-book without waiting. Maybe you’ll get lucky and find it at your library. I’m glad it’s being re-released, and I will buy a copy and read it again. Good books find ways to get into the hands of a new generation of readers.

Shane -- the real Best Western -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“Start early and work hard. A writer’s apprenticeship usually involves writing a million words (which are then discarded) before he’s almost ready to begin. That takes a while.”
~David Eddings~

Some Gifts for My Writer Friends: 

Anne R. Allen, whose name you see here quite often, has a terrific post for writers about building a platform. There are a LOT of misconceptions about this. Click HERE to read this helpful, honest post.

The women at Writers Helping Writers have a really important and useful post (don’t they always!) on creating unlikable characters the reader will care about. That’s a tough assignment, but they can help you with it. Click HERE to see this great post.

Writer’s Digest posted an interesting article called “5 Writing Lessons Inspired by Famous Writers.” It’s fun. You can find it by clicking HERE. 

When I last posted about a non-picture book, I promised a gently-read copy of Seeing Red by Kathryn Erskine to one of you. The lucky winner tonight is Janet Smart! WooHoo, Janet!! If you don't know her, she writes children's books and writes about her journey to become a published writer at her blog, Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch, which can be found by clicking HERE. Janet, I will get the book out to you this week.

A little over three years ago when this was a baby blog, I wrote a post about the wonderful western True Grit. I had read it for the first time. If you're interested (and how could you not be interested?), you can read that review HERE. I ended that post by saying good books find ways to get into the hands of a new generation of readers. Now one of my favorite books has been reprinted by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt with a nice, new cover so a new generation of readers might find it. 

When I was very young, I saw the movie Shane. I think I had a crush on Alan Ladd and thought it was a pretty cool movie. I had never read the book. Many years after that, I was poking around the dusty book room at one of the high schools at which I taught, looking for a book that would capture my sophomore students' interest. I found a stack of copies of Shane by Jack Schaefer. No one used them anymore, but I thought a western might be fun. And it had a movie to show while I graded the papers the kids would write while reading it. So I took a copy home and read it over the weekend. 

Oh, my. What a book. This is the kind of novel teachers dream about because is it so well crafted it has everything a teacher wants to teach about looking at literature. Even better, it is a great story told by a young boy and very accessible to young people. And it is based on one of the least known, yet most fascinating chapters in the history of the West -- the Johnson County Wars.  The only problem with it, as my students pointed out to me, was once you had read this rich and riveting story, the movie is frankly bad. I had to agree. I wondered if the screenwriter had even read the book. 

The story is a simple one. Young Bob Starrett lives with his parents on a farm in Wyoming in the late 1800s. One day he is sitting atop the fence of the corral and sees a stranger riding through the valley. That stranger, when he comes to a fork in the road, chooses to go to the right, which takes him to the Starrett farm, rather than the other path that

Jack Schaefer

would take him to the Fletcher ranch, home of all the villains in this book. And there are truly villainous villains, and plenty of them, that must be taken on by Bob's father and that stranger, Shane. There are great heroics, a hint of romance, and a true coming of age story. This is a little book -- 176 pages -- one you can read in a day, but you will find yourself savoring it long after.  And do yourself a favor -- when you finish the last page, go back and read the opening section. It's worth doing. 

I received a copy of the new printing of Shane that I reviewed for the San Francisco Book Review. (It is no longer the Sacramento Book Review.) I got to re-read one of my favorite books and got a new copy just for doing a review! How sweet is that? I have a couple other copies, so I am going to give away this gently-read copy to one of you. All you need do is be a subscriber or follower with a U.S. address and leave a comment. Please tell me if you are a follower or subscriber, and I'll put your name in a drawing.  If you want extra chances, spread the word by linking to my post on Facebook or your own blog or Tweet about this. Let me know you've done that and get an extra chance. 

Don't forget to check out Shannon Messenger's blog for lots of Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts. You can get there by clicking HERE.

Talk About Language! A Review of Healing Waters: A Hawaiian Story by Joyce Moyer Hostetter

If you are reading this in your email, don’t forget to click on the headline to go to my blog. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do. Oh, and I love comments. Spurring me on this week is the following quote.

"Once the game is over, the King and the pawn go back in the same box." ~ Italian Proverb

For my writer friends, here is a link to check out that might help you with writer’s block – something I’ve been dealing with lately:

http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.com/2011/07/brainstorming-lists-to-beat-back.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2Fkidlit+%28Adventures+in+Children%27s+Publishing%29  I’m trying to read my way out of my writer’s block, so you will be getting some reviews here, a win for you and me.

Now, to announce the winner of the copy of The Summer ofHammers and Angels, (insert drumroll here) – Michelle Fayard! It will go out in the mail very soon. Congratulations, Michelle.

When I first began this blog back in January, I wrote a post about True Grit. I was fascinated with the language Charles Portis used for the dialogue in that book. It really set the reader in the time and place of the book. If you missed that review or would like to revisit it, click HERE.

Joyce Moyer Hostetter

In August, I attended a wonderful writer’s retreat run by the Highlights Foundation and led by the wonderful editor Carolyn Yoder. You can read about that, if you like, by clicking HERE. One of the special treats that comes with attending a workshop or retreat at Highlights run by Carolyn is that you will have some visiting authors. We had two this year: Kate Messner and Joyce Moyer Hostetter. Stay tuned because I’ll be writing about Kate Messner’s sweet books in a future blog, but today I want to write about Joyce Moyer Hostetter’s incredible book, HealingWaters: A Hawaiian Story. Now I’m still having trouble with my Amazon link, so clicking on the cover of the book won’t do you any good, but if you click on the title, it will link you to Amazon where you can order the book.

Joyce and her charming husband, Chuck, had a nice long visit with us, and Joyce talked about writing, researching, and the writer’s life in general. It was a lovely time. Then, as icing on the cake, Joyce gave each of us an autographed copy of her new book, HealingWaters: A Hawaiian Story. I finally found time last week, as I fought my way through a terrible flu, to read it. I have to admit, it was hard to feel sorry for my coughing, stuffy self reading this amazing story of a young boy with leprosy.

I didn’t know much about leprosy before reading this book, just a kind of horrific idea about a disease that caused body parts to fall away. I knew there had been leper colonies, but never really thought about what that meant.

Pia is quite young at the beginning of the story, and the story seems to be about his deep friendship with an older boy, Kamaka, a brother/father figure to him, and the wonderful life Pia has with his warm, extended family. A picture is drawn of typical family life among native Hawaiians. But when Pia is diagnosed with leprosy at age thirteen, Kamaka disappears from his life. No one seems to know why Kamaka refuses to see him. Shortly Pia is wrenched from his mother and little sister and sent to the leper colony on the island of Moloka‘i.

On Moloka‘i, Pia finds conditions harsh beyond belief. No one is there to protect the young from predatory people, there is no hospital or even housing, food is scarce, clothing non-existent. Pia is alone – terribly and completely alone. After living like a wild animal for some time, in order to survive, he finally becomes the slave of a man, Boki, who takes care of himself by stealing from and intimidating others. Pia becomes hardened by this life. One day, Pia faces Tamaka again when Tamaka arrives on the island with his wife. His wife, Malia, has leprosy and Tamaka found a way to come along to care for her. Malia and ultimately Tamaka force Pia to examine his life and work through his problems, becoming emotionally whole again. It is a remarkable coming-of-age story of friendship and love and persistence. And let me underline “love” in that. It demonstrates many kinds of love very authentically. You will care deeply about these characters and be moved by this story.

In this heartbreaking first-person account, Pia tells his sad tale in a most compelling voice. It’s that voice and Joyce’s use of language to create it that captured my interest from a writer’s point of view. From the first page, I heard Pia’s voice in my head as clearly as if he sat next to me and told me his story. I thought a lot about how she managed to do this, and it made me think back to Charles Portis’s wonderful book. There are some distinct commonalities. Pia speaks in a rather formal way without the use of many contractions or any slang at all. There are occasional Hawaiian words dropped into Pia’s thoughts, and they remind us that Pia did not grow up speaking English.

“Again and again I hit the man who had entrapped me. I did not think of the moment that I realized I was trapped. I did not think about the hard work I’d done for the last four years, or the cruelties that Boki had inflicted on me. I did not think at all. I simply released the anger that had collected. Anger toward Boki, toward Kamaka, and even toward God.”

It doesn’t quite trip off his tongue, and I felt sometimes as if I were listening to some of my old students who learned English as a second language. And yet, it is so subtle that I really had to study the writing to come to this conclusion. It is absolutely consistent through the book and takes you directly to the time and place of this incredible story.

When you read HealingWaters: A Hawaiian Story, you will understand the quote at the beginning of this post. Let me know if you get the connection.

Also, things will be a little different here on my blog for the next three weeks. We will be traveling around Europe, and I will be blogging about that. Of course, I might get a book or two read on the planes, so I might write about that as well. And I have another author interview coming up, so I will try to post that as well. Stop by. Should be some fun stuff here.

Forget Black Friday...and a Book Give-Away

Forget the crowds and the lines and staying up all night. Give the gift of stories and reading this year. AND you don’t have to spend a lot of time sorting through all the books out there. I’ve been writing book reviews for this blog and for the Sacramento Book Review this year, so I have read a great number of books and can help you out with your list. Below are some great recommendations for everyone on your list. Enjoy! And remember, if you click on the book title, it will take you to my review in the Sacramento Book Review or to Amazon and more information about the books.

For the Littlest Ones:

King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bently and Helen Oxenbury – Possibly the BEST bedtime story of this century. Oh, and the illustrations are perfect.

When a Dragon Moves In by Jodi Moore and Howard McWilliam – Really taps into family dynamics and kids’ imaginations. And, BONUS, it's funny!

Pretty Princess Pig by Jane Yolen, Heidi E. Y. Stemple and Sam Williams – Cute rhyming picture book for the youngest of children.

There Was an Odd Princess Who Swallowed a Pea by Jennifer Ward and Lee Calderon – Funny, funny book based on an old folk song. The illustrations are funny, too. Kids will love this one.

Kindergarteners through Third Graders:

You Can’t Eat a Princess and You Can’t Scare a Princess by Gillian Rogerson and Sarah McIntyre – The most charming and funny princess books EVER with illustrations that will knock your little girl’s sparkly socks off. Not kidding! You can read a nice interview with Gillian Rogerson by clicking HERE.

Every Cowgirl Needs Dancing Boots by Rebecca Janni and Lynne Avril – This cute book has some great lessons in it, but they don’t overwhelm. The illustrations are very sweet.

Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems by Kristine O’Connell George and Nancy Carpenter – Without a doubt, the BEST collection of poems for sisters. The illustrations are heart-breakingly beautiful and so is the story.

Neville by Norton Juster and G. Brian Karas – If you know a boy who is facing a move, get this book. If you know a boy, buy this book. It’s really for everyone, but boys will especially like it. It’s a perfect book for children. That’s all. Just perfect.

Small Saul by Ashley Spires – What little boy doesn’t like pirates? This is a book with some important messages well hidden in funny pictures and a terrific story.

Those Darn Squirrels and the Cat Next Door by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri – All kids will like this funny book with even funnier illustrations, and they will want to have it read to them over and over. But you won’t care. It just as funny for the reader as for the kids.

For Fourth through Eighth Grade Girls:

Ivy’s Ever After and Ivy and the Meanstalk by Dawn Lairamore -- Girls will love these inventive stories with a clever, strong heroine. They are funny and smart. I hope there are more to come!

The Summer of Hammers and Angels by Shannon Wiersbitzky – Small town life in the south is a great frame for this sweet story that reminds us that it really does take a village. Read a full review of the book HERE and an interview with the author HERE.

Sparrow Road by Sheila O’Connor – This is a sweet little mystery with great characters that will keep the pages turning and warm the heart.

For Fourth through Eighth Grade Boys:

Upon Secrecy and By the Sword by Selene Castrovilla –These wonderful non-fiction books will trick kids into learning some real history. They will be so fascinated, they’ll never guess while reading these books they are learning. The first is the story of George Washington’s spy ring during the revolution. I’ll bet you didn’t know he had one. I didn’t. The second is a terrific story of the Battle of Long Island, a very personal story of sacrifice and heroism.

Big Nate on a Roll and all the Big Nate books in the series by Lincoln Peirce – Have a reluctant reader to buy for? Fool them with these “comic” books. You will hook them into a whole series of well-written books with great characters they won’t want to let go.

Magyk by Angie Sage and Mark Zug – This recommendation comes to you via my grandson, Gehrig, who said it was a really good book for kids who like fantasy. It’s on my list of to read books, but I’d trust Gehrig on this one.

For Teens and Those of Us Who Love YA:

Healing Water: A Hawaiian Story by Joyce Moyer Hostetter – This is historical fiction at its best – well researched, beautifully written, and a riveting story. I never knew much about leprosy, but now I do. Amazon says this is for fifth grade and up, but some of this is pretty mature and it’s rich enough to easy hold the attention of teens and up. Read a full review HERE.

Angry Management by Chris Crutcher – Just click HERE for the review I wrote earlier this year. Then click HERE, HERE, and HERE to read more about Chris Crutcher and some of his other books. If he wrote it, I recommend it and your teens will like it. These are mostly “boy” books, but girls will like them as well.

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt – Amazon says this is for kids ten and up, but I think it’s more appropriate for teens (and adults, frankly). It takes a certain maturity to see all the richness in this beautifully written coming-of-age story. This is a real winner. Read my full review HERE.

I’m Not Her by Janet Gurtler – This is a lovely, important book that might really help kids examine their own lives and how they live them. Unfortunately, it will probably be seen as a girl’s book and boys will probably pass it by. Too bad for them. They will miss a lot.

The Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill – Again, Amazon says this is for younger kids, but I don’t buy it. It’s strange and intense and a little scary. I think teens would really like this odd little book.

Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards – This stunning book is written in blank verse. It takes hardly any time to read, but is so rich and so powerful, one will feel filled and sated at the end. Girls, more than boys, will love this, and believe me, they will love it. You can read a full review of it by clicking HERE and an interview with the author HERE.

I’ll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan – This book is great for both guys and girls. It is filled with heartbreak, horror, and uncommon heroism. You can read the full review by clicking HERE.

For the Grown-Ups:

As you may know, I read a great deal of kid lit and it doesn’t leave much time for adult lit. One thing that means is I’m pretty picky on what I spend my limited time. It also means if you are a regular reader of my blog, you might already know about most of the books I’m mentioning. Some of these are books that have been around a long time, but good books are good books forever, and I don’t always get to the new books.

The Last Child by John Hart – This is such a good book, I can hardly say enough about it. It's a thriller of the first order. Read my full review from an earlier post by clicking HERE.

True Grit by Charles Portis – This is one of those books I’m going to read again as soon as I have time. The writing is amazing and the story and characters are powerful and memorable. I don’t care if this was written over sixty years ago. If you have someone on your list who loves good books, this is one worth having. Read my full review HERE.

The Lost Mother by Mary McGarry Morris – This book will break your heart, but you won’t be able to put it down. It will transport you to the Great Depression and a very real story of life in that time. Read the full review HERE and an interview with the author HERE. I also recommend A Hole in the Universe and Light from a Distant Planet by the same author. Those are the only books of hers I’ve read, but I will get to more as soon as I can. I love her writing.

The Help by Katherine Stockett – There’s a reason this has been such a red-hot best seller. It’s GOO-OOD. ‘Nuff said. Give it to yourself and anyone else who likes to read good books.

Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard – I know. I know. Another book that’s been around for years. My favorite son-in-law, Gordon, has been telling me to read Elmore Leonard for a long time. I just never got around to it. I certainly will be reading more books by him. This is funny and smart and full of quirky characters. I loved it.

That should pretty much cover anybody on your shopping list. Just think, with all the time I’ve saved you, maybe you can just sit down and read a good book. If you do, let me know about it. I’m always looking for something to read. And please leave a comment with what books you would recommend for shoppers this year.If you leave a comment with a book recommendation before my next post, I will put your name in a drawing for a good book. I don't have one of those fancy-schmancy random generators. My granddaughter, Gracie, will take care of the drawing. She is very honest. I won't tell you what book I'm giving away, but I promise it will be a good one.

If you are reading this in your email, don’t forget to click on the headline to go to my blog. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do. And please leave a comment. If you have trouble leaving a comment, please click on the title of the post and comments should pop up at the bottom. If you don’t have one of the accounts they ask for or don’t want to use that, please use Anonymous, but let me know who you are. Thanks. I love to hear from you.

Next post I will have some terrific links for my writing friends, so please stop by often.