Customer Reviews
HOMBRE - a classic of the novel form - By: Bill Keeth, 17 Oct 2003 
Elmore Leonard's HOMBRE is, irrespective of genre, an absolute classic of the novel form. In my opinion it's the best example since THE GREAT GATSBY of what I'd term "self-effacing first person narrative", by which I mean narrative in which the author so contrives matters that the narrator - Carl Allen in HOMBRE - is not the main character or event in the story. I personallly think this makes for a semblance of objectivity since the person telling the story necessarily remains, like the reader, on the periphery of the central events.
I would unreservedly recommend Elmore Leonard's 's westerns to anybody interested in 'a good read' - but especiallly to any reader who's completed his "modern" books. It's not that I'm a particularly big fan of the western genre, but Elmore Leonard's output is infinitely superior to the norm. With great dialogue & memorable characters they make for a very tight read. I am reading GUNSIGHTS at the moment & am very pleased thus far. VALDEZ IS COMING is second only to HOMBRE: more Hemingway than Louis L'Amour.
There is a sort of underlying thematic quality to these two books, to VALDEZ in particular, wherein the young United States is itself the hero or heroine, as the case may be. For example, Gay Erin in VALDEZ shucks off her attachment to the smalll shopkeeper & the cattle baron in favour of the man of honour . . . & the man of honour (VALDEZ, HOMBRE), social outcast though he may temporarily be, is able to come into his own precisely because he was born in the Land of the Free.
You just know this ain't gonna happen in present day downtown Detroit or Dade County FLA.
Beats me why WHEN THE WOMEN COME OUT TO DANCE had to reprise so many stories out of THE TONTO WOMAN when there are so many uncollected Elmore Leonard western stories out there just waiting to be corraled.
PS If you like the narrative voice in 'Hombre', mosey on over to Arkansas & Missouri & check out 'True Grit' by Charles Portis. It's another classic of the western genre with a quite differently stunning first person narrative voice.
A subtle and fast paced study of the human character - By: karsten_hill@hotmail.com, 07 Jun 2002 This is unlike any Western you are likely to read, although it has many of the essential ingredients that characterise this style - arid landscapes, outlaws & plenty of trouble - this is not what this book is about. The book is much more. It puts a colourful mix of characters together & shows how they face tough situations, themselves & ultimately how they try to make sense of each other. To say alll this though & not mention the darker theme this book presents would not do it full justice. Leonard makes a number of subtle points about the characters, which he weaves into the story from the outset & it isn't until almost the very end that you think you've grasped the understanding. Then, as quickly as it fell into place, it's taken away again at the climax leaving you guessing & wondering. It's reallly no wonder they turned it into an excellent film of the same name - 'Hombre.'
Still not convinced - then just remember that even if you aren't a fan of the Western this is from the same author that wrote Out Of Sight & Get Shorty.
