The Backslider by Levi S. Peterson
1987; University of Nebraska Press; Volume: 22; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/wal.1987.0117
ISSN1948-7142
Autores ResumoReviews, 223 Clear Fork Cowboys is not an exercise in nostalgia or romanticism, but instead carefully describes these men and the work they do and recreations they enjoy in a matter-of-fact tone. Lawrence Clayton, the author, has "cowboyed " for daily wages with the men he writes about, so he is able to describe their lives and their work firsthand. His wife, Sonja, is the daughter of a pio neer ranching family, and her photographs throughout the book reveal a life long familiarity with and sensitivity to the subject matter. The individual portraits of the cowboys are one of the high points of the book. As the intro duction states, the authors' purpose is "to counter the misconception that cowboySino longer exist." In the process of countering this misconception, the book avoids the glitter and mystique of so many contemporary movies and novels. In spite of its deliberate lack of romanticism, the book nevertheless is a paean to a way of life that many Americans are totally committed to. As Richard Ballard, one of the Clear Fork cowboys, says "Cowboying is my life. Because of the way I love it, I don't ever intend to do anything other than be a cowboy." Reading this book gives one an insight into why he feels that way. SYLVIA ANN GRIDER Texas A&M University The Backslider. By Levi S. Peterson. (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1986.. 361 pages, $12.95.) Readers who are familiar with Levi Peterson's short stories in Canyons of Grace and Greening Wheat will welcome this first novel. Set in 1956-57 southcentral Utah, The Backslider is the story of a 20-year-old Mormon ranch hand and his struggle with "the cowboy Jesus." Frank J. Windham is a strong, big-handed truck driver and general ramrod for J. Wesley Earle, who manages to make a profit raising hay on his ranch near Escalante. The Earles, Wesley and Clara, and their daughters Marianne and Jeannette, are Lutherans, tolerant of their Mormon neighbors but not interested in getting involved with Mormonism. Born to Mormon parents and taught religion in the typical Mormon fashion, Frank knows little about other religions, and is confused about Mormon theology—so confused, in fact, that his concept of God is that of a vengeful God who has no compas sion for those who are weak in the spirit and strong in the flesh. Frank is very strong in the flesh. Frank's obsession with his sinful nature and the consequent punishment he expects from God, parallels the obsessions of his family, friends, and other associates. His mother "knows" that eating flesh is sinful; his brother in a frenzy uses his hunting knife to destroy his maculinity; his fellow worker, 224 Western American Literature Nathan Woodbarrow, hasn't lived with his wife for years because of a stubborn conviction; Farley Chittenden's "visions" assure him that his particular brand of polygamy is the true way of life; and even Wesley Earle, despite his toler ance of the peculiarities of others, clings stubbornly to faith in science, sup porting his wife's Lutheranism only to avoid trouble. Some of the statements made about Mormons in The Backslider are mildly sarcastic and may offend Mormon readers who are overly protective about their religion, but Mormon readers who recognize their own human weaknesses will admit that Peterson's characters are, after all, human. In fact, it is the humanness of the characters that gives this novel strength. But it also benefits from Peterson's ability to show us the ranches, the small businesses, the towns, the powerful beauty of the southern Utah landscape. This is, indeed, a welcome novel from the hand of an expert story-teller. KENNETH B. HUNSAKER Utah State University Beyond the Grave. By Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini. (New York: Walker and Company, 1986. 235 pages, $15.95.) Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini collaborate on mystery-detective stories in which their respective sleuths, twentieth-century Elena Oliverez and nine teenth-century John Quincannon, manage to work on and solve mysteries though they are separated in time. In Beyond the Grave, a treasure chest buried in 1846 links Quincannon, after his death, to Oliverez, who...
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