The first time i read monte walsh was in high school, and i believe many of the lessons taught in this book about character and camaraderie prepared me better for the real world than college ever could. Their lives are divided between months on the range and the occasional trip into town. It is as good or in some respects better than shane, those respects being a lot of stories woven into the big one of the book. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading monte walsh. He was the kind of man who preferred coffee to whiskey and horseback to an easy chair. Unlike most people in the novel, monte walsh shows no growth at all. The name monte walsh is taken from the title of a 1963 western novel by jack schaefer, but the film has little to do with the plot of schaefers book. For a decade they are unbeatable and inseparable, working as trail hands throughout the west. Originally published in 1963, monte walsh continues to delight readers as a western classic and popular favorite. I have waited for years for this movie to be available on dvd, and finally it is available. Monte walsh kindle edition by schaefer, jack, simmons. But with the corporate buyups of wyoming land, monte and. Like a lot of recent westerns, its about the end of the old west. Monte walsh has a lot of western cliches, but schaefers portrayal of the protagonist monte walsh, his best friend chet rollins, and many other characters plus his depictions of the landscape completely rescue the book from those cliches.
Monte walsh and chet rollins are longtime cowhands, working whatever ranch work comes their way, but nothing they cant do from a horse. Along the way we are introduced to many characters and exploits some funny and some sad, to montes love for his horses and his best friend chet rawlins. Despite the early chapters of life on the trail and the larks of montes youth, monte walsh is essentially a sad book about the end of the west. The movie has little to do with the plot of schaefers book. They take a job at the ranch of cal brennan jim davis and meet an old friend shorty mitch ryan. The writing is superb, in that runon raconteur style that feels like the easy canter of a horse. The novel explores the cowboy lives of monte walsh and chet rollins as they carouse, ride, and work at the slash y with cal brennan. Mar 27, 2014 despite the early chapters of life on the trail and the larks of montes youth, monte walsh is essentially a sad book about the end of the west. Monte walsh the louis lamour trading post, books, short. Monte walsh book by jack schaefer 2 available editions.
As the west changes and their cowboy antics are challenged. Framed by the first and last chapter titled, respectively, a beginning and an ending, the novel introduces us to monte walsh at age sixteen in 1872 and takes us through his life as a cowboy to the time of his death in 19. Monte walsh and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. As barbed wire and railways steadily eliminate the need for the cowboy, monte and his friends are left with fewer and fewer options. The publication of shane in 1949, also available in a bisons books edition, brought jack schaefer 19071991 instant recognition as a major interpreter of the. Monte walsh by jack schaefer 2017, paperback for sale. Monte walsh lee marvin and his pal chet rollins jack palance are two over the hill cowboys seeking work in the town of harmony, arizona in the final days of the old west.
And so monte walsh, 50ish, thinks in a rather disorganized way of getting into some other. Jan 01, 1970 monte walsh has a lot of western cliches, but schaefers portrayal of the protagonist monte walsh, his best friend chet rollins, and many other characters plus his depictions of the landscape completely rescue the book from those cliches. The author had written a number of short stories around monte and chet beginning in the mid 50s and decided to add other chapters to their story, and voila. Monte walsh is one of the greatest american cowboy stories ever written, and the original movie with lee marvin and jack palance is superb. Schaefer never fails to bring characters to life and his stories never fail to interest. Monte walsh is the kind of man who preferred coffee to whiskey and horseback to an easy chair, a cowboy who could turn a stampede, string barbedwire barehanded and do anything else that needed to be done. But with the corporate buyups of wyoming land, monte and his friends may be forced to move on. In any case, the argument is irrelevant, because the book works.
Monte walsh dvdin the late 1800s, diehard cowboy monte walsh tom selleck refuses to give in to the changing times, even though his lifestyle is fast becoming a. Monte walsh jack schaefer 1970 for archie contents a beginning monte two of a kind slash y in harmony xyz antelope junction christmas eve at the slash y trail herd payment in full dobe chavez hattie harmonizing powder kent hellfire all in one place drifters a middleaged man an ending a beginning 1872 a boy and a horse. It has a great story, wonderful characters and is one of those books you hate to see end. But schaefer takes the horse discussion to extremes. The author had written a number of short stories around monte and chet beginning in the mid 50s and decided to add other chapters to their story. Monte walsh tom selleck and his friends are cowboys and bronco busters, plying their trade in the wyoming territory of 1892. Monte walsh is an aging cowboy facing the ending days of the wild west era. New work opportunities are available to them, but the freedom of the open prairie is what they long for. The publication of shane in 1949, also available in a bisons books edition, brought jack schaefer 1907. It shows how a man sets certain standards and tries to live by. It is a beautifully crafted period piece, describing the west and its cowboys during a time when it was in transition to modernity.
Monte walsh by jack schaefer, 9780826358578, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Jul 18, 2017 western with lee marvin and jack parlance. Hes the quintessential, hardliving, hardloving cowboy decked out with chaps and spurs and, in the end, fighting for all that is right and decent. Monte walsh is a classic western, maybe the best ever written, and deserves to be read even by those who are not normally taken by the genre. Theres way more discussion of and about horses in monte walsh than is usually encountered in a western.
Monte walsh has never met a horse he couldnt ride, and chet rollins has never met one he couldnt rope. Chet manages to adapt and survive in the new world. The way in which the chapters are formatted, with every chapter almost being a self contained story, gives the reader a sense of scope and allows the book to easily skip around the life of monte walsh. I had hoped for something more in my main character than an overgrown teenager whos able to endure significant hardships. Monte, a friend says to lee marvin, do you realize how many cowpunchers there were out here 10 years ago. Buy monte walsh by schaefer, jack warner, dove, eric from amazons fiction books store. Monte walsh has never met a horse he couldnt ride, and chet rollins has never met one he couldnt. Monte walsh monte walsh audiobook, by jack schaefer. Monte walsh, a remake of the earlier movie, starring tom selleck, isabella rossellini and keith carradine index of articles associated with the same name this article includes a list of related items that share the same name or similar names. Monte walsh is the kind of cult novel that is carried around in backpacks and passed on to heirs.
A classic about the american west and the life and times of one tough cowboy, monte walsh. Monte walsh is as lovely a western as ive seen in a long time. Monte walsh is a criminally underrated western which i think every one should read. Monte walsh could bust a bronco, turn a stampede, survive on mashed beans, take on two in a brawl, string barbedwire barehanded, and do anything else that needed to be done. Monte walsh by jack schaefer book cover, description, publication history. The 1963 book monte walsh by jack schaefer is one of the great western novels, and the 1970 film that was made of it, starring lee marvin and jack palance, was really very good. Inspire a love of reading with prime book box for kids discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1. Partial to pretty women, gambling, and practical jokes, monte doesnt have to look far to find trouble. Book and film influenced a lot of people, among them western aficionados such as actor tom selleck and writer robert b. In some families, christmas eve at the slash y, a superb middle chapter of the book, is read aloud to children during the holidays. Monte walsh by simon wincer simon wincer, tom selleck, keith. Shane is an excellent book but monte walsh surpasses the classic. With tom selleck, isabella rossellini, keith carradine, george eads.
Loosely based on the 1963 western novel monte walsh by jack schaefer, the film is about two longtime cowboys whose solitary and predictable lives on the range are inexorably changed when a. Id call molly gloss the hearts of horses almost a sequel to monte walsh by jack schaefer, and i consider monte walsh one of the perfect novels. The book then follows monte walsh though the following years of his life right to the bitter end still brings a tear to my eye. Dec 30, 2015 william devane explains the cowboy life. But it is in monte walsh, first published in 1963, that schaefer finds room to express the breadth of his understanding of and affection for the west of cowboys, cattle drives, cow towns, and wideopen spaces. Luckily for him, montes best friend, chet, is always there to post bail or quickly get monte out of. Monte has a longterm relationship with prostitute martine bernard, while. Monte walsh is a 2003 canadian madefortelevision western film directed by simon wincer and starring tom selleck, isabella rossellini, and keith carradine.
Jack schaefer truly captured the cowboy life and culture. Monte walsh is a 1970 american western film directed by cinematographer william a. Alas, the advance of civilization has all but rendered monte and his comrades obsolete and with the increasing corporate buyups of wyoming land, these relics of the old west have practically nowhere else to go. Men have named their sons monte and chet after reading it. Monte walsh by jack schaefer and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Jul 23, 2012 id call molly gloss the hearts of horses almost a sequel to monte walsh by jack schaefer, and i consider monte walsh one of the perfect novels. Apparently, im not alone in my admiration for this book. Fraker his directorial debut starring lee marvin, jeanne moreau and jack palance. For me, this got a little tiresome especially as the author gives short shrift in describing the beauty of the american southwest. Monte walsh is the kind of man who preferred coffee to whiskey and horseback to an easy chair, a cowboy who could turn a stampede, string barbedwire barehanded and. Recently, i bought the handsome trade paperback, published in a bison books edition by the university of nebraska press. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Monte walsh is taken from the title of a 1963 western novel by jack schaefer.
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