True Grit

I enjoyed this immensely. Generally, I don't really like Westerns but this is a great story and has an excellent plot. Whilst sad, it is an engrossing and totally believable tale of the people and places of the American wild-west of the 1870s.

True Grit follows the journey of a stubborn young woman, 14 year-old Mattie Ross, as she seeks revenge for the murder of her father, enlisting the help of a Deputy US Marshall, Rooster Cogburn, because he has 'grit'. It's a wonderful tale of great courage and endurance on all sides. The novel's pace varies with the action it's describing: the long horse-rides are filled with extensive, languid character-revealing conversations, while the action scenes are eye-widening, fast-moving and sometimes horrifying.

I was surprised how close the original film starring John Wayne was to this novel, and as Donna Tartt read it I found I was seeing scenes from the movie in my mind's eye. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Ms Tartt's reading, which revealed how the written words ought to sound by intonation as much as by pronunciation. Because of the comparison with the movie, I found that the conversations with Stonehill (the horse dealer) lacked the irony and sarcasm that Strother Martin was able to inject in the film.

I loved it, I loved the characters, and Ms Tartt conveyed an empathy and love for the book herself in her reading, making it a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Be careful where you listen to this book - I was listening on commuter trains and on occasions gasped, smiled, laughed, and wept unable to stop, in front of wondering witnesses!

I loved this. I don't know how many times I've listened to it now. Donna Tartt's steady and unaffected yet humourous and expressive reading is perfect.

Okay, here's the thing, it took me ages to work out why it didn't feel right. I loved the story, the narrator's American drawl fitted it perfectly - even if she did sound a little nervous to start with. So why wasn't i getting it?

Then it hit me. Rooster Cogburn didn't sound like John Wayne - I know that sounds mad, but in my mind that's how Cogburn spoke.

I haven't seen the new film, though that's why i got this audiobook, because the new film is out. I guess if i had, then maybe I'd have got the John Wayne thing out of my head beforehand.

As soon as i stopped thinking about John Wayne as Cogburn, and just let the story flow, I became utterly lost in it.

It is a remarkable tale. The only other time I've ever been engrossed in a book about a teenage girl was in the Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, and they both share a similar gripping, powerful story about a brave girl you just can't help rooting for.

I guess everyone knows the story of True Grit, but what you get out of this are all the extra bits, the thoughts, the feelings, the bits you can't put into a film. This book will tell you more about the motivations and what really went on than you could possibly guess.

It's a must.

Gripping story, superbly narrated by Donna Tartt - thoroughly enjoyable.