Very good. ( )

901. Westerneran är på väg att dö ut. Och så även de hårdföra män som formade denna epok. Till El Paso Ci kommer den ärrade revolvermannen J.B. Brooks inridande för att ta ett sista farväl. Han är svårt sjuk och vill tillbringa sina sista veckor i stillhet. Men Brooks har många fiender och snart flockas ökända revolvermän i staden för att utmana honom på en sista storstilad duell.

This is an impressive novel.
Yes, it's a western and some people will dismiss it, for that. But it's not (for the most part) what you think of, when you think of a western. Yes, there are a few times that guns are fired and yes, the main character is an infamous "shootist". Referred to as a killer, assassin, gunfighter, etc.. Yes.

But it's the story of a man whose time is passing as his era is passing. Dying of cancer, he comes to El Paso for a confirmation of his diagnosis, from a doctor he trusts. The novel is the tale of his rapid deterioration, in the face of his illness. His coming to terms with who he is, what he is, and finally... that he can do something good, finally, with his death.

John Wayne played this character in the movie version. J. B. Books. It was Wayne's final role, to play the aging gunfighter dying of cancer, while Wayne was dying of cancer. (they even had to pause production, to allow him time to recover from illness during filming)

Certainly, the book is grimmer, darker, and far more brutal than the film. And I'm not talking about killings. Books is slowly destroyed by the cancer as people visit him, all trying to make a profit off his impending demise.

I am very happy that I read this sad book.
( )

It took me years to get around the reading this book. It has been on my list and in my mind for a long long time. And when I finally got there it left me speechless. It is so precise and so exact it is like a zen exercise just to read it.

It is a period piece in that it captures the very essence of a time and a man.

I cannot say anything but stupid superlatives. You must read this book to glimpse how excellent writing can be when done done like this. ( )

A gunslinger at the twilight of the Old West faces down a terminal cancer diagnosis with a big old display of real American machismo. When I was a kid I watched the John Wayne movie a few times on broadcast TV, and I never knew it was based on a book until I came across a copy at a used book sale earlier this year. The introduction mentions that Wayne steered the movie's end away from the book toward something a little more crowd-pleasing, and I have to say I agree with his choice. Still the book is a satisfying read if a little awkwardly written in places.

p.s., I see the movie streams on Amazon Prime. I'm going to have to give it another look soon. ( )