The Big Sky Paperback – January 9, 2002

The genre of the American Western has had a long history through dime and pulp novels and magazines, radio, television, and film, and novels and stories. Although much of the genre deals in stereotypes, many Westerns are thoughtful and imaginative, including A.B. Guthrie's 1947 novel, "The Big Sky". Guthrie (1901 -- 1991) wrote a series of six novels on the settlement of the Montana territory of which "The Big Sky" is the first chronologically and in the order of writing. It is a many-layered work in its themes and characterizations. The book cuts against many stereotypes of the West; and it cuts as well against current standards and thinking, both those of today and, to a degree, those when the book was written. Today's readers will want to reject the racist language of the book, most of which is in dialogue sections. There is much to be thought about and enjoyed in this book which will challenge and inspire a sympathetic reader."The Big Sky" is set between 1830 -- 1843 in Kentucky, Indiana, and Missouri, along the Missouri River, and particularly in the early Montana territory. The primary character, Boone Caudill, receives a complex portrayal as both anti-hero and hero. At the age of 17, Boone runs away from his poor farming family and from his abusive father to seek a life of freedom as a trapper in the West. Boone is a violent, unsociable loner and killer. He is portrayed realistically and sharply and in many sections of the book it is difficult to feel sympathy for him. Yet, Boone also is shown as living his own life and pursuing his dreams within his own lights in a manner given to few people.The other two major characters in the book are also mountain men. Jim Deakins, in his mid-20s, is good-natured and reflective. He becomes Boone's companion early in the story as the two head for the West. Dick Summers, a middle-aged mountain man, serves as mentor to Caudill and Deakins. Summers has had extensive experience in the West but he also has a stake in a more conventional society in his attitude and in his ownership of a small Missouri farm. The book follows the adventures and changing fortunes of Caudill, Deakins, and Summers, as they journey 2000 miles on the Missouri River on a keelboat and as they pursue the wild life of freedom in the Montana territory.The novel is stunning in its descriptions of the river and of the large lonely places, mountains, wildlife, and seasons of the West. The book is realistic in that the author makes clear the anti-social, to say the least, characters of the individuals who would choose to pursue and who excel in such a life. The characters are violent and mean in many respects and their life is hard, fragmented and lonely. The book offers an extended and on the whole sympathetic portrayal of the Indian tribes and of their battle with the weapons of the white settlers and with their illnesses of smallpox, alcoholism, and venereal disease. The primary Indian character is a beautiful young woman, Teal Eye, with whom Boone falls in love.With its violence and realism, "The Big Sky" is still strongly romantic. The author is clearly in love with place and has a nostalgia for a wildness which even in the late 1830s was fast disappearing. He also shares a love for his characters and for their quest for freedom which he contrasts with the life of suits and ties in jobs which lack feeling and in lives which lack passion. In many ways, the book is with Boone and his companions while recognizing their large weaknesses. In addition to its elements as a history, the book is a reflection on the nature of certain concepts of freedom and individualism which still retain their power to move people's minds and hearts. To my mind, the book probes these questions more convincingly than some more modern, much praised novels such as Jonathan Franzen's "Freedom". The book also includes a great deal of theological reflection offered by Jim Deakins which fits in well and enhances the context of this story of the old West and of freedom. The predominant tone is of secularism and humanism. "The Big Sky" is a thoughtful book as well as a yarn, a character study, and a history.Contemporary readers will struggle with the racist language of this book and with its ideas of freedom, individuality and sex which probably will not be entirely their own. It is a virtue in a book to make the reader think and to see different perspectives, whether the perspectives come from the past or from the future. I enjoyed this Western with the grandeur of its portrait of the West and with its portrayals of a rare, flawed and wild way of life. This is a book for reflective readers of American literature and for lovers of the West.Robin Friedman.

This book is about the wildness of the Old West and real mountain men. I loved the story and its characters. Ordered the sequels to it, The Way West and Fair Land Fair Land thru my local library. Can’t wait to read them.

This is probably the most honest western I've ever read. From the un-heroic descriptions of drunken fights to the death, to the rife and period-appropriate racial slurs, to the treatment of women and Indians, we are given an unflinching look at the way people lived and behaved in the years just before the Oregon trail and the true opening of the west. If you're interested in this time period and you can't take the sugar-coated version of history you learned in school, this book is for you.The novel begins with a young man named Boone Caudill running away from home and his abusive father. We then follow his adventures as he meets other transients, throws in with riverboat teams, dodges Indian war and hunting parties, and attends the mythical fur-trapper rendezvous of the 1800s. From the streets of Louisville, KY to the wilderness of Wyoming's Teton Range, the settings and descriptions are rich with detail and will make you pine for a pre-Walmart time. The book is entertaining, brutal, heart-breaking, and educational all at the same time. The characters are all well-written, believable, and likable (for the most part). As a lover of westerns, I really, really enjoyed this book.The writing is tough. It isn't a quick read. Dialogue can be difficult to follow at times, since most of these people spoke an antiquated and broken form of english. The author, Guthrie, does not edit this for clarity, and I'm glad he didn't. The book feels true.I would recommend this book to any lover of American history or Western fiction. If you're not interested in these things, you may find certain aspects of this book unpalatable, but I'd encourage you to keep an open mind. There's insight here into mankind that anyone could learn from, or at least appreciate its aptness.I'll be reading the other books in this series, for sure.**NOTE FOR KINDLE READERS**This book is rife with errors. Punctuation randomly placed in the middle of sentences. 1's where l's should be. Random indentations and blank spaces in the middle of a passage. Chapter headings of differing sizes. Whatever software transcribed this did not do a good job. I wish I'd bought the paperback version, and I will for the other books in this series.

Just loved this book and will order more by Guthrie. I'm a film maker in Ireland with some knowledge of the fur trade. (see my documentary Robert Campbell, Mountain Man here aweedeadbird.com. Loved the characters, and story, the accuracy of the detail. A most satisfying read. Thank you.

This is a very good book and makes for an excellent read. I can't wait to see the Kirk Douglas movie that it spawned (DVD already ordered) - though I'm guessing it will be nowhere near as good.Don't want to dwell too much on the book itself - other reviewers have done all that. Suffice it to say that if you enjoy a good Western or are in any way interested in the 'Mountain Man' era, you are likely to thoroughly enjoy it.My warning concerns the book's foreword by Wallace Stegner. Do NOT read this before you read the book - the spoilers it contains are absolutely mind-boggling! What on earth would posses the publisher to include this at the front of the book.You have been warned.

Why is the text all underlined? It’s horrible. Outside my returns window by 4 days.

This is a fantastic read The characters are believable and his graphic descriptions of the country take you there. The historical aspects are spot on. I’m three quarters through and not looking forward to it coming to an end

Having seen the film a thousand times, I thought it was about time that I read the book.