The Fourteen-Year-Old Girl With True Grit

True Grit by Charles Portis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've had a copy of this book on my shelves for years. Always meant to read it.

I liked both movie versions, which made me think I'd like the book. As it turns out, it's awesome.

Told entirely in Mattie's voice, the novel drags us along on her quest to get justice for her father by bringing in his murderer. Nothing would have happened if not for her persistence and single-minded pursuit of justice. Others saw her as a helpless, interfering child, but it becomes clear that she is incredibly resourceful and not intimidated by anyone. Many of the lines are familiar from the movies, and are more resonant as a result. She is both amusing and admirable, a sympathetic character who reads like a real person from the first page. Rooster Cogburn becomes real, too, though I always saw him as John Wayne in my head.

This is a tight plot with quick action, but the novel depends most on the characters. That's the source of a lot of the humor--folks getting exasperated with Mattie; her not caring--as well as drama. Mattie and Rooster are sympathetic and the bad guys quite round and interesting. In fact, I was so invested I found myself choking up at the end, which I did not expect.

There was a lot of humanity in this novel.

(Slight warning--There is a smattering of racist language along with racist attitudes that will put some readers off. IMO, it is all sadly appropriate to the characters and the setting rather than issuing from the author. Others may see it a different way, obviously.)

At something under 60,000 words, this is a brisk, gut-punch of a novel. The determined, annoying, superior, principled Mattie is an unforgettable character, and her distinctive voice is a real achievement.

Highly recommended.

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