≡ Read The Unforgiven Leisure Western Alan Le May 9780843961713 Books

The Unforgiven Leisure Western Alan Le May 9780843961713 Books

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The Unforgiven Leisure Western Alan Le May 9780843961713 Books

Though this novel has long been overshadowed by LeMay's THE SEARCHERS, it deserves to be more widely read.

Like THE SEARCHERS, the novel deals with racial prejudice and conflict on the Texas frontier in the years following the Civil War. The protagonists, the Zachary family, live a solitary existence on a cattle ranch in Northwest Texas bordering territory held by the Kiowa tribe. They have been driven here due to suspicion that the Zachary daughter, Rachel, may be part Kiowa herself. The Zachary's are barely tolerated or down-right shunned by other white settlers in the area, and when the Kiowa's come down on the Zachary's the family is forced to stand alone..

The novel is far from being the typical 1950's "oater" or pulp western. The period details and language ring true and will satisfy Old West afficianados and history buffs. (Guilty) The Kiowas are not just some nameless "others". Their culture and motives are explored, and they are given a fair shake.

All in all, a top notch western that I have read several times over the years.


Tags : The Unforgiven (Leisure Western) [Alan Le May] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. When their father dies, leaving them to survive in the wild and lonely Texas Panhandle on their own, the Zachary boys and their mother and sister must fight their late father's nemesis under the Kiowa moon. Reissue.,Alan Le May,The Unforgiven (Leisure Western),Leisure Books,0843961716,Historical - General,Western stories,Adventure fiction: Westerns,Fiction,Fiction - Western,Fiction Historical,Fiction Westerns,Westerns,Westerns - General

The Unforgiven Leisure Western Alan Le May 9780843961713 Books Reviews

If you are searching for reading material that is similar, related to the epic "LONESOME DOVE"; then this book may be what you are looking for. This is a story of a small cattle outfit that is centered upon a family of brothers, and the central character of a sister that the late father once "found" after pursuing a group of Kiowa Indians. They live in an abode that is dug out of a side of a hill, as they wait patiently for a windfall of fortune that they hope will occur each year from their cattle drives to Kansas.

The author is Alan Lemay who wrote this book after his success with his earlier novel, "The Searchers", which was the foundation of the successful John Wayne movie. I think that "Unforgiven" is actually a better book than the former, but both are good. Both stories are not as fast paced as the McMurtry masterpiece, but are well written, and entertaining if you like the stories of the western frontier of the later 1800's. Lemay was born in 1899, and his parents told him of their personal experiences of living during those years.

I believe that this book would have made a better movie than his first book, with big John playing the older brother, Dean Martin playing the second brother "Cash", and Ricky Nelson playing the youngest brother "Andy." Those actors just seem perfect for the roles, but it also seems that that casting was used in another great western already! Well, maybe Tommy Lee Jones could do the lead!
This was a well researched and haunting story of a family trying to eek out a living running cows in Texas in the early days while Indian attacks were still one of the problems they had to deal and live with. It describes the living conditions, the daily life, the guns and ammunition, the Indian tribes, and the their individual tribal customs as well as the cattle industry in Southwest at that time. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the history, grit, blood and tears it took to settle the western part of the United States. It will be a story you will remember for a long time.
As the basis of the Audrey Hepburn/Burt Lancaster movie of the same name, this book is so exceedingly descriptive that you feel that you are there, on those dusty plains, feeling the same fears as the characters involved in the story. As is usually the case, the book is better than the movie, and that is due to Mr. LeMay's amazing creative ability and use of the English language, with which he paints perfect vistas and people. An excellent and engrossing book.
Mr. LeMay wrote wonderful stories, whether novels, short stories or movie screenplays. I've owned a hardcover version of "The Searchers" for over 30 years.

I'm trying to replace all of my favorite books in eformat, as well as getting as many books by my favorite authors in eformat. I was thrilled today to find 7 ebooks by Mr. LeMay.

The novels
The Searchers
The Unforgiven
The Smoky Years
Winter Range

and 3 books featuring short stories
Spanish Crossing
The Bells Of San Juan
West Of Nowhere
***************************
I would give them all 5 stars - except I can only change the font on "The Searchers". The other books have a serif font that looks like Times New Roman, and is very hard for me to read. I have a lot of vision problems, and a sans serif font, like Arial or Helvetica is much easier for me to see. I have Helvetica set as the permanent font on my Fire and the app on my phone.

Also, per Mr. LeMay's entry on Wikipedia, there are 2 more short story collections, "Painted Rock" and "Tonopah Range" which are not available in eformat, even though they were published in 2004 & 2006, respectively. To the publisher Whyever not? I'm not buying hardcover or paperback books anymore. I don't have the room. Plus eformat books are generally less expensive, which means I can afford to buy more books.
This is the second LeMay novel I've read. If you think, as I keep thinking, that you won't like them because "their really old and I've already seen the movie," well, you'd be dead wrong. LeMay's straight forward writing style somehow captures like nobody else the intense drama, the suspense, and the fear of life on the frontier in the 1870's. Although written way back in 1957, the story, plot, action, and character conflicts are just as fresh today as they were back then. Read it and you'll start measuring your favorite authors (western or not) by a higher standard.
Though this novel has long been overshadowed by LeMay's THE SEARCHERS, it deserves to be more widely read.

Like THE SEARCHERS, the novel deals with racial prejudice and conflict on the Texas frontier in the years following the Civil War. The protagonists, the Zachary family, live a solitary existence on a cattle ranch in Northwest Texas bordering territory held by the Kiowa tribe. They have been driven here due to suspicion that the Zachary daughter, Rachel, may be part Kiowa herself. The Zachary's are barely tolerated or down-right shunned by other white settlers in the area, and when the Kiowa's come down on the Zachary's the family is forced to stand alone..

The novel is far from being the typical 1950's "oater" or pulp western. The period details and language ring true and will satisfy Old West afficianados and history buffs. (Guilty) The Kiowas are not just some nameless "others". Their culture and motives are explored, and they are given a fair shake.

All in all, a top notch western that I have read several times over the years.