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The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
One of the great classic tales of The Great American West...
IT IS 1881. Jesse James, at the age of 34, is at the height of his fame and powers as a singularly successful outlaw. Robert Ford is the skittish younger brother of one of the James gang: he has made himself an expert on the gang, but his particular interest - his obsession - is Jesse James himself. Both drawn to him and frightened of him, the nineteen-year-old is uncertain whether he wants to serve James or destroy him or, somehow, become him.
Never have these two men been portrayed and their saga explored with such poetry, such grim precision and such raw-boned feeling as Ron Hansen has brought to this masterful retelling.
'Wonderful. This is great storytelling, not undermined by our knowin how it turns out. The reader is driven - by story and by language and by history... the best blend of fiction and history I've read in a long while!' -- John Irving, author of The World According to Garp
IT IS 1881. Jesse James, at the age of 34, is at the height of his fame and powers as a singularly successful outlaw. Robert Ford is the skittish younger brother of one of the James gang: he has made himself an expert on the gang, but his particular interest - his obsession - is Jesse James himself. Both drawn to him and frightened of him, the nineteen-year-old is uncertain whether he wants to serve James or destroy him or, somehow, become him.
Never have these two men been portrayed and their saga explored with such poetry, such grim precision and such raw-boned feeling as Ron Hansen has brought to this masterful retelling.
'Wonderful. This is great storytelling, not undermined by our knowin how it turns out. The reader is driven - by story and by language and by history... the best blend of fiction and history I've read in a long while!' -- John Irving, author of The World According to Garp
320 pages, Paperback
First published October 12, 1983
About the author
Ron Hansen
57 books236 followersRon Hansen is the author of two story collections, two volumes of essays, and nine novels, including most recently The Kid, as well as The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which was made into an Oscar-nominated film. His novel Atticus was a finalist for the National Book Award. He teaches at Santa Clara University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 361 reviews
February 25, 2020
Very entertaining.
Well researched historic fiction (or fictionalized history?) and a stark portrait of nineteenth century America. This is also a fair study of the foundations of our western culture, focusing on hero worship, victimization and demonization and our propensity for violence.
Hansen paints a portrait of James that is also an objective rendering of an American Everyman of this time.
Also, the 2007 film adaptation by Andrew Dominik starring Brad Pitt was excellent.
Well researched historic fiction (or fictionalized history?) and a stark portrait of nineteenth century America. This is also a fair study of the foundations of our western culture, focusing on hero worship, victimization and demonization and our propensity for violence.
Hansen paints a portrait of James that is also an objective rendering of an American Everyman of this time.
Also, the 2007 film adaptation by Andrew Dominik starring Brad Pitt was excellent.
August 17, 2012
I fell in love with this book on the first page, with the opening lines,
“He was growing into middle age and was living then in a bungalow on Woodland Avenue. Green weeds split the porch steps, a wasp nest clung to an attic gable, a rope swing looped down from a dying elm tree and the ground below it was scuffed soft as flour.”
There begins a master class in description that continues until the novel’s end, and the environment becomes almost as large a character as the protagonist himself as Hansen blends fiction, myth, and fact in the telling of final years of Jesse James.
There’s a beautiful pace to the story that matches that of the era. The story rarely gallops but instead focuses on the key moments in the build up to the critical event of the title. And this should not be considered a criticism. This is not a story of gimmicks and quick cuts, of action and surprises, though there is enough gun-play to satisfy fans of the western genre. The title ensures that you are already party to the story’s biggest surprise. Instead you enter into this world as a historian fly on the wall, have your senses ignited, and observe the downfall of a man many thought was great, at the hands of a lesser man who felt himself bound for greatness.
It is a novel about the building of icons and the iconoclasts who would face them, with the final third dealing with the Ford brothers' celebrity after the assassination. In re-telling the story this way Hansen reveals the differences between fame and notoriety, and the pitfalls of grandiose youth wanting a shortcut to celebrity still present in society today.
If there’s a criticism at all it’s that the typeface in the paperback version is quite small, making the book seem endless – though perhaps this is a gift in a strange way too. But if you can deal with this, and accept the pace and heavy description this is a rewarding novel about a fascinating time in history.
“He was growing into middle age and was living then in a bungalow on Woodland Avenue. Green weeds split the porch steps, a wasp nest clung to an attic gable, a rope swing looped down from a dying elm tree and the ground below it was scuffed soft as flour.”
There begins a master class in description that continues until the novel’s end, and the environment becomes almost as large a character as the protagonist himself as Hansen blends fiction, myth, and fact in the telling of final years of Jesse James.
There’s a beautiful pace to the story that matches that of the era. The story rarely gallops but instead focuses on the key moments in the build up to the critical event of the title. And this should not be considered a criticism. This is not a story of gimmicks and quick cuts, of action and surprises, though there is enough gun-play to satisfy fans of the western genre. The title ensures that you are already party to the story’s biggest surprise. Instead you enter into this world as a historian fly on the wall, have your senses ignited, and observe the downfall of a man many thought was great, at the hands of a lesser man who felt himself bound for greatness.
It is a novel about the building of icons and the iconoclasts who would face them, with the final third dealing with the Ford brothers' celebrity after the assassination. In re-telling the story this way Hansen reveals the differences between fame and notoriety, and the pitfalls of grandiose youth wanting a shortcut to celebrity still present in society today.
If there’s a criticism at all it’s that the typeface in the paperback version is quite small, making the book seem endless – though perhaps this is a gift in a strange way too. But if you can deal with this, and accept the pace and heavy description this is a rewarding novel about a fascinating time in history.
October 24, 2019
Historical fiction of the last few crimes of the James Gang, the death of Jesse James, and the subsequent struggles of those involved in his death, particularly the man who pulled the trigger, Robert Ford. I had purchased this book thinking it was non-fiction; however, it is clearly historical fiction. From subsequent research, it appears to be based on facts. The dialogue, which obviously had to be invented, is believable. James is portrayed as a complex personality. He is simultaneously a remorseless killer and a family man.
Hansen provides a vivid picture of life in the late 1800’s in scenes such as:
“It was March then and the weather was nasty and the road was ice and muck and scrambled wagon ruts. Their saddles creaked with every movement and their two horses were morose: their nostrils were frosted and their manes were braided with icicles and if they rested the animals their coats would steam in the cold.”
This book highlights one of the first celebrity obsessions. Robert Ford is fixated on Jesse James and believes he will become a celebrity himself by association, especially by the act of killing him. It excels as a portrait of two complex men of historical significance, but I am not sure it entirely succeeds as fiction, as it does not provide rationale for James’ choice to pursue a life of robbery and murder, nor does it explain the entrancing appeal James exerts on his followers. Hansen’s writing style occasionally slips into one more associated with narrative non-fiction. Recommended to those interested in the American West of the late 19th century, the life of notorious outlaws, or the origins of celebrity adulation.
Hansen provides a vivid picture of life in the late 1800’s in scenes such as:
“It was March then and the weather was nasty and the road was ice and muck and scrambled wagon ruts. Their saddles creaked with every movement and their two horses were morose: their nostrils were frosted and their manes were braided with icicles and if they rested the animals their coats would steam in the cold.”
This book highlights one of the first celebrity obsessions. Robert Ford is fixated on Jesse James and believes he will become a celebrity himself by association, especially by the act of killing him. It excels as a portrait of two complex men of historical significance, but I am not sure it entirely succeeds as fiction, as it does not provide rationale for James’ choice to pursue a life of robbery and murder, nor does it explain the entrancing appeal James exerts on his followers. Hansen’s writing style occasionally slips into one more associated with narrative non-fiction. Recommended to those interested in the American West of the late 19th century, the life of notorious outlaws, or the origins of celebrity adulation.
April 13, 2018
Jesse James was one arrogant son of a bitch! During a train robbery, he introduced himself to the engineer and the stoker as
"Jesse James, the man they'd read so much about."
He took a certain pride in his fame, and infamy.
Jesse extricated himself from his heavy coat and laid it on the sofa with his hat. "Did I ever tell you about meeting Mark Twain?"
"No."
"He was in this country store and I recognized him, of course, and went over to shake the man's hand and congratulate him on his good writing. I said, 'You're Mark Twain, ain't you?' and he nodded yes he was, and I said, 'Guess you and I are about the greatest in our line.' He couldn't very well agree since he didn't know who I was, so he asks and I say, 'Jesse James.' and scoot out of there. Hear tell he still talks about that. They say you go over to Europe and the only Americans they all know for certain are Mark Twain and yours truly."
Robert Ford is depicted as a fawning fanboy. He has James' criminal history committed to memory, much as a tween girl who knows all the stats about her favorite band. Turns out, he is cut from the same cloth as Jesse - they are both obsessed with their reputations.
"Pretty soon all of America will know who Bob Ford is." Ford tells a police commissioner.
The scenes between James and Ford are quite good. There is a crackly tension to their bromance. Jesse suspects something may be off about Bob, but his ego won't let him dump his biggest fan.
. . . Jesse was once again alone and at ease with his meditations. He said, "I can't figure it out: do you want to be like me, or do you want to be me?
BUT . . . the whole book suffers from being too "biography-ish." Dates and facts are carefully reported. There are long descriptions of clothing, furniture, scenery, and while the attention to detail is admirable, it takes away from the characters. You never really get to know anyone but Bob and Jesse.
Almost the last third of the book is taken up with the aftermath of the shooting. Once James is out of the picture, the tension is gone, the "A-ha!" moment is over, and this part really drags. We're then treated to a rather tedious epilogue of EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER.
Much of the book is very, very good, but I also spent a lot of time wishing it would end, so only three stars for this one.
Jesse extricated himself from his heavy coat and laid it on the sofa with his hat. "Did I ever tell you about meeting Mark Twain?"
"No."
"He was in this country store and I recognized him, of course, and went over to shake the man's hand and congratulate him on his good writing. I said, 'You're Mark Twain, ain't you?' and he nodded yes he was, and I said, 'Guess you and I are about the greatest in our line.' He couldn't very well agree since he didn't know who I was, so he asks and I say, 'Jesse James.' and scoot out of there. Hear tell he still talks about that. They say you go over to Europe and the only Americans they all know for certain are Mark Twain and yours truly."
Robert Ford is depicted as a fawning fanboy. He has James' criminal history committed to memory, much as a tween girl who knows all the stats about her favorite band. Turns out, he is cut from the same cloth as Jesse - they are both obsessed with their reputations.
"Pretty soon all of America will know who Bob Ford is." Ford tells a police commissioner.
The scenes between James and Ford are quite good. There is a crackly tension to their bromance. Jesse suspects something may be off about Bob, but his ego won't let him dump his biggest fan.
. . . Jesse was once again alone and at ease with his meditations. He said, "I can't figure it out: do you want to be like me, or do you want to be me?
BUT . . . the whole book suffers from being too "biography-ish." Dates and facts are carefully reported. There are long descriptions of clothing, furniture, scenery, and while the attention to detail is admirable, it takes away from the characters. You never really get to know anyone but Bob and Jesse.
Almost the last third of the book is taken up with the aftermath of the shooting. Once James is out of the picture, the tension is gone, the "A-ha!" moment is over, and this part really drags. We're then treated to a rather tedious epilogue of EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER.
Much of the book is very, very good, but I also spent a lot of time wishing it would end, so only three stars for this one.
June 9, 2020
I mean seriously. What a ****ing book and what a ****ing writer. As an appreciator of fine writing skill, this book was a mind-blowing, mind-buckling, mind-boggling experience. This guy has it hands down over Cormac McCarthy, and that's saying a lot, because McCarthy is a master of American storytelling. But McCarthy is not this. This is a brilliant wordsmithery and I wonder, if it hadn't been made into a movie, would it have been as well read as it was? Every aspiring author or author looking to improve their craft, should read this. Maybe not to copy his voice and style, but just to see how a deft dealing of words can power an imagination to fly in places it has never gone.
For example, one of the dozens of definitions of who Jesse James was;
"For the man was canny, he was intuitive, he anticipated everything. He continually looked over his shoulders, he looked into the background with mirrors, he locked his sleeping room at night, he could pick out a whisper in the wind, he could register the slightest added value a man put into his words, he could probably read the faltering and perfidy in Bob's face. He once numbered the spades on a playing card that skittered across the street a city block away; he licked his daughter's cut finger and there wasn't even a scar the next day; he wrestled with his son and the two Fords at once one afternoon and rarely even tilted- it was like grappling with a tree. When Jesse predicted rain, it rained; when he encouraged plants, they grew; when he scorned animals, they retreated; whomever he wanted to stir, he astonished."
Yes. Mic drop.
For example, one of the dozens of definitions of who Jesse James was;
"For the man was canny, he was intuitive, he anticipated everything. He continually looked over his shoulders, he looked into the background with mirrors, he locked his sleeping room at night, he could pick out a whisper in the wind, he could register the slightest added value a man put into his words, he could probably read the faltering and perfidy in Bob's face. He once numbered the spades on a playing card that skittered across the street a city block away; he licked his daughter's cut finger and there wasn't even a scar the next day; he wrestled with his son and the two Fords at once one afternoon and rarely even tilted- it was like grappling with a tree. When Jesse predicted rain, it rained; when he encouraged plants, they grew; when he scorned animals, they retreated; whomever he wanted to stir, he astonished."
Yes. Mic drop.
November 21, 2008
What makes this book is the language. Though I am no authority, it has effectively captivated the language we would expect from the time. Hansen is definitely a researcher and it shows, but on top of that, the story seems removed from the contemporary. It breathes forward to us from another time, even though it was probably composed on a computer. The language and tone, generating that removal from the contemporary, provide the elevated platform to be awed at, Jesse James is a realized mythological character here. Robert Ford is aptly awkward and I am not entirely comfortable to how much I find myself relating to him.
A great read.
A great read.
July 3, 2017
Ron Hansen entitled this remarkable book "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" not because he agrees that Robert Ford was coward, indeed, Bob Ford spends much of the last third of the book attempting to prove that he was not a coward, instead, Hansen seems to be drawing our attention to the fickle attitudes of a public that romanticized Jesse and demonized Bob. Yet Hansen's Jesse James, while one of the most compelling and well wrought characters ever committed to a novel, is far from a hero. He is a simple thief, a murderer, a man that beats children and expresses no regret for it. Eventually these sins warp him into a man wracked by superstition and paranoia.
The title seems to draw attention, not to Ford's alleged cowardice, but to his other sins; his pride, his vanity, his wrath, and, most importantly, his envy. A murderer at the age of twenty, Robert Ford's name forever became synonymous with the death of Jesse James. An outcome which Ford in his youth and naivete actively sought, thinking it would bring him fame and glory. He discovered instead that the act gained him the loathing of an entire country. As one segment puts it; "No account he'd ever read had the grace to remark on when or where he was born, who his kin were and how he was raised; they never remarked on the Moore School, Blue Cut, the grocery store, his agreement with the government; it seemed enough to say that Bob Ford was the man who shot Jesse James, as if his existence could be encompassed in that one act of perfidy."
The tragedy of Bob Ford is not that he went down in history as a coward. Hansen demonstrates throughout that the judgments of history are arbitrary and to court its favor leads only to misery. Rather Hansen seems to hint that the true tragedy is that Ford never came to recognize his sins as such; defending his actions when confronted, putting up a wall of pride, constantly defending his honor with further acts of violence. Even until the very end Robert Ford is unable to utter the words that would absolve him of the burden of guilt, words of humility and contrition that proved beyond his reach even in the face of death.
The title seems to draw attention, not to Ford's alleged cowardice, but to his other sins; his pride, his vanity, his wrath, and, most importantly, his envy. A murderer at the age of twenty, Robert Ford's name forever became synonymous with the death of Jesse James. An outcome which Ford in his youth and naivete actively sought, thinking it would bring him fame and glory. He discovered instead that the act gained him the loathing of an entire country. As one segment puts it; "No account he'd ever read had the grace to remark on when or where he was born, who his kin were and how he was raised; they never remarked on the Moore School, Blue Cut, the grocery store, his agreement with the government; it seemed enough to say that Bob Ford was the man who shot Jesse James, as if his existence could be encompassed in that one act of perfidy."
The tragedy of Bob Ford is not that he went down in history as a coward. Hansen demonstrates throughout that the judgments of history are arbitrary and to court its favor leads only to misery. Rather Hansen seems to hint that the true tragedy is that Ford never came to recognize his sins as such; defending his actions when confronted, putting up a wall of pride, constantly defending his honor with further acts of violence. Even until the very end Robert Ford is unable to utter the words that would absolve him of the burden of guilt, words of humility and contrition that proved beyond his reach even in the face of death.
June 30, 2019
It is hard to sort the heroes and villains, cowards and righteous. It is a well-written book though with some of the best turned phrases I have seen in a long time. The public's waxing and waning of admiration and hatred for James and Ford is not an uncommon event. We see it all the time these days but it is amazing that it could happen in the days before facebook or twitter or 24-hour news. I guess folks read newspapers regularly back than -- even James and Ford, apparently -- and those papers said more than they do today. Anyway, I liked the book and recommend it as providing food for thought on the troubled paths life can take and the underlying humanity in even the most ostracized among us.
Wonderful writing. Remind me of Cormac McCarthy's ability to use beautiful language to describe terrible things.
Wonderful writing. Remind me of Cormac McCarthy's ability to use beautiful language to describe terrible things.
August 21, 2015
This is a very good story but, somehow, I find myself liking the movie better than the book.
There were some great moments, every single time Jesse James & Bob Ford would interract I would hold my breath. Their love / hate relationship was truly fascinating.
That said, I struggled a bit with the writing style which I found a bit dull and dry. For me the excitment and the tension of the story was somewhat lost in all the details and the very uneven pace.
There were some great moments, every single time Jesse James & Bob Ford would interract I would hold my breath. Their love / hate relationship was truly fascinating.
That said, I struggled a bit with the writing style which I found a bit dull and dry. For me the excitment and the tension of the story was somewhat lost in all the details and the very uneven pace.
August 31, 2014
When this book was made into a movie a few years ago, I heard an interview with Ron Hansen on NPR and I liked the way he talked about writing and fiction and nonfiction and people and characters and God. Then I forgot about him for a long time until I recently decided that I want to start reading westerns and I remembered the title of this book, even though it isn't really a western. At first it was a little bit annoying to me; it seemed like Ron spent too long writing each of his sentences, or like he was very pleased with himself every time he verbed a noun or adjective. Once I got used to it and settled into the story though I liked it. Jesse James spent most of his time in Missouri, same state as me. He wore the same size of belt as me and weighed the same but was two inches shorter, and he survived for one year longer than Jesus did. He was a charming weirdo who was popular when he was alive and even more popular when he was dead, despite having murdered sixteen people. Here's a part where Bob, his friend who eventually killed him is describing him: "He was bigger than you can imagine, and he couldn't get enough to eat. He ate all the food in the dining room and then he ate all the plates and the glasses and the light off the candles; he ate all the air in your lungs and the thoughts right out of your mind. You'd go to him, wanting to be with him, wanting to be like him, and you'd always come away missing something." Bob looked at the girl with anger and of course she was looking peculiarly at him. He said, "So now you know why I shot him."
Oscar Wilde happened to be in town when Jesse was killed, and he wrote a letter to a friend saying "The Americans are certainly great hero worshippers, and always take their heroes from the criminal class." Now I think we're all probably incapable of even having heroes, and I can't tell whether that's an improvement or not.
http://tymelgren.com/books/august2014.html
Oscar Wilde happened to be in town when Jesse was killed, and he wrote a letter to a friend saying "The Americans are certainly great hero worshippers, and always take their heroes from the criminal class." Now I think we're all probably incapable of even having heroes, and I can't tell whether that's an improvement or not.
http://tymelgren.com/books/august2014.html
May 2, 2022
"Jesse sat low in the chair with his boots kicked out, drew off the soft red cap by its cotton ball, then reached out and snuggled Tim close to his chest. He said, 'Let me tell you a secret, son: there's always a mean old wolf in Grandma's bed, and a worm inside the apple. There's always a daddy inside the Santa suit. It's a world of trickery" (138).
"In order to satisfy the many requests for his picture, Bob agreed to sit for a studio photograph in the second week of April. He wore green wool trousers and a gray tweed coat that was buttoned just once at the short lapels and then curtained away from a green vest. He resisted sitting on a chair and suggested instead a gracefully scrolled and sculpted staircase, seating himself on the fifth step, his right hand dangling slackly off his right knee as his left grasped a gleaming Peacemaker, a photographer's prop, that was artificially rested on his left thigh and calling attention to itself. He looked like a grocery clerk accidentally caught with a long gun in his hand. A correspondent asked why, if Bob was right-handed, he'd gripped the gun with his left, and Bob answered, as if nothing further needed saying, 'Jesse was left-handed'." (239).
"In order to satisfy the many requests for his picture, Bob agreed to sit for a studio photograph in the second week of April. He wore green wool trousers and a gray tweed coat that was buttoned just once at the short lapels and then curtained away from a green vest. He resisted sitting on a chair and suggested instead a gracefully scrolled and sculpted staircase, seating himself on the fifth step, his right hand dangling slackly off his right knee as his left grasped a gleaming Peacemaker, a photographer's prop, that was artificially rested on his left thigh and calling attention to itself. He looked like a grocery clerk accidentally caught with a long gun in his hand. A correspondent asked why, if Bob was right-handed, he'd gripped the gun with his left, and Bob answered, as if nothing further needed saying, 'Jesse was left-handed'." (239).
March 20, 2009
Usually, I prefer to watch the book and after that get in touch with the film. But this time, it's the other way around. I watched the film first, and then read the book. Obviously, having watched the film influenced the way I think and feel about the book, but I think I took the right move. It doesn't mean the book is bad, in fact the book is gripping and exciting in its own way. Yet, kudos to the actors, the film has made the experience of reading the book more pleasing. Everytime the name Bob Ford appears in the book, Casey Affleck always comes into my mind. Instead of limiting it, the film has enriched my imagination about the story. And this has added the enjoyment of digesting every line.
Of course, as a story based on historical facts , the novel is full of dates and descriptions of events. Yet Hansen's way of storytelling is smooth so your reading won't be ruined by those facts. What is interesting about the book is surely the characters. All of Jesse James gang members have their own uniqueness. For example, Frank James could recite thousand lines from Shakespeare. William Liddel is a true womanizer yet he doesn't like violence. And Jesse James, an infamour robber and murderer, reads Bible almost everyday. We will never understand the moral standards of these guys. Bob Ford is also an interesting character. He thinks he has done the right thing, but then the reality bites hard.
All in all, The Assasinaton of Jesse James is a book worthreading if you want to know how the assasination of Jesse James is seen from the murderer's point of view. (By point of view I do not mean the novel uses first person narration, but the focalisation of the novel is on Bob Ford). An interpretation that’s executed astonishingly.
ps: I wanted to give it 4.5 stars actually.
Of course, as a story based on historical facts , the novel is full of dates and descriptions of events. Yet Hansen's way of storytelling is smooth so your reading won't be ruined by those facts. What is interesting about the book is surely the characters. All of Jesse James gang members have their own uniqueness. For example, Frank James could recite thousand lines from Shakespeare. William Liddel is a true womanizer yet he doesn't like violence. And Jesse James, an infamour robber and murderer, reads Bible almost everyday. We will never understand the moral standards of these guys. Bob Ford is also an interesting character. He thinks he has done the right thing, but then the reality bites hard.
All in all, The Assasinaton of Jesse James is a book worthreading if you want to know how the assasination of Jesse James is seen from the murderer's point of view. (By point of view I do not mean the novel uses first person narration, but the focalisation of the novel is on Bob Ford). An interpretation that’s executed astonishingly.
ps: I wanted to give it 4.5 stars actually.
May 31, 2009
Ron Hansen was the first living author of (semi)fiction I'd read in years. I'd seen the movie and LOVED it - my favorite of the year. It reminded me of "Thin Red Line" and I was not surprised to find that the director of Assassination, Andrew Dominik, had been involved with Malick.
The movie is S... L... O... W..., so if you're looking for Bruce Willis type action, skip it. There's a voice over and that's what drove me to the book. I hoped that same poetry would be there and it was.
Who uses the words 'moat' and 'dungeon' as verbs? Hansen does. His language takes you right in to the midst of the story in a way I've never read before.
One of my greatest longings is to know the American past, so I'm always reaching for anything that helps me glimpse how it may have been. Hansen delivers.
I tried to read Desperados after that, about the last living Dalton brother, but couldn't quite get into it.
The movie is S... L... O... W..., so if you're looking for Bruce Willis type action, skip it. There's a voice over and that's what drove me to the book. I hoped that same poetry would be there and it was.
Who uses the words 'moat' and 'dungeon' as verbs? Hansen does. His language takes you right in to the midst of the story in a way I've never read before.
One of my greatest longings is to know the American past, so I'm always reaching for anything that helps me glimpse how it may have been. Hansen delivers.
I tried to read Desperados after that, about the last living Dalton brother, but couldn't quite get into it.
December 23, 2016
By far one of my best reads this year. Maybe even of all time. I had watched the movie adaptation and was always drawn to the narrator monologues and how poetic and well crafted they were. It was only until recently that I discovered they were lifted from a novel written by Ron Hansen. His command of the language at the time, his descriptions and beguiling way he offers up beautiful phrases is sublime. Part history, part fiction, this book serves as both a wonderful anatomy of James and Ford as well as a bible to which most writers should reference in order to guide them should they find themselves lost. Savour every word and immerse yourself in every page because very few books like this exist. Even if you're not concerned about the life of Jesse James, read it to see how legends can be articulated in the most perfect way.
May 26, 2023
Perhaps I ruined this book by watching the movie a few months ago, unwilling to wait to see something that had gotten such great reviews. The book received great reviews too, and I understand why, even if as I read, I often saw Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck in my mind. In a way, seeing the movie first may have helped, insofar as the book includes a lot of characters and keeping them straight might have been more difficult had I not known where the story was already going.
Hansen comes from a different school of fiction writing than that to which I've become accustomed and generally come to see as professional. What I mean is that unlike so many purveyors of modern fiction, he doesn't seem to descend as much from the concrete, action-is-character line of writers like Hemingway or Carver. Hansen has no problem using abstractions, describing people's character and feelings without reference to an act. Yet he manages to do so with great power. The book is also heavy on physical descriptions of people and places, which while beautifully rendered, seem somehow pertinent despite their length.
As historical fiction, there's a degree to which it's sometimes hard to distinguish what is fact and what fiction. Hansen noted that he didn't make up anything that would have strayed from known facts, but clearly in smaller scenes, he rendered some dialogue and so forth (but how much of this itself was pulled from newspaper accounts and so on is difficult to know without looking at his source material). At points, the novel felt more like history, as he covered material that seemed less connected to the action, providing readers with information about people and what happened to them once they left the main plot of the story. The last portion of the book, likewise, feels a bit of a letdown, as insofar as once Jesse is killed and we focus almost entirely on Ford, the chronological pacing picks up rather rapidly. Years go by in the page span where previously only a few days would have. And yet, in a way, that's Hansen's point. The letdown is not just ours but also Ford's. He had thought killing Jesse would bring him fame and fortune and popularity. He had not considered the emotional consequences (after all, he kind of idolized Jesse but also felt a bit envious of Jesse's own fame and wanted that for himself--even as Jesse was a quasi friend). In the end, the fame turned out to be more infamy, and the fortune short lived. As Ford notes, at one point, he died long before his actual death.
It's curious also how one comes to care about both James and Ford, who were both rascals and not people we would term good human beings insofar as what they did to others. Yet even after all the killing and stealing James did and how much you hate the way he treated others, when James dies, you end up feeling a little sad and a little angry at Ford; likewise, you feel somewhat similarly about Ford at his death, though he'd proven to be not much better. Perhaps that's because Hansen portrays them a little as men who come to rue their life choices and who wish that somehow, could they go back to pivotal moments in their past, they'd have taken a different path, like the one Jesse hopes for for his son, whom he shelters from stories about his bandit life.
Hansen comes from a different school of fiction writing than that to which I've become accustomed and generally come to see as professional. What I mean is that unlike so many purveyors of modern fiction, he doesn't seem to descend as much from the concrete, action-is-character line of writers like Hemingway or Carver. Hansen has no problem using abstractions, describing people's character and feelings without reference to an act. Yet he manages to do so with great power. The book is also heavy on physical descriptions of people and places, which while beautifully rendered, seem somehow pertinent despite their length.
As historical fiction, there's a degree to which it's sometimes hard to distinguish what is fact and what fiction. Hansen noted that he didn't make up anything that would have strayed from known facts, but clearly in smaller scenes, he rendered some dialogue and so forth (but how much of this itself was pulled from newspaper accounts and so on is difficult to know without looking at his source material). At points, the novel felt more like history, as he covered material that seemed less connected to the action, providing readers with information about people and what happened to them once they left the main plot of the story. The last portion of the book, likewise, feels a bit of a letdown, as insofar as once Jesse is killed and we focus almost entirely on Ford, the chronological pacing picks up rather rapidly. Years go by in the page span where previously only a few days would have. And yet, in a way, that's Hansen's point. The letdown is not just ours but also Ford's. He had thought killing Jesse would bring him fame and fortune and popularity. He had not considered the emotional consequences (after all, he kind of idolized Jesse but also felt a bit envious of Jesse's own fame and wanted that for himself--even as Jesse was a quasi friend). In the end, the fame turned out to be more infamy, and the fortune short lived. As Ford notes, at one point, he died long before his actual death.
It's curious also how one comes to care about both James and Ford, who were both rascals and not people we would term good human beings insofar as what they did to others. Yet even after all the killing and stealing James did and how much you hate the way he treated others, when James dies, you end up feeling a little sad and a little angry at Ford; likewise, you feel somewhat similarly about Ford at his death, though he'd proven to be not much better. Perhaps that's because Hansen portrays them a little as men who come to rue their life choices and who wish that somehow, could they go back to pivotal moments in their past, they'd have taken a different path, like the one Jesse hopes for for his son, whom he shelters from stories about his bandit life.
October 31, 2022
Ron Hansen’s 1983 debut novel is meticulous in its Western realism and historical worldbuilding. Neither revisionist nor postmodern, but a secret third thing. Hansen uses detailed social history to breathe life into unsung characters and doomed bystanders. The mix of muted elegy and unvarnished violence is faithfully captured in Andrew Dominik’s 2007 film adaptation with cinematography by Roger Deakins.
September 9, 2016
It is not often that I’ll buy a book after enjoying the movie adaptation, but this is something of a special case for me. I saw Andrew Dominik’s film on its release back in 2007 and have adored it ever since. It’s one of those rare movies which I found not only technically superb (a great story well performed, beautifully shot, with a lovely and haunting score) but also deeply affecting on a personal level. I wrote about it here, a long time ago.
After seeing it, I was vaguely aware that it was based on a book, and that (unusually for an adaptation) some of the voiceover narration in the film had been taken more or less directly from the text. But I had no particular urge to read the novel until I stumbled upon it in a charity shop a couple of weeks ago, whereupon of course I had to have it. It’s a familiar feeling at first slipping into the introductory passages because they are almost identical to the beginning of the movie: that peculiarly portentous omniscient narrator announcing Jesse as a quasi-mystical figure on the wane, a heady mix of myth and history and gossip and legend. And then there’s the moment where Bob Ford and Jesse meet prior to the train robbery, which was also faithfully reproduced by Dominik.
Things soon diverge, and there’s a great many incidents in the book which are omitted from the movie altogether. Though much of the dialogue is the same, I was intrigued to note that there’s at least one example of a line which the film gives to another character entirely, while other moments take place in a different setting to the one described in the book. But all throughout I had the sense that the movie had been the result of a highly attentive reading of the book; or to put it another way, I could see exactly why they’d selected the parts they did for the adaptation.
So yes, it is very much what I expected, and it would be fair to say that the movie reproduces well the same concerns of the novel: the place where the fetishised violence of the late Wild West meets the early American cult of celebrity. If anything the film underplays the novel’s conception of Jesse as a mystic and a prophet, though Casey Affleck was surely born to play the author’s conception of Robert Ford as the sensitive, frustrated idealist unlucky enough to have all his dreams come true.
One respect in which I think the film is arguably more successful is in its tone. In this regard, the book is somewhat inconsistent; it’s never badly written, but it often feels like it can’t quite decide whether it wants to be a novel or a non-fiction account of the final years of the James gang. Though one aspect ultimately lends a patina of authenticity to the other, the relentless wash of historical detail did tire me from time to time. That said, were I asked to strike out the exact passages I found excessive or inappropriate, I’d find it very difficult — this book is nothing if not a polished, professional work of prose, and I have nothing but admiration for the amount of work that must have gone into researching a book like this.
I’m well aware that in writing this I haven’t really done the book any favours in comparing it endlessly to the movie adaptation. But I write these things for myself rather than anyone else, and for me this book has (in a way) been ruined by a movie which I’m sure will always occupy a special place in my heart. As such, I really have no idea whether I can recommend it to anyone else ahead of the film — all I can say is that both are really good, and you should certainly make space for at least one or the other in your life.
After seeing it, I was vaguely aware that it was based on a book, and that (unusually for an adaptation) some of the voiceover narration in the film had been taken more or less directly from the text. But I had no particular urge to read the novel until I stumbled upon it in a charity shop a couple of weeks ago, whereupon of course I had to have it. It’s a familiar feeling at first slipping into the introductory passages because they are almost identical to the beginning of the movie: that peculiarly portentous omniscient narrator announcing Jesse as a quasi-mystical figure on the wane, a heady mix of myth and history and gossip and legend. And then there’s the moment where Bob Ford and Jesse meet prior to the train robbery, which was also faithfully reproduced by Dominik.
Things soon diverge, and there’s a great many incidents in the book which are omitted from the movie altogether. Though much of the dialogue is the same, I was intrigued to note that there’s at least one example of a line which the film gives to another character entirely, while other moments take place in a different setting to the one described in the book. But all throughout I had the sense that the movie had been the result of a highly attentive reading of the book; or to put it another way, I could see exactly why they’d selected the parts they did for the adaptation.
So yes, it is very much what I expected, and it would be fair to say that the movie reproduces well the same concerns of the novel: the place where the fetishised violence of the late Wild West meets the early American cult of celebrity. If anything the film underplays the novel’s conception of Jesse as a mystic and a prophet, though Casey Affleck was surely born to play the author’s conception of Robert Ford as the sensitive, frustrated idealist unlucky enough to have all his dreams come true.
One respect in which I think the film is arguably more successful is in its tone. In this regard, the book is somewhat inconsistent; it’s never badly written, but it often feels like it can’t quite decide whether it wants to be a novel or a non-fiction account of the final years of the James gang. Though one aspect ultimately lends a patina of authenticity to the other, the relentless wash of historical detail did tire me from time to time. That said, were I asked to strike out the exact passages I found excessive or inappropriate, I’d find it very difficult — this book is nothing if not a polished, professional work of prose, and I have nothing but admiration for the amount of work that must have gone into researching a book like this.
I’m well aware that in writing this I haven’t really done the book any favours in comparing it endlessly to the movie adaptation. But I write these things for myself rather than anyone else, and for me this book has (in a way) been ruined by a movie which I’m sure will always occupy a special place in my heart. As such, I really have no idea whether I can recommend it to anyone else ahead of the film — all I can say is that both are really good, and you should certainly make space for at least one or the other in your life.
January 18, 2016
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
by Ron Hansen
4 stars
pp. 304
I'd anticipated reading Ron Hansen's book, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford for a while before I took the plunge. I'd expected it to captivate me as I really enjoy a good western, but somehow I found myself in a reading bog with this and couldn't force myself to read more than a few pages a day.
Hansen can certainly captivate the feel of the west and his language is authentic as shown by the following passage:
"Then the gang was running and bounding and skidding down the embankments. Jesse watched as Bob Ford slid down like a debutante in petticoats, his left hand snatching at weeds and roots and his right unveiled his eyes enough to peek around at the commotion. Men were rushing alongside the train and levering their rifles and slouching about in a manner they fancied was ghoulish and frightening. Frank James was on the south side of the train with rifle slack in his arms, his cardigan sweater closed with a fist, instructing everybody. Steam trickled from the locomotive tracks and spirited in the breeze, and the engine huffed "church" and once again "church" and then sighed with embering fire as Jesse hiked onto a cab step and brandished his cocked revolver."
One of my problems was in reading this book, I realized that while Jesse James may have been charismatic he was by no means a nice man. Why should this surprise me? He robbed and pillage people and was a known murderer. Jesse had become something of a folk hero with a kind of Western Robin Hood mythology. Hansen did well to demystify this and I genuinely appreciate that. I'm not one who believes in treating murderers as heroes.
For those who enjoy westerns I recommend this book, I'm not sure of the appeal for others.
by Ron Hansen
4 stars
pp. 304
I'd anticipated reading Ron Hansen's book, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford for a while before I took the plunge. I'd expected it to captivate me as I really enjoy a good western, but somehow I found myself in a reading bog with this and couldn't force myself to read more than a few pages a day.
Hansen can certainly captivate the feel of the west and his language is authentic as shown by the following passage:
"Then the gang was running and bounding and skidding down the embankments. Jesse watched as Bob Ford slid down like a debutante in petticoats, his left hand snatching at weeds and roots and his right unveiled his eyes enough to peek around at the commotion. Men were rushing alongside the train and levering their rifles and slouching about in a manner they fancied was ghoulish and frightening. Frank James was on the south side of the train with rifle slack in his arms, his cardigan sweater closed with a fist, instructing everybody. Steam trickled from the locomotive tracks and spirited in the breeze, and the engine huffed "church" and once again "church" and then sighed with embering fire as Jesse hiked onto a cab step and brandished his cocked revolver."
One of my problems was in reading this book, I realized that while Jesse James may have been charismatic he was by no means a nice man. Why should this surprise me? He robbed and pillage people and was a known murderer. Jesse had become something of a folk hero with a kind of Western Robin Hood mythology. Hansen did well to demystify this and I genuinely appreciate that. I'm not one who believes in treating murderers as heroes.
For those who enjoy westerns I recommend this book, I'm not sure of the appeal for others.
November 30, 2008
There is a detachment in the writing style that is unengaged. Once you adjust to this punctuated attitude towards the characters, it is easier to absorb the stark beauty of the words. For example: “He was one to read auguries in the snarled intestines of chickens, or the blow of cat hair released to the wind, and years of bad luck that moated and dungeoned him.” Throw away details like the conditions of Jesse’s teeth or the smell of a sweating horse accumulate unconsciously to create a startling realistic impression of the West. It is violent because Jesse and his gang, as the times, were violent. But this is not a 1950’s matinee Western where everything has been homogenized to a PG rating. The descriptions of the robberies and gunfights are riveting. The prose alternates between bloody and beautiful. In a way, I wish Cormac McCarthy had written the book, but Hansen has his own style that works for this genre. I won’t compare it to the movie—but the film is stunning and shouldn’t be missed.
May 4, 2009
Thoughtful account of Jesse James and his killer, Robert Ford. The author does a nice job of summarizing the history of the James gang and Ford's introduction to Jesse as well using historical clues to track how Ford went from worshipping Jesse to killing him to spending the rest of his life trying to justify what he'd done. Fans of westerns and historical figures like James should enjoy.
December 11, 2014
It's all about the tempo, the plot was skillfully set, alittle bit slow, the interactions, and the outcomes...
concerning the movie, cinematography was really great, the music, and as aspecial note Cassey Affleck performance...
concerning the movie, cinematography was really great, the music, and as aspecial note Cassey Affleck performance...
November 27, 2016
The pacing of this book was excruciating. Mundane scenes like breakfast had so many details and dialogue, then the robberies or gunfights were glazed over. After a while I stopped even trying to care for these characters and their wives and troubles. There was nothing to get excited about.
February 16, 2014
I really enjoyed this book. Really good blend of history and narrative, and Mr. Hansen took time to really dedicate his audience to understanding of the characters.
February 8, 2021
Excellent read
July 1, 2017
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, written and directed by Andrew Dominik, based on the novel by Ron Hansen
8 out of 10
A different version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
This is a remarkable film.
With two Academy Awards nominations, including for Best Performance by an Actor in a supporting role, the movie was acclaimed.
It has 25 prizes and a total of 65 nominations, with a nod from the Golden Globes, for the same Casey Affleck.
He was excellent in role of the Coward Robert Ford and is the winner in the Leading Actor category at the latest Academy Awards.
Brad Pitt portrays a suspicious, haunted, violent, perhaps depressed Jesse James that asks at one moment:
- Charley, did you ever consider suicide?
He was talking to Charley Ford, Robert or Bob’s brother, on an ice covered lake, on which they were advancing cautiously.
Jesse James expressed a rather unfavorable opinion of charley, whom he considered to be rather dumb.
Nevertheless, charley feels better to be around with than his brother, Robert that used to have a fascination with Jesse James.
He has a box in which he keeps newspaper cuttings and photographs mentioning the band led by the outlaw.
At one point we are told by the interesting voice over – Hugh Ross is the narrator and he does an excellent work-that:
- The two most famous people in America are Jesse James and Mark Twain
- People on the street are more likely to identify Jesse James than anyone else- if I am not mistaken…
In the first part of the film, we witness a train robbery, involving the outlaw, his brother Frank James portrayed by the always outstanding Sam Shepard, Charley ford, Wood Hite- a cousin of the leader, played by Jeremy Renner.
After this incident, the gang separates and there are frictions and animosities between various members.
Dick Liddil and Wood Hite visit the latter’s father, married to a woman that seems to be fifty years if not more, his junior.
This is an occasion for some laughs and tense, erotic, awkward situations, starting at the table, where the old man has to use a strange device placed in his ear in order to try and hear what is said around him.
Wood Hite warns his companion Dick not to get any ideas concerning the young woman and says out loud-
She knew what she was getting into, for he was in the same state when she married him, so careful with what you plan.
Before going to bed, Dick talks to the young wife and they are clearly attracted to each other, beyond the kind words they exchange.
The two young men share the same room, with Dick Liddil getting ever more restless in bed and pretending he has to use the privy…
Well, he actually does want that, but it is to get together with the sensual, inviting young host, who is sitting inside.
She invites the young man to join her, for she does not mind him and this was potty humor, from an awkward scene.
The two young men are fighting over this and the disregard proved for the warning and Wood Hite even tries to murder his former mate.
It makes sense for Jesse James to kill a few people along the way, manifest himself violently and help Robert Ford become ever more upset with and even hateful towards his former idol that likes to push him around.
This is an unusual drama that even if it takes place in the “West” could not be called a western, with psychological insight, beautiful scenery and great performances all around.
8 out of 10
A different version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
This is a remarkable film.
With two Academy Awards nominations, including for Best Performance by an Actor in a supporting role, the movie was acclaimed.
It has 25 prizes and a total of 65 nominations, with a nod from the Golden Globes, for the same Casey Affleck.
He was excellent in role of the Coward Robert Ford and is the winner in the Leading Actor category at the latest Academy Awards.
Brad Pitt portrays a suspicious, haunted, violent, perhaps depressed Jesse James that asks at one moment:
- Charley, did you ever consider suicide?
He was talking to Charley Ford, Robert or Bob’s brother, on an ice covered lake, on which they were advancing cautiously.
Jesse James expressed a rather unfavorable opinion of charley, whom he considered to be rather dumb.
Nevertheless, charley feels better to be around with than his brother, Robert that used to have a fascination with Jesse James.
He has a box in which he keeps newspaper cuttings and photographs mentioning the band led by the outlaw.
At one point we are told by the interesting voice over – Hugh Ross is the narrator and he does an excellent work-that:
- The two most famous people in America are Jesse James and Mark Twain
- People on the street are more likely to identify Jesse James than anyone else- if I am not mistaken…
In the first part of the film, we witness a train robbery, involving the outlaw, his brother Frank James portrayed by the always outstanding Sam Shepard, Charley ford, Wood Hite- a cousin of the leader, played by Jeremy Renner.
After this incident, the gang separates and there are frictions and animosities between various members.
Dick Liddil and Wood Hite visit the latter’s father, married to a woman that seems to be fifty years if not more, his junior.
This is an occasion for some laughs and tense, erotic, awkward situations, starting at the table, where the old man has to use a strange device placed in his ear in order to try and hear what is said around him.
Wood Hite warns his companion Dick not to get any ideas concerning the young woman and says out loud-
She knew what she was getting into, for he was in the same state when she married him, so careful with what you plan.
Before going to bed, Dick talks to the young wife and they are clearly attracted to each other, beyond the kind words they exchange.
The two young men share the same room, with Dick Liddil getting ever more restless in bed and pretending he has to use the privy…
Well, he actually does want that, but it is to get together with the sensual, inviting young host, who is sitting inside.
She invites the young man to join her, for she does not mind him and this was potty humor, from an awkward scene.
The two young men are fighting over this and the disregard proved for the warning and Wood Hite even tries to murder his former mate.
It makes sense for Jesse James to kill a few people along the way, manifest himself violently and help Robert Ford become ever more upset with and even hateful towards his former idol that likes to push him around.
This is an unusual drama that even if it takes place in the “West” could not be called a western, with psychological insight, beautiful scenery and great performances all around.
September 22, 2012
The story begins with Frank and Jesse James, whose relationship was strained to antagonistic, gathering a bunch of local rubes for one last heist. The story ends with the death of Robert Ford nearly a dozen years later. In between Hansen weaves a fascinating tale of intrigue and violence surrounding many of those who robbed the Chicago & Alton Railroad on Sept. 7, 1881, five years to the day after the James and Younger gang got shot up trying to rob a bank in Northfield, Minn.
Written by Ron Hansen, this book came to my attention after watching the movie by the same name. This story is so well done that I carried the book with me for two weeks and read it when I could. When we find good books, it is actually exciting to open the pages and knowing we have great stories waiting for us makes life a little brighter.
One of the things that I liked best about the writing was Hansen's telling the story in the language of the period, roughly 1880 forward. Consider Hansen's description of the gang that Frank and Jesse James gathered for their final robbery of a train near Blue Cut Missouri:
"Here thirteen men squatted with coffee and idled or cradled shotguns: croppers and clerks and hired hands, aged in their late teens and twenties, wearing patched coveralls and wrinkled wool trousers and foul-looking suit coats that exposed their wrists, or overcoats the color of nickel, of soot, that assorted weeds had attached themselves to. They were hooligans, mainly, boys with vulgar features and sullen eyes and barn-red faces capped white above the eyebrows. They were malnourished and uneducated; their mouths were wrecks of rotting teeth. Consumption was a familiar disease , they carried infirmities like handkerchiefs; several were missing fingers, one was sick with parasites, another two had lice, eyes were crossed or clouded, harelip went undoctored."
I had creative writing instructors who might have give low marks to Hansen's writing for the amount of "telling" (vs. showing) in his writing, but it worked for me. I found his descriptive passages vivid and creative.
Published in the early 1983, the book was fine spice to my life. I encourage you to put this book in your hands.
Written by Ron Hansen, this book came to my attention after watching the movie by the same name. This story is so well done that I carried the book with me for two weeks and read it when I could. When we find good books, it is actually exciting to open the pages and knowing we have great stories waiting for us makes life a little brighter.
One of the things that I liked best about the writing was Hansen's telling the story in the language of the period, roughly 1880 forward. Consider Hansen's description of the gang that Frank and Jesse James gathered for their final robbery of a train near Blue Cut Missouri:
"Here thirteen men squatted with coffee and idled or cradled shotguns: croppers and clerks and hired hands, aged in their late teens and twenties, wearing patched coveralls and wrinkled wool trousers and foul-looking suit coats that exposed their wrists, or overcoats the color of nickel, of soot, that assorted weeds had attached themselves to. They were hooligans, mainly, boys with vulgar features and sullen eyes and barn-red faces capped white above the eyebrows. They were malnourished and uneducated; their mouths were wrecks of rotting teeth. Consumption was a familiar disease , they carried infirmities like handkerchiefs; several were missing fingers, one was sick with parasites, another two had lice, eyes were crossed or clouded, harelip went undoctored."
I had creative writing instructors who might have give low marks to Hansen's writing for the amount of "telling" (vs. showing) in his writing, but it worked for me. I found his descriptive passages vivid and creative.
Published in the early 1983, the book was fine spice to my life. I encourage you to put this book in your hands.
May 1, 2009
Look, I don't know how much of the "novel" THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD is true; I don't know how much of the dialogue and interaction and actions of the characters actually took place, or were embellished by a very gifted Ron Hansen.
But does it matter? The account of the final days of infamous outlaw Jesse James (and the subsequent final days of his killer) is "historical fiction", in any case (the definitive oxymoron, if you ask me). What does matter is this tightly written tale is as fun a read as I've come across in years. Hansen has vividly captured the flavor and pysche--and grit--of post-Civil War Americana. His prose recreates the flare and panache of the 19th Century dime novel; his book is heavily (and delightfully) populated by descriptive passages such as this:
'Zerelda gazed at Bob and mushed vegetables with zig-zag motions of her gums, her lips protruding like the clasp of a purse. She looked to Jesse and said, "I don't know what it is about him, but that boy can aggravate me more by just sitting still than most boys can by pitching rocks." '
Depicting the final train robbery of the notorious James Gang, followed by the band's break-up (and some of its members exited stage left involuntarily), THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD is a fascinating look inside the head of Jesse Woodson James--a calculating, diabolical killer, yet devoted and cherished family man. As a bonus, we get to climb around inside the head of Robert Newton Ford, an undistinguished nobody who yearned for attention. Surrounded by a cast of very colorful characters--most of whom die prematurely--this is a fabulous novel, an absorbing, entertaining read. Any truth, as they say, is somewhere in between.
But does it matter? The account of the final days of infamous outlaw Jesse James (and the subsequent final days of his killer) is "historical fiction", in any case (the definitive oxymoron, if you ask me). What does matter is this tightly written tale is as fun a read as I've come across in years. Hansen has vividly captured the flavor and pysche--and grit--of post-Civil War Americana. His prose recreates the flare and panache of the 19th Century dime novel; his book is heavily (and delightfully) populated by descriptive passages such as this:
'Zerelda gazed at Bob and mushed vegetables with zig-zag motions of her gums, her lips protruding like the clasp of a purse. She looked to Jesse and said, "I don't know what it is about him, but that boy can aggravate me more by just sitting still than most boys can by pitching rocks." '
Depicting the final train robbery of the notorious James Gang, followed by the band's break-up (and some of its members exited stage left involuntarily), THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD is a fascinating look inside the head of Jesse Woodson James--a calculating, diabolical killer, yet devoted and cherished family man. As a bonus, we get to climb around inside the head of Robert Newton Ford, an undistinguished nobody who yearned for attention. Surrounded by a cast of very colorful characters--most of whom die prematurely--this is a fabulous novel, an absorbing, entertaining read. Any truth, as they say, is somewhere in between.
September 18, 2012
I saw the film adaptation of this book several times before reading the book. I love how it tells the story and how it was shot. The photography and music were spot on and the acting was nice too.
After reading the book, it feels like the movie was made to be a sort of companion to the book rather than an adaptation. The two lean on each other and thrive as one piece. They act as a sort of collaborative diptych.
While the book has beautiful meandering descriptions of people and events, the film focuses (obviously) on the visual language. When I first saw the film I felt like it viewed as a book that I was visualizing as I read it. When I read the book, I had the film to fall back on mentally to aid through some of the scenes. They both came more alive with the existence of the other. The book describes people and events that couldn't be fit into the film and adds a sort of multi-faceted richness to it.
Something that particularly interested me was the way that the dialogue in the film is almost verbatim from the book, but moved around to make a more linear, cohesive story that worked visually instead of the textual story that could afford more bouncing around.
It's difficult for me to judge these as two separate pieces because of how they work so well together.
After reading the book, it feels like the movie was made to be a sort of companion to the book rather than an adaptation. The two lean on each other and thrive as one piece. They act as a sort of collaborative diptych.
While the book has beautiful meandering descriptions of people and events, the film focuses (obviously) on the visual language. When I first saw the film I felt like it viewed as a book that I was visualizing as I read it. When I read the book, I had the film to fall back on mentally to aid through some of the scenes. They both came more alive with the existence of the other. The book describes people and events that couldn't be fit into the film and adds a sort of multi-faceted richness to it.
Something that particularly interested me was the way that the dialogue in the film is almost verbatim from the book, but moved around to make a more linear, cohesive story that worked visually instead of the textual story that could afford more bouncing around.
It's difficult for me to judge these as two separate pieces because of how they work so well together.
August 16, 2015
i actually really enjoyed this book, but it slows down after the ... assassination of jesse james by the coward robert ford. two things kept me going: the tone of dreamy matter-of-factness that hansen hits, and the simple fact that i really needed to know what happened to robert ford in the end (it's not a huge surprise, but there is some narrative tension sustained). this could have been probably 25% shorter (i think i've said that about like the past 10 books i've read, maybe it's me). was particularly interested in this because 1) the movie based on it is fantastic and slightly odd 2) i have been listening to all these different versions of the song "jesse james" (including the woody guthrie version that revamps it as "jesus christ" and getting curious about how history becomes folklore and the other way around. this book is great on that. there's a moment where robert ford isn't sure whether he is remembering killing jesse or the hundreds of times he killed an actor playing jesse in a western stage show that he joined literally months after the actual murder. anyway, good for american/western history dorks with a taste for quiet, mumbly drama (good comp is probably mccabe and mrs miller).
April 25, 2008
This book is a real pleasure. Its writing is meticulous and understated.
As the novel opens, Ron Hansen shows great care with his description of Jesse James. Most novels show great care with the opening depictions of their protagonists, though, so as always a reader is advised to say, "Let's wait and see." But as the novel progresses, Hansen's descriptions never lose their detail and never resort to irrelevant imagery.
That is this novel's best surprise. Hansen knows what deserves his ample descriptive talents and what does not. If a barstool is not particularly relevant to the rest of a story, it is a careless indulgence when a writer gives three paragraphs to its depiction. That sort of writing is schoolboy/girl writing and not professional writing.
Hansen knows what parts of his novel are important, and he knows that they are parts large enough to fill 300 pages. He writes confident, well-shaped sentences that tell a story just right.
This novel does not fly forward and might not have all the action readers of Westerns appreciate. It seems a bit slower than Larry McMurtry's work but also a wee bit more careful.
As the novel opens, Ron Hansen shows great care with his description of Jesse James. Most novels show great care with the opening depictions of their protagonists, though, so as always a reader is advised to say, "Let's wait and see." But as the novel progresses, Hansen's descriptions never lose their detail and never resort to irrelevant imagery.
That is this novel's best surprise. Hansen knows what deserves his ample descriptive talents and what does not. If a barstool is not particularly relevant to the rest of a story, it is a careless indulgence when a writer gives three paragraphs to its depiction. That sort of writing is schoolboy/girl writing and not professional writing.
Hansen knows what parts of his novel are important, and he knows that they are parts large enough to fill 300 pages. He writes confident, well-shaped sentences that tell a story just right.
This novel does not fly forward and might not have all the action readers of Westerns appreciate. It seems a bit slower than Larry McMurtry's work but also a wee bit more careful.
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