So Brave, Young and Handsome: A Novel
Binding : Hardcover
ProductGroup : Book
Manufacturer : Atlantic Monthly Press
Label : Atlantic Monthly Press
Publisher : Atlantic Monthly Press
Studio : Atlantic Monthly Press
ReleaseDate : 2008-04-22
Lowest Used Price: USD $6.62
Lowest New Price: USD $8.88
In 1915 Minnesota, novelist Monte Becket has lost his sense of purpose. His only success long behind him, Monte lives simply with his wife and son. But when he befriends outlaw Glendon Hale, a new world of opportunity and experience presents itself. Glendon has spent years in obscurity, but the guilt he harbors for abandoning his wife, Blue, over two decades ago, has lured him from hiding. As the modern age marches swiftly forward, Glendon aims to travel back to his past--heading to California to seek Blue’s forgiveness. Beguiled and inspired, Monte soon finds himself leaving behind his own family to embark for the unruly West with his fugitive guide. As they desperately flee from the relentless Charles Siringo, an ex-Pinkerton who’s been hunting Glendon for years, Monte falls ever further from his family and the law, to be tempered by a fiery adventure from which he may never get home.
Amazon.com Review
Amazon Significant Seven, April 2008: A gritty western couched in the easy storytelling style of a folk ballad (think 3:10 to Yuma as sung by the Kingston Trio), Leif Enger's highly anticipated second novel (his first was Peace Like a River) tells the story of outlaw Glendon Hale's quest to right his past, as seen through the eyes of his unlikely companion Monte Becket. So Brave, Young, and Handsome begins with Becket, a struggling novelist bewildered by the success of his first book, who has pledged to his wife, son, and publisher to "write one thousand words a day until another book is finished." Four years and six unfinished novels later, Becket sits on the porch of his Minnesota farmhouse about to give up on number seven, when he spies a man standing up in his boat "rowing upstream through the ropy mists of the Cannon River." Eager to set aside his waning tale about handsome ranch hand Dan Roscoe, Becket calls out to the mysterious white-haired boatman and his life changes forever. At turns merry and wistful, romantic and tragic, So Brave, Young, and Handsome is as absorbing as a campfire tale, full of winking outlaws and relentless villains--the sort of story to keep you on the edge of your seat with hope in your heart. --Daphne Durham
Good luck, Mr. Enger (2009-07-04)
I imagine that Leif Enger must feel a little like Mark Twain did many years ago. Just putting him in the company of Mr. Twain is high praise enough, and Enger deserves it. His debut novel, "Peace Like a River" is the great American novel that so many set out to write and very few acheive. After reading "Peace...", I thought to myself, "I hope he'll be able to write another as good", but I was not at all optimistic. Much like Twain's "Huckleberry Finn", after you've written the best, how can you compete with yourself?
It's not that "So Brave, Young, and Handsome" is a bad novel. It's a good novel written by an author who set the bar so high the first time that he will forever struggle to do chin-ups on it. And while he pulled himself a respectable distance up in writing "So Brave...", his chin simply didn't clear his previously set standards.
Leif Enger deserves your attention, and I'm anxiously awaiting his next work. Meanwhile I keep a battered copy of "Peace..." nearby so I can remember that American Literature is not stagnant and that at least a few times in ones lifetime we can expect the best work to appear.
A Story About Storytelling (2009-06-25)
It's inevitable that "So Brave, Young and Handsome" will be compared to Leif Enger's first novel, "Peace Like a River." And that first book, published in 2000, is an incredible story that's received well deserved acclaim.
Yet as much as I liked "Peace Like a River," I liked "So Brave, Young and Handsome" more. In fact, the second novel helped me understand the first novel better - an outcome I wasn't expecting.
It's Minnesota, 1915. Monte Beckett is a writer with a highly successful first novel, a shoot-em-up western, who finds he can't write a second novel. Nothing works. Everything he sends to his publisher is turned down; everything he writes is unsatisfying. And then Glendon Hale comes rowing down the river by Monte's house, and he's rowing while standing up. And Monte's life fundamentally changes.
Eventually, with his wife Susannah's blessing, Monte leaves to accompany Glendon to Mexico, to look for Glendon's first love. Along the way, Monte finds out that Glendon was an outlaw. And he's still being chased down by the authorities.
Like "Peace Like a River," Enger's second novel is about a journey, but also much more than that. He raises subtle questions about the nature of good and evil, and heroes and villains. The reader comes to root for the outlaw and despise the ex-Pinkerton agent chasing him. But what great characters Enger creates in the process!
Ultimately, "So Brave, Young and Handsome" is a story about storytelling - how stories are written and change, how even "factual accounts" are often anything but. And it's a delight to read.
Not quite peace... (2009-06-22)
I fell in love with Enger's first novel, Peace Like a River, so I was thrilled to dive into this the first chance I got. Enger's narrator is as likeable as the boy in Peace, and I felt like a close friend by the end. The story is mostly character-driven, so it may feel slow at times, but it was no less enjoyable for me. I would still say Peace is my favorite Enger novel, but by the end of this one, I felt a kinship with Monte and a quiet respect for the elusive Glendon Hale.
Loved This One, Too (2009-05-26)
I loved this book-thought it was a little gem! Peace Like A River was a great book and is why I sought out more by this writer. I was not disappointed. The characterizations were just as wonderful and the writing just as tight. I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you like the quirky type of characters Larry McMurtry writes, you'll probably like Enger, too. Can't wait for the next one, I only hope it doesn't take another seven years.
I couldn't get into it. (2009-05-21)
I really wanted to like this book. I'd heard great things about Leif Enger and was excited to receive this book. And while Enger's prose is indeed beautiful and lyrical, I was just not interested in the story.