Legends of the Fall

Having been so impressed with the writing of Jim Harrison in the recently reviewed The Great Leader, I decided to try a second novel, and I went for the one for which Harrison is most famous, Legends of the Fall. I was not disappointed, although I did not get what I expected. Written in 1979, this is actually a book of three novellas, Revenge, The Man Who Gave Up His Name, and Legends of the Fall, which at least in the most obvious themes, are not related to one another.

Revenge is a story of betrayal in Mexico. Tibey, or Tiburon, which is translated as “shark” had a best friend, Cochran, who had an affair with Tibey’s wife, Miryea. Revenge is the theme, and there is much brutality, but what sets the story apart is the quality of the writing. Although it is not apart of the main theme, in addressing the emotions that are being felt, Harrison writes about what it is like to be 19 years old: “Nineteen is the age of the perfect foot soldier who will die without a murmur, his heart aflame with patriotism. Nineteen is the age at which the brain of a nascent poet in his rented room soars the highest, suffering gladly the assault of what he thinks is the god in him. Nineteen is the last year that a young woman will marry purely for love.” Beautiful prose.

The second novella, The Man Who Gave Up His Name, was about a successful businessman, Nordstrom, who found his life unsatisfying, and after divorcing his wife Laura, decided to give away all of his money. Harrison captured the melancholy of Nordstrom and his feeble attempts to break free of his emotional doldrums, but the story was less compelling to me that the other two stories. As I read other review of this book by Harrison, it is clear that many other are moved by this particular story.

The final novella, “Legends of the Fall” is a remarkable work. While I previously favorably compared Harrison’s writing to other thriller/mystery writers of note, in this one, his style reminded me of Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove, which is one of my all-time favorite books. This is a three-generation tale of the old west, starting in Montana at the start of World War I, but the backstory begins in the 1870’s with William Ludlow, a very successful rancher who has advised presidents about the U.S. Indian policies (and his humanistic ideas were generally ignored as the Indians were massively mistreated). His three sons, Alfred, Tristan, and Samuel all travel to Canada to enlist in the war before the U.S. was willing to get involved. It is Tristan whose character is most developed by Harrison, and it was Tristan who was played in the 1994 movie by Brad Pitt. The book ends with a current day epilogue. It is a story of family, of adventure, of love, of loss. I was spellbound by it.

The Great Leader

Jim Harrison is a prolific author, probably best known for Legends of the Fall, a 1979 book that was made into a 1994 movie with Brad Pitt, Julia Ormond, and Anthony Hopkins. He was once reviewed in this blog, earlier this year – Returning to Earth is a philosophical story about life and death, not a mystery/thriller. The Great Leader is a far different tale.

Detective Sunderson has just retired from the Michigan State Police, and he was recently divorced. Meanwhile, his alcoholism has been accelerating, and he has to figure out what to do with his life. His first choice is to pursue the last unresolved/unsolved case in which he was involved, that of G.L, the Great Leader of variously named cults which were but thin disguises for stealing the money of his followers and having sex with their barely pubescent daughters. Meanwhile, Sunderson struggles with his own sexuality and his attraction to age-inappropriate girls, especially his provocative 16-year-old neighbor Mona. The case takes Sunderson from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, to Arizona and New Mexico, back to Michigan, and finally to Nebraska. The author’s descriptions of the countryside in all of those locations is wonderful. Harrison used rich and believable characters to support the story and his protagonist.

Mostly, this is a story of character development, and that’s what carries the book more than the plot. It is a high compliment when I suggest that Harrison’s writing is a combination of James Lee Burke, Ken Bruen and C.J. Box. He captures the struggle of alcoholism like only an alcoholic would know. I’m very impressed with this book and I’ve already added another one of his books to my long reading queue.

Returning to Earth

Warning – this book is way out of our usual genre. Returning to Earth was recommended by a friend, so I spent a day with it. Jim Harrison is a prolific author, but he’s never been reviewed in this blog. This 2007 novel is about Donald, a 45-yo man of Chippewa-Finnish descent, who is dying of ALS. The story takes place in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Donald and his family are grieving for this loss and trying to put the matter in perspective. This work is done with taste and humanity. Donald’s wife, Cynthia, who takes down Donald’s dictation of his multigenerational history before it can be lost forever, says to her progressively more disabled husband, “Whoever we are isn’t for certain.”  The author had David, the brother-in-law of Donald say on a return trip from the deep woods, “I reminded myself that my persistent life question, ‘How do we live with what we know?’ didn’t cover everything and that I might humorously add, ‘How do we live with what we don’t know?’” If you’ve not already thought enough about life and death, or you feel the need to revisit the topic, this book will provide you with a vehicle for lots of contemplation.