Book Reviews

L'Amour is a wonderful storyteller. Westerns aren't what I'd normally choose to read, but I picked this up out of curiosity and I was happily surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

This is the story of Pronto Pike's turning point in life. Pike's a cowhand drifting from job to job, enjoying a few fights between jobs. He and a new friend take a job in Eastern Montana and the story deals with rustlers, vigilantes, ranchers and homesteaders. Pike turns out to be a hero the reader totally likes - not perfect, but definitely not an anti-hero, either. He's intelligent and thoughtful, but also just a normal guy. There's nothing special about him except that maybe he's a bit more intelligent and thoughtful than average.

The best thing about L'Amour's writing is that just when you think you know where the story's going, he throws in a curve. He makes it totally natural (it's not just thrown in), and in many cases, it seemed, to me, to be more realistic than the average story would be.

This was my first Louis L'Amour book, but it won't be my last.

Everyone seems to be comparing The Last Day to The Shack, but I find that to be apples and oranges. The Shack is a story of faith. The Last Day is a love story. It is not a study of the nature of God. Jesus is a character in the story, but the story is not about him. It's about Warren Harlan Pease's last day and return home at the end of his tour of duty in Iraq. It's about his love for the people in his life, their relationships and interactions with one another. It's about his personal relationship with Jesus (not Jesus's relationship with the whole world).

I found Warren to be a very real character. I like him a lot. Everyone was likeable, probably because we were seeing them through Warren's eyes. They were also very human. They are presented with their frailties along with their good points.

The Lat Day is a sad book. It brought tears to my eyes. At the same time, it's a joyful book because it celebrates love and life. It has hope woven throughout with love.

This was one of my favorite books of 2009.