WESTERNS
I have another literary secret that I'm finally admitting to, besides my periodic chick-lit reads, I love Westerns!
Where else can a guy go to get a taste of cowboy life? A life where one lives on a horse, shoots up bad folk, and can take a bullet (or four) and still live to tell about it. Not only that, but these guys are flawless in a social sense. Their morals are always good, they have great manners, and they appreciate the environment. What more could you want in a character? Maybe a handlebar mustache? Well, sometimes they do sport a nice 'stash.
The storylines in these books, although sometimes predictable, are always full of action and adventure - hence, the 'take a bullet (or four) and still live to tell about it'.
My interest in this genre started earlier this year when I read Stands a Ranger. It was classic. A ranger comes into a dusty desert town and solves a few problems with the local black hats. There were countless shootouts, a saloon fight, and the ranger managed to do it all after being shot a handful of times. In the end the good guys won, hooray!
Recently, I've been listening to Louis L'Amour stories. The Lonely Men was another classic. A lone cowboy, with outstanding morals, saves a bunch of kids from the Natives. Again, countless shootouts, a saloon fight, and a bullet wound that would have killed any other man.
Both of these stories also featured a strong woman character - who happen to shoot shotguns! Very progressive in my opinion.
I know it is cheesey, but, I love when the Cowboy/Ranger can take on a pack of five ruffians, shoot them all with pinpoint accuracy, while they only manage to hit the dirt (or maybe a hat) with their bullets. How can you not love a talented man like that? Don't you just want to walk a mile in his boots, wear his hat, sport some chaps...ok, too far.
Although, I do wonder how to justify the hundreds upon hundreds of people these cowboys kill. Yes, they may be 'bad guys', but, how much blood can one hero draw before it's too much? That is the question I leave you with today...
Pretty funny! Actually, given that Louis L'Amour was who I read in Jr. Hi when my best friend was reading Harlequin romances, I'm not so sure that westerns aren't a form of chick lit. What could be better than an uber-tough guy with a hidden sensitive side killing all the bad guys, getting shot up so you can nurse him back to health, then moving in and helping you run the ranch and become rich?
ReplyDeleteThough to be sure I was such a tomboy that I identified with the cowboys, not the women.