The Man of the Forest (1919)

The author, like this reader, belongs to the first half of the 20th century. I was raised on Zane Grey and Egar Rice Burroughs. Today's literary critic will say the book is "overwritten," but I say he paints with a rich tapestry of adjectival and adverbial colors. Too, he was of an age when people had romance, dreamt of love, and didn't just walk up and say "let's fuck." Frankly, this book was so thorughly enjoyed by me that I am grateful I am soon shuffling off this mortal coil. It has become too ranuchy for me. In the so-called "wild west" people actually were more polite and civil to each other than anywhere in our urbanized society of today. I would love to see the law allow everyone to wear their pistol openly. Watch road rage and basic disrepect wind down fast. If you believe in a slower, more sustaining relationship and the power of emotional love, this writer and this book especially is for you. ( )