The Outcasts of Poker Flat and Other Stories of the American West

I picked this title solely because one of the narrators is Robert Forester and I am obsessed with anything he narrates. The Outcasts of Poker Flats is a collection of short stories and poems set in the wild west. An unlucky party caught in a mountain blizzard, an orphaned baby in an all male camp, Tennessee's partner and more. I was not overly impressed with any of the stories glamorizing, miners, gamblers, and lawless men. This collection was written in the nineteenth century which explains the machismo and degradation of women, but doesn't excuse it. Some of the narrators did no favors to this audiobook. I honestly may have enjoyed it more had I actually read it.

This probably would have been a nice story if the author had kept it simple. I'm not saying that he should have eliminate all the bells and whistles- those unique touches are what make writing special. But it's as if Mr. Harte wrote a sentence, whipped out a thesaurus, and chose the most complicated and pretentious synonym for each word. As a result of this, it sounds lofty, condescending, and is just generally unpleasant to read.

For example: "Haply the time was beguiled by an accordion, produced somewhat ostentatiously by Tom Simson from his pack. Notwithstanding some difficulties attending the manipulation of this instrument, Piney Woods managed to pluck several reluctant melodies from its keys, to an accompaniment by the Innocent on show more a pair of bone castanets."

And it's all written like that.

So, yeah. It's fucking painful. Stay away from this one. show less