Hombre

Let me start with this admission. I have never seen the movie. Seems kind of unheard of considering I enjoy movies, I enjoy older movies, and I enjoy Westerns. But I just haven't had the opportunity with this classic. But that's not a bad thing. In fact, except for a very few exceptions I would say it is much better to read a book, get the nuances, and then watch the movie. (You're talking about someone who is not going to watch any of Game of Thrones until he has read the entire series.)

And now admission number two: This is the first book of Elmore Leonard's I have ever read. The most embarrassing part about that admission is that I really had no idea there was an Elmore Leonard until his passing. Reading the accolades and learning show more about his body of work, I gave myself the mission of making up for that significant failure.

So my approach to this book was about as blank canvas as might be possible considering the author and the specific piece.

Let me start the actual discussion of the book under review with one of the most obvious statements that might be made. This Elmore Leonard guy can write. Now, for those of you who have already delved into his works and marveled at his craft, I have just said something akin to "Lincoln did some cool things " or "That Gandhi was kind of a nifty guy" or any other ridiculously obvious statement you can imagine. But if you, like me, haven't tasted of the talent, then you have a wonderful surprise (so good it is still a surprise even if you are warned) ahead of you.

The characters come to life, the mood and locations feel real, and, the absolute best part of it all, the story moves nicely. Succinctness that speaks volumes.

The only "bother" with this particular case is that it is a story that seems to suffer from what time has done to our perceptions of the West in general and Native Americans in general. In addition, this story has a hint of 60s rebellion (it is the Old West, so it can't be that specifically, but it has some of the "vibe" of the time) that dates it slightly. I guess the continued tribute to Leonard's writing is that, in the hands of any other author, this would all probably come crashing down over time. The book in hand has, as I've said, hints of age, but not enough to make the reader do more than slightly pause.

The quick synopsis of the story is that there is one last stage out of a dying town. It is evident that the characters involved all have "something going on." What that something is becomes part of the overall reveal of the story, but it includes a plot to rob the stagecoach. One passenger is John Russell, a man who is part Apache. The other passengers refuse to accept the half-breed. The robbery occurs, they need his help, and it becomes a story of their survival and begrudging willingness to use the help that is offered.

Yes, a very basic plot. And even the twists and turns are not of the "Wow I can't believe that happened kind." Again, what was new in the 60s has now become somewhat expected. And yet, that writing...

It is easy to imagine why this was a best seller as well as being picked up for a movie option.

My first toe-dip into the world of Elmore Leonard has proven what most say to be true. And, spoiler alert, I've already begun reading more. He just keeps on giving. show less

Rightfully so, Elmore Leonard is best known for his crime fiction, but Leonard was not always a mystery writer. He began his career, in fact, as a writer of western novels and short stories, and he made significant contributions to that genre. And, just as with his crime novels, several of Leonard’s westerns were chosen by Hollywood producers to become major movies of the day. Hombre, written in 1961, was one of those so chosen, and in 1967 it became a feature film starring Paul Newman as “Hombre,” a white man who had been raised by his Apache kidnappers.

“Maybe he let us think a lot of things about him that weren’t true. But as Russell would say, that was up to us. He let people do or think what they wanted while he smoked a show more cigarette and thought it out calmly, without his feelings getting mixed up in it. Russell never changed the whole time, though I think everyone else did in some way. He did what he felt had to be done. Even if it meant dying. So maybe you don’t have to understand him. You just know him.”

As a boy, John Russell was taken from his family by Apaches who made him one of their own. Now, Russell so easily passes for Apache that the light color of his eyes is the only startling thing about his physical appearance. Russell continued to live with the tribe even when it was eventually forced onto the reservation, so for all practical purposes he considers himself to be Apache - not white. But now, John Russell, sporting a fresh haircut and dressed as a white man, is on a personal mission of his own, and he finds himself on a small stagecoach making its final run across that part of Arizona.

When the other passengers realize who John Russell really is, they want nothing to do with him — even to forcing him to ride atop the coach with its driver. The passengers include a young woman who has just been recaptured from the Apaches who had held and abused her for several weeks, another woman and her Indian Agent husband who has a secret of his own, and an intimidating cowboy who bullied his way into the stage at the last minute. Russell, who has little other choice, tolerates the abuse, but he’s listening to their words — and he’s taking notes.

But then everything changes.

Suddenly, the passengers are begrudgingly depending on John Russell to keep them alive. And John Russell is probably just as surprised as they are to find himself defending a bunch of people who hate him so much.

Bottom Line: Hombre is significant in the degree to which it exposes the exploitation and deadly abuse suffered by the Indian tribes at the hands of those who continually invaded their lands, and it is highly sympathetic to that point of view. It is also a novel about the foolishness and hypocrisy of any kind of racism that happens to have been written in the midst of America’s civil rights movement of the fifties and sixties — and the timing was no accident. This is a reminder of just how good and impactful a western novel can be, and I highly recommend it. show less

Published in 1961, [Hombre] was Elmore Leonard's fifth western novel. During the following half-century, up until his death in 2013, Leonard would produce 40 additional novels (a few of them westerns, but most crime and thriller works), several film scripts, and countless short stories. Hombre was the first Leonard novel adapted for the big screen, directed by Martin Ritt and starring Paul Newman, Richard Boone, Fredric March, and Martin Balsam.

The title's "Hombre" is John Russell, a remote, laconic figure who arouses suspicion simply by existing. Raised by Apaches, he was adopted by a white man, James Russell, who named him and, upon his death, left him his ranch property. He and several others are anxious to leave Sweetmary and show more quickly hitch rides on a coach chartered by an Indian Agent and his wife. Passengers are forbidden to ride on top, beside the driver. But at the first rest stop, he's banished to the top by the other five passengers because they've decided he's a "half-breed", and he therefore can't ride inside with them.

Before the next stop is reached, the coach is held up by three thugs who work for one of the passengers. The four disarm the passengers (not knowing that Russell has a rifle in the center of his bedroll), relieve the Indian Agent of thousands of dollars, take or kill all the horses, take most of the water, grab the Agent's wife as a hostage, and ride off. It falls to Russell to extricate the passengers and driver from this pickle. All are unwilling participants, all expecting someone else to face the danger and lead them to safety.

This book read differently to me than other Leonard books. I think that's a result of its being an early work. Leonard's famous rules for writing are on display, but his application of them hasn't fully matured. I read a couple of reviews by readers who wanted character development, but didn't see it because of Leonard's subtlety. Actions speak louder than words, and the actions, and inactions, of the characters exposes them.

Both thumbs up. show less

The celebrated lean prose of Elmore Leonard is perfect for Hombre, the epitome of a good Western. It has enough of the usual Western tropes to keep you oriented, but with enough of a new spin to keep you interested. It tells a crowd-pleasing story that also has the whisperings of a deeper theme in the form of the enigmatic John Russell. There is good dialogue and pace, and the finale on the slope is perfect dramatic staging. No wonder this led to such a good film adaptation, and as reading it is effortless.

I never read mysteries, I never read Westerns, I never read thrillers. I read this in order to think about something that would contrast against the books I usually read. It was an interesting exercise. It's a "classic Western" (although it's not at all clear what that expression means), written, distantly, in emulation of Hemingway.

Leonard wants to demonstrate the simplest form of moral judgment, one that depends on avoiding passions and complexities, and minimizing communication. His protagonist, Russell, says very little, and emerges as a hero. That's a common trope in Westerns; it reminds me of Gary Cooper, Clint Eastwood, and many others. But why would such a character be interesting? The kind of reader who would be satisfied by a show more book like this would have to feel a need to simplify character: to such a reader, people would appear unhelpfully or uninterestingly complex in real life, or in other novels, and so it would be desirable to find the most basic types of people. The intricacies of psychology, morals, and ethics would have to appear as deceptive, irrelevant, or even dangerously ill-conceived. There would be a fear of ambiguity and weakness, of moral and social entanglement, and of relationships. All those apparent problems are easily solved by a characters so unavailable to society that they can only appear as heroes or a villains.

In terms of writing, Leonard has a special interest in brief moments of decisive action. He expands them, in slow motion, and that produces a characteristic effect of drama: but why is he interested in them to begin with? Maybe he feels, somehow, that real human interaction takes places in those compressed moments. But of course it doesn't: it takes place slowly, painfully, incrementally, over lifetimes. Life would be simple if it happened mainly in an instant. show less

Hombre - Elmore Leonard *****

I love books like this. A relatively simple storyline, straight to the point dialect and plenty of action. The plot isn’t slowed down with daft love interests and the men are proper men who wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet between your eyes...

John Russel was raised by the Apache but has now decided that he wants to return to civilisation and live as white man, he boards a stagecoach hoping this will be the next step in his chosen path. He becomes embroiled in a bitter fight that leaves him and the other passengers marooned in the desert. He must make a decision whether to stay and help or look out for himself. Coupled with racial tensions and the obvious prejudices of the time, every character has his show more or her flaws. This book really is a nailbiter until the last bullet is fired.

Would I recommend? Definitely. Leonard reminds me very much of James M Cain, the same sort of blunt writing that just reaches out and grabs your attention. It is surprising that a novel with so few pages can have such an impression. This may have been my first by the author, but I can guarantee it won’t be my last. show less

Hombre by Elmore Leonard is a classic gem of a western tale. This author, known for his thrillers, has also written some of the best westerns around. This is a simple story of a loner who helps the survivors of a stagecoach robbery, but in Leonard’s capable hands a story of prejudice, survival and moral honesty emerges.

Hombre is John Russell, a man who was raised by Apaches but lives in a white world that doesn’t accept him. Told he is not “white” enough to ride in the stagecoach, he is banished to ride upon the roof. After being robbed and left in the desert with no transportation or water, these same people turn to him and expect him to save them.

Once can’t help but picture Paul Newman as Hombre, a role he made famous in the show more movies. Every time the character’s piercing blue eyes are mentioned, I saw Newman’s face. This is a quick read, but though short in page numbers, there is a powerful story here and one that I really enjoyed. show less