Escape from Five Shadows

We learn more from deconstructing Elmore Leonard’s writing than from his famous top ten rules. He plotted a novel where everyone is in prison, from the inmates to the guard including the warden. Substance abuse, greed, and desire hold them prisoner, yet the protagonist we discover from the start is the only one truly innocent.
Recently, I have pondered what the term classic western means. Louis Lamour and Elmer Kelton are certainly classic western authors. Despite Elmore Leonard’s success in crime fiction, his best works are his classic westerns. Novels like Get Shorty and Maximum Bob have a surreal quality to them. Yet, his westerns have a gritty authenticity, which makes them timeless. He also does a great job drawing strong show more women and Native American characters. show less

I read all of the reviews of this short novel before trying to write one myself. I don’t have anything much different to add. It’s early Elmore Leonard, so you would have to give him a little bit of a break. It’s nowhere near as good as his later work, but it’s still worth a read if you like westerns or prison break stories. There’s a section where dynamite is used in the construction of a road, which I thought was really well written. The dialogue is good with the exception that it lacks humor--something that I look forward to in reading Leonard. I particularly liked the Mimbreno, Salvaje, and his interactions with the main character, Corey Bowen. The ending was a bit too abrupt for my taste, but I kind of expected it after a show more few Leonard novels under my belt. show less

As a western you would expect a story of cowboys and Indians. It is, but with a twist.

"Escape From Five Shadows" is a story that recalls movies from the 50's. Instead of a town and a rancher's daughter, it's a prison and a stage depot manager's daughter. You would expect the hero to be rugged and good looking and he is. To escape prison and run away with the manager's daughter may be the gist of the story, but it is also a story of justice and injustice, western style.

Corey Bowen is being held in an Arizona convict work camp building a road. The camp foreman and superintendent are corrupt and the foreman especially brutal to the men. Corey is there convicted of rustling cattle he didn't steal. Convinced he was set up by a wealthy cattleman, he breaks out to confront the man but is immediately caught. While free, he meets a young woman who believes he is innocent and finds a lawyer to take his case. Before she can tell Corey they have discovered the truth, he breaks out again leading to a show down with the foreman who he cannot kill because if he does, it will be back to prison for murder.
Fast paced and well developed story & characters for which Leonard is known.

A fun little romp to kick off the new year in books. It's very straightforward, very western, and very fun. A dash of The Defiant Ones through the dialogue that Leonard loves to write. Worth your time if you're looking to plow through a short book.

In "Escape From Five Shadows," a young man, wrongly convicted of cattle rustling, plots to escape a from a brutal and highly illegal private prison camp that gets money from the U.S. Government.