The #1 New York Times bestselling classic frontier adventure novel that inspired two award-winning films! Charles Portis has long been acclaimed as one of America’s foremost writers. True Grit, his most famous novel, was first published in 1968, and became the basis for two movies, the 1969 classic starring John Wayne and, in 2010, a new version starring Academy Award® winner Jeff Bridges and … Academy Award® winner Jeff Bridges and written and directed by the Coen brothers. True Grit tells the story of Mattie Ross, who is just fourteen when the coward Tom Chaney shoots her father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robs him of his life, his horse, and $150 in cash. Mattie leaves home to avenge her father’s blood. With one-eyed Rooster Cogburn, the meanest available U.S. Marshal, by her side, Mattie pursues the killer into Indian Territory. True Grit is eccentric, cool, straight, and unflinching, like Mattie herself. From a writer of true status, this is an American classic through and through.
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Whether or not you have any interest in Westerns, for aspiring writers this book is a master class on the use of voice and point of view to tell a story.
A true classic!
Just like the movie.
I am no fan of John Wayne’s, but of course I’ve seen his version of the movie. I love the 2010 film starring Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon, and have wanted to read this book for years. Characters were realistic, imperfect and human, and the book itself was well-written. This book was never boring, and I chewed through it quickly.
Hilarious & tragic. Brilliant prose. Interesting characters. Love, love, love the modern movie version – not so much the one with John Wayne & Glen Campbell. This book and the latest movie version are both on my top ten list.
One of my favorite all time books. Portis is masterful. Mattie Ross, a 14 year old girl from Arkansas seeks justice for the murder of her father. This book has been made into several excellent movies, one of which earned John Wayne the Academy Award for best actor. Not much more needs to be said except Donna Tartt wrote the afterward. Rooster …
A true classic
A masterpiece in storytelling and crafting compelling characters.
Not what you would expect if you saw the John Wayne movie – and quite a bit more puckish than even the Coen brothers movie might lead you to believe. In fact, this book is downright hilarious (in a very wry way). It’s also action-packed, highly original, and features one of the most unique kick-ass heroines I’ve ever read. Worth reading more than …
A true classic. Sorry but I hear the Duke’s voice when reading his lines.
As good as the movie. Good old western.
I don’t know how to use BookBub! Is this how I do it? Anyway I thought I’d start with True Grit. I don’t especially like westerns but I love this book. It’s kind of like a very compressed and more credible version of Lonesome Dove, if you liked that, or a funny, down-to-earth version of Cormac McCarthy. You’ll read it in two sittings and I adore …
A young girl in the wild, wild West vows to avenge her father. Many years later, she looks back upon the tale.
I really, really liked this. Direct and ornery. It reminds me of family.
A tale told by a mature Mattie Ross of her misadventure as a fourteen year old girl on the hunt for her father’s killer. The character of her older voice and her younger voice are heard in perfect balance in this literary masterpiece. There are very few books that I will repeatedly revisit. I have read The Great Gatsby five times and I have read …