Shane

Shane is truly one of the greatest westerns of all time. The story told through the eyes of a young boy named Bob and how he viewed Shane as a larger than life hero. Bob was one character that I heavily identified with as a young boy. many years later I read it again as a teenager and it still had that same view as when I was young. Now I've read it as a young man and read it and noticed that this time I identified as Shane this time around. I cant wait to read it again in a few years and see what changes for me next time.

Shane is one of the greatest westerns ever told. Or, maybe THE greatest. I'm almost 70 and the story was written before I was born. I have read Shane several times as a child and again as an adult and just now. I hope I have time to read it yet again. It is a short novel, a big story and not one word wasted. The brilliance of Jack Schaefer's crafting of Shane was in his storytelling being told in Bob's point of view, from the eyes and ears of a child. Too bad we didn't have more men in the world today like Shane. It would be a much safer place for the innocent and vulnerable ones. The rest is legend.

SHANEwritten by Jack Schaefer, Illustrated by Wendell Minor, (Houghton Mifflin,1949), 224 p, 12+yrsThe Starrett family’s life forever changes when a man named Shane rides out of the great glowing West and up to their farm. Young Bob Starrett is entranced by this stoic stranger who brings a new energy to his family. Shane stays on as a farmhand, but his past remains a mystery. Many folks in their small Wyoming valley are suspicious of Shane and make it known that he is not welcome. But dangerous as Shane may seem, he is a staunch friend to the Starretts—and when a powerful neighboring rancher tries to drive them out of their homestead, Shane becomes entangled in the deadly feud that will change the Starrett family forever.Themes: Classics, Families, Friendship, Heroes, Wild West

Couldn't help asking this question as I read the book. Is it as good as the epic movie? No, it isn't. It doesn't have the many carefully drawn characters of the movie, and of course it doesn't have the Grand Tetons in the background of almost every scene.But it is a very good novel. A fast, engaging read, a story told with energy and insight. The story line of both the book and movie are almost identical, differing only in a few details. The usual western fiction cliches are in both versions, more so in the book, where Shane is portrayed as almost superhuman.Viewed independently, an enjoyable novel, well worth reading.

Jack Schaefer has set his story at the time of Wyoming's Johnson County "wars" between cattlemen and anyone, like rustlers and homesteaders, who cut into their profits. First published in 1949, the novel also reflects something of the war that had just ended for Americans who fought in Europe and the Pacific. We have a young family struggling to put down roots on the frontier, wanting little more than an ordered life and the opportunity to make a living among a gathering of neighbors who want the same for their own families.But they are prevented by men who want the open range for themselves and their own economic interests, and they'll stop at nothing to get their way. While the father of the family attempts bravely to hold his own, his neighbors are intimidated, feeling threatened and outnumbered. Shane, a man with a shadowy past, arrives in the middle of this conflict, and while he assumes for a time the life of a hired hand, his gunslinger services are eventually needed to defend the lives and property of the family that has given him a home. We see what we have suspected, that he is a killer, and there's no place for him in their sunny, settled world. He must go back on the trail and disappear.Given the time in which it was written, "Shane" is a commentary on the role of violence in a world where law and order, on an international level, had been in short supply. Americans - and especially returning soldiers - had seen this for themselves. The novel carries this disturbing awareness right into the daily life of home and hometown. The mystery of Shane's identity suggests that what he represents in the story is a darker side of ourselves that does not integrate well with the more honorable aspects of self we prefer to acknowledge.The simplicity of Schaefer's tale, and his choice of a boy as narrator, allow readers to fill in a lot of details and emotions that tap into their own deeper fears and desires. The two men joining forces to uproot the tree stump is like a scene from a dream that wants to be understood - it's not just about a tree stump. But what? While the film for all its widescreen glory is not without merit, it's dated in a way the book may never be. In its 250+ pages, it speaks of elemental forces and how we go about living in a world where we are threatened by circumstances beyond our control.Thanks to the University of Nebraska Press for assembling this critical edition which includes several fine essays providing historical background, analysis of the text, commentary and reviews on the film adaptation.

There are plenty of “grade B” westerns out there, and they are fun to pick up now and again. But Shane is more than just good story set in the “Wild West”, it’s a well crafted, well written tale that everyone should read at least once. I’ve read and reread this story several times and it still seems fresh.

Shane was great, I see now how it’s a genre-defining classic. Good characters and story. People are claiming there’s a lot of offensive things in the book, which is true, BECAUSE IT WAS WRITTEN OVER 70 YEARS AGO! You can’t expect to hold it to today’s standards. So, if you’re a big baby, this historical, vintage read isn’t for you.I love it though, I’m going to buy a hardcover version now. Love the story. Definitely worth the read if you’re a fan of westerns.

No really, come back, Shane!! I wish this book had a sequel because it was a gift, and it was so loved, it was read twice. A true classic.If anyone you know loves Westerns, gets this for them..I started reading out of curiosity before I wrapped it, and I got sucked in, too!!BTW, they've now read it three times..yeah, it's that good...

A brilliant, timeless, unique novel. If I were to associate one quality with Shane, it would be kindness. But close behind would be bravery; a fearless, unwavering determination to protect those he loved, to go against the crowd, to win out against all odds. Shane is as kind as he is brave. That's why he's timeless.

Narrated through the voice of a little boy, it’s first and last, a boy’s dream of being a man. Period.

Beautiful writing and great edition

Ein Western aus der Sicht eines Jungen geschrieben, dicht, intensiv, gut lesbar. Mit Helden und deren Menschlichkeiten.Mir gefällt besonders, dass ich mich als Leser mit den verschiedenen Charktern identifizieren kann. Manchmal gleichzeitig...Noch besser hätte mir gefallen, wenn Nebenkrigsschauplätze wie der Quasiflirt zwischen der Frau des Hauses und dem Stranger einfach weggelassen worden wären.

I liked how Shane attacked 'the stump' and was taken on as ' a hand ' on the ranch he worked on and his relationship with the young boy who was a son of the rancher.