Shane

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.

While the 1953 film is a classic, this, original version is much better. Reading Schaefer’s character descriptions, realize how terribly miscast the film is. As told through the eyes of young, Bob Starrett, this a love story of the old west, a man and boy, a father and son, and a man and wife. In the center of it all is the enigmatic, 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.

With summer in full swing, it felt like nigh time to settle down to reading a western classic. I’ve owned by copy of Jack Shaefer’s Shane for quite some time, so this was as good of time as any. Schaefer’s classic novel is not your typical Western even though it has its share of the notable staples of this genre—good guys vs. bad guys, depictions of a landscape, epic confrontations and conflict, and the theme of fighting for justice. It has all these elements, but also is definitely a novel that is a coming-of-age tale as it is told from the point of view of young Bob Starrett, who looks at this stranger named Shane coming into his life. Although this novel could be labelled a “young adult” novel (and rightly so), it is a subtleness and depth under the veneer of the surface level storytelling. There’s quite a bit going on underneath the surface, and this is not just because of our young narrator trying to figure out the world. It is also because there is a strong complexity to Shane’s character. He has a mysterious past that is difficult to penetrate because as much as we know about him, there is equally as much we do not know about him. There is a noble, gentlemanly, reserved stoic quality and respectability to him, but also a hard edge, no-nonsense, and dangerous quality as well. At points, from Bob’s point of view, he takes on characteristics of a mythical, heroic figure: “He was the symbol of all the dim, formless imaginings of danger and terror in the untested realm of human potentialities beyond my understanding.” And, of course, the novel on its surface level is about Shane finding his way into the Starrett family’s lives and their conflicts with a rancher who wants to drive the family out of their land and basically push them around. Shane comes into the picture, and there is quite a confrontation. And, as Shane becomes more familiar with Starretts, Bob understands and learns lessons about life along the way. Shane is an old-time Western that has earned it definitive reputation. I know that most are more familiar with the film, but this is a solid classic for Western fans.

I had read this book a long time ago. Ive seen the movie SHANE. I love this novel much better. The novel is so different from the movie. Still a very well written western novel.

Beautiful writing and great edition

An oldie but a goldie for homeschooling. My son loved it. Wish the schools would teach it today, but I was told it was 'too hard for grade 12 students to understand and the violence in it makes students feel unsafe.' What a laugh! I read it in grade 7 and had to do a report on it. Anyway, excellent book that touches on overcoming struggles, with a strong positive morals and values theme. The book quality was excellent. Typesetting was perfect for reading. The print was not too small. Room to make small notations in the margins.

Beaucoup aimé l'histoire, les descriptions très précises, les personnages bien campés. Un bon bouquin pour se plonger dans l'Amérique de l'Ouest, celui des pionniers qui ont fait ce pays.

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.

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