The Searchers (Leisure Western) Summary and Reviews

The Searchers (Leisure Western)
by Alan Le May

The Searchers (Leisure Western)
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Book Summary Information

Author: Alan Le May
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-02
ISBN: 0843961724
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Leisure Books

Book Reviews of The Searchers (Leisure Western)

Book Review: A timeless classic
Summary: 5 Stars

What's makes a book a classic? Well, the fact that you keep thinking about it even weeks after you finish is probably a good indication. That's certainly the experience I've been having with Alan LeMay's The Searchers, which I finished this past February, and haven't been able to get out of my mind since. Then there's the fact that it stands the test of time, which The Searchers, published well over a half century ago, certainly does--an exciting and heartbreaking read, it truly earns the description "timeless."

What makes it stand out from other westerns, or, for that matter, other novels? Well, there's LeMay's careful, considered prose, supplemented by his thorough research and careful plotting. And, naturally, his understanding of his characters, and the humanity they demonstrate, which shines through in their reactions to the harrowing events depicted in this novel. Finally, it's the way LeMay takes the classic notion of a hero's quest and transplants it to the American west, focusing on the men and women who carved a country out of the wilderness, piece by painful piece. In days of old, King Arthur and his knights sought the Holy Grail; in LeMay's tale, a band of cowboys, which eventually dwindles down to two members, Ethan Edwards and Martin Pawley, seek to find family members who were ripped from their midst during a brutal Comanche raid.

A tale of pervasive violence, loyalty, heartbreak, and obsession, The Searchers is also one of the most suspenseful novels you'll ever read. You realize this within pages, as LeMay sets the stage for the seminal event of the novel, the Comanche attack that would lead to the kidnapping of two young girls. LeMay increases the tension sentence by sentence, page by page, creating a sense of menace that is almost palpable. The fact that he doesn't even have to describe the actual attack to make readers feel its horror is simply incredible.

It's no wonder the John Wayne film of the same name is so revered, as it could hardly go wrong with LeMay's novel as source material. Fans of Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove will also recognize elements of Lemay's novel in that wonderful book as well--maybe not specific moments or homages, but certainly the tone, and the realism. Kudos to Leisure books for reissuing this gem as part of its "Classic Film Collection." I look forward to reading the other entries in this series, scheduled to include Max Brand's Destry Rides Again, T. T. Flynn's The Man From Laramie, and another Alan LeMay novel, The Unforgiven.

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