An epic journey spanning a century and a half in Texas, America. Eli McCullough was born in 1836, the year that the Republic of Texas was declared an independent state. He was the first child of this new republic. Eight years later he and his brother are kidnapped. They are left with nothing, barely their lives, whilst Eli watches his sister being raped and killed. Slowly he learns the ways and life of the Comanches as they battle to survive themselves against the incursions of the white settlers. But his progress within the tribe is matched by the tribe's own perilous journey, as an epidemic endangers their future. Eli is forced to leave the tribe and pursue his life elsewhere. He falls in love has children and becomes a Ranger working for the Government, but finds it hard to break his Comanche memories and ways. He lives to be 100 and tells his remarkable story. Eli's son Peter McCullough endures the First World War and several Mexican attacks. His diaries tell of momentous and dangerous times as he tries to maintain the dynasty begun by his father, now named the Colonel. At the age of eighty-six Jeanne Anne McCullough is the fifth richest woman in Texas, She has had a fall and is perilously close to death. She goes in and out of consciousness and tells her own history; battling to keep the family alive; battling to prevent the large-scale acquisitive oil companies from buying her land; battling to hold on to her largesse and her legacy. Three stories of one family combine to produce nothing less than a standout epic of and for our time.
The Son by Philipp Meyer
When I finished this book , I asked myself Is this the best book I have ever read. It is certainly close. I read it in three days, which included quite a lot of lying around in bed as it is not a small book. I would place it between Blood Meridian by Cormac McArthy and Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry in my pantheon of truly excellent books about the American West. As with all books about the American West there is violence that nowadays is hard to believe. If you are naturally queasy then maybe this isn't for you. The story follows three generations of the McCullough family as they battle themselves, Comanche, Mexicans, the government, neighbors etc. The blood flows easily and life is cheap. Some of the scenes of the torture meted out by the Comanche is eye-sguintingly hard to read, as is the organized slaughter of an old established Mexican family. That said, it is a well-written novel that will stand the test of time. Enjoy
David, 30/05/2014
