The Virginian by Owen Wister

The Virginian by Owen Wister
Series: N/A
Published by Townsend Library in 2007 (first published in 1902)
Genres: Wild West, Classic, Cowboys
Pages: 407 : Paperback edition
Source: Received through PaperBackSwap.com
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His background is shadowy, his presence commanding. He brings law and order to a frontier town and wins the love of a pretty schoolteacher from the East. He is the Virginian — the first fully realized cowboy hero in American literature, a near-mythic figure whose idealized image has profoundly influenced our national consciousness.

I had to read this novel for a Gender and Women’s Studies class I was taking at school and had to examine stereotypes that were associated with cowboys and the wild west and how gender played a big role in early literature like this. I’m not going to get into all of that, but if you’re looking to study something along those lines definitely pick this up!

Moving on to the nitty gritty; I did like this novel, but there were a couple of times (especially towards the middle half) were I felt the story really wasn’t going anywhere.

As with any classic though, I had to keep in mind that things sometimes get a little dull or confusing and to just power through and it’d usually be worth it. In this case it was! The ending really seemed to pick up the pace and there was more action and exciting events happening.

This is definitely the perfect read for someone who wants to be transported to the wild west and the land of cows and cowboys!