Plot. Its central
character is a young American, Martin Brady, who has been living since boyhood
in Mexico. We learn little about his past, but his work involves him with a powerful family in Chihuahua. They are being
supplied with arms by a German merchant in an anglo settlement (an unnamed El Paso) across the Rio
Grande.
Brady is stranded on the American side when his horse falls
on him and breaks his leg. There, as he recuperates on crutches, he comes to
know the town’s few prominent citizens, including the commanding officer of the
Army outpost and the head of the local contingent of Texas Rangers, who offers
him a job.
Before he can take the job, he kills a man who has beaten up
one of his new friends, a Jewish immigrant. And Brady flees to his old life in
Mexico, transporting contraband while a civil war is being waged for control of the province. Meanwhile, everyone lives in
terror of the Apaches, who are on a rampage.
The plot is complex with many characters. Uncertain of
his safety, Brady becomes attached to another Spanish land-grant family, whose
patrón is Santiago Santos. He is a wonderfully drawn father-figure of a character for the fatherless Brady. An Apache attack leads them to an encounter with the
10th Cavalry “buffalo soldiers,” whose commanding officer has been
mortally wounded in their pursuit of the Apaches.
Brady reluctantly leaves Santos to help the American soldiers find their
way back to the U.S. There he is called once more back to Mexico, this time
with the Rangers, to prevent a shipment of ammunition from reaching an army of
fighting Apaches. The final chapter is reserved for a fatal encounter with yet
another adversary.
 |
| Tom Lea |
Themes. The
Wonderful Country is high-tension storytelling. Sometimes fortunes
take sudden turns, as when an ox-drawn cart transporting gunpowder explodes.
Then there are long stretches when the suspense is riveting, as when Brady,
rain-soaked, inches on his belly in the darkness to a smoldering farmstead to
learn the fate of its occupants.
Brady himself is an absorbing character, lost in many ways
and attempting to leave behind a troubled past to forge a new identity. Lea fully
understands his youth and both his fears and his courage. The warmth and
generosity that his friendship triggers in others pull him deeply into
relationships that he is then torn from by circumstances.
The one constant in his life is the black stallion,
Lagrimas, a gift to him from the Castros. The fondness and respect he has for
this horse is a continuing theme in the novel. It’s rare for a man’s horse to
spring to life in a novel as such a fully dimensioned character.
Part of the story’s achievement is its ability to effectively stick with
a single character from almost the beginning. From chapter six onward, Brady’s
are the only eyes, ears, feelings, and thoughts through which the story is
told. The effect is to intensify the isolation of his character, in a world
where companions are always temporary and it is impossible to know whom to
trust.
Lea is a writer’s writer. The material is similar in some ways to Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses. Dialogue is natural, and his descriptions of the physical
world are vivid and palpable, with a touch of poetry. Here a group of rangers
set out on a day’s ride:
A ghost of daybreak brushed at
their backs. Its glow carved the shape of Sierra del Lobo against the sky. The
light brightening cast suddenly from the east a red of day like a blood of
battle on the stones. The riders moved toward the mountain with their long
shadows before them.
His portrayal of an inexperienced young man's glimmerings of fond attraction to a girl are poignantly sweet without being sentimental. He also captures the loopy sensations of inebriation and the desperate confusion of the next morning's hangover. A welcome touch is the many illustrations in the novel,
including the endpapers and title page, all evocative of a 1950s sensibility and drawn by Lea himself.
Wrapping up. Tom Lea
is something of a legend in Texas. A handsome website has been dedicated to his
life and work. A film was adapted from The Wonderful Country in
1959 by the same name and starring Robert Mitchum. Another novel, The Brave
Bulls, was made into a Mel Ferrer film in
1951.
Further reading: Tom Lea Institute
Image credits: tomlea.net
Coming up: John Wayne, The Horse Soldiers (1959)
A fine review of a legendary novel and man. I had the great privilege of meeting him and his wife when he received the Wister Award. He was a quiet, affectionate, gifted man.
ReplyDeleteGlad to learn that he received the Award. Not surprised to hear the sort of man he was. At moments in the novel, the warmth between the characters is quite unusual for the western.
DeleteGreat book by an admirable writer and artist.
ReplyDeleteA legend for sure. Wonderful post, Ron.
ReplyDeleteLooks like one I need to put on my list. I find the idea of a single character interesting.
ReplyDeleteThat was an interesting time in Texas history which would make a good setting for a novel. Good review.
ReplyDeleteThis was made into a film starring Robert Mitchum as Martin Brady. It's available on DVD as one of those MGM manufactured-on-demand discs. I haven't read the book so I can't compare the two, but the film version of The Wonderful Country is very good and a favorite of Westerns fans.
ReplyDelete