My dad loves all his books and I read over a hundred while staving off the night terrors when growing up.It is a strange fact about the old west, Indians, and the genocidal take over of the land now called the United States that fiction writing about them is often taken for truth (see Ward Churchill's Fantasies of the Master Race). The back of almost every L'amour novel lauds his knowledge of "how it really was" and the fact that he could've been one of the tough, honorable, lonely fighting men he wrote about. This is complete crap. L'amour was a seller of fantasy, of lies, and of ideals that white men like to think they possess. He uses Indians simultaneously as "noble warriors" and "bloodthirsty savages" and justifies the take over of their land with the old "their time was passing..." illogic--as if there wasn't an agent behind their passing. Reading one of his novels, one gets the feeling he never did any research required of historical novels. Details are always vague. Little reference is made to historical events, ways of doing things, or period details that would lend credence to his imaginings. His stories could just as easily been set on Mars for all the research that shows through his writing. But Americans are already disposed to believing all this romantic Old West bullshit, so you don't have to try very hard. When a writer taps into our national myths, they don't have to be accurate or true, because most of our national myths are lies already believed.
I have to admit that I probably rate Louis L'Amour books a little higher than I should. He was my father's favorite author and I've made a pledge to myself to read all of his books in tribute to my father. That said, I did enjoy this story of a young man ... left an orphan by the killing of his father on the night that his father won a fortune at a saloon card game. It turns out that our 17-year old hero is heir to a Carolina fortune in land, property and money ... but there are many evil cousins looking to kill her before he can take control of his inheritance.We watch the hero as he grows into his manhood while avoiding the evil ones and learning more and more each day about his father ... who he had taken for granted as a youth.I can see why my father loves these books. My dad was brought up in Oklahoma and he had family members who were cowboys and loved horses and such. These books give him a glimpse of those times ... although he would acknowledge the reality would be much different for a Black man in those days. L'Amour books usually show a powerful link between a father (often lost or dead) and his son. I like to think that my Dad thought of me and my brother as he read these books. I know that I think of my 12-year old son as I read L'Amour books.Anyhow, I recommend this for any of you that enjoy westerns (in general) or Louis L'Amour (in particular).RIP Dad...
I very much enjoyed The Proving Trail and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves a great adventure tale. It was easy to read, not too hard to understand, and there was not much left for the reader’s interpretation. It was also suspenseful and very hard to put down. The story had no dry areas, as Kearney was always on the run from the first chapter until the end of the story, and there was a lot of blood lost in between. I give The Proving Trail four out of five stars because it was very complex, but not confusing, and it was very suspenseful with great cliffhangers, leaving readers wanting more. However, there were a few moments in the story that were so extraordinary that it could not have possibly ever happened to a real person, which is why it is not five stars.
—Nick Ferranto
Ok, so my stack of bedside books was piled high with cerebral non fiction and I needed to step away from the intellectual feed bag and help myself to some brain candy. There's nothing like Louis L'Amour for a quick paced read with a tougher than life good guy, bad ass bad guys, a couple of hard boot women and one smart and capable gal to round it all out. Yup, there were some holes in the story and a few things made you go "hmmmm" but all in all, a perfect easy to swallow and fill up your hunger kind of story.
—Joell
I wanted something light after Faulkner, so I picked up The Proving Trail next. It's the usual L'Amour fare, but I really do enjoy his yarns in moderation. Nothing terribly innovative or original about them most of the time, but they're good fun. The main character in this tale has a rough time, and I'm afraid I didn't help at all: I accidentally sent him through the washing machine. I set the book on my bed, and then later I decided to do laundry. I wadded up the comforter and threw it in the hamper, paperback and all. I don't know where my head was that day; when I opened the washer, not only was a soaked and bedraggled copy of The Proving Trail staring back at me reproachfully, I'd also forgotten to empty the pockets of my jeans. Hey there, suddenly clean pocketknife.
—Stephanie Ricker
