Hondo by Louis L’Amour
When I decided to add some classic Western novels to my reading list, I sought out a number of online resources to determine what books were considered essential reading for the genre. Few books turned up as often as Hondo, Louis L’Amour’s tale of former soldier turned scout, Hondo Lane.
The book is actually a novelization of the 1953 John Wayne film of the same name. The film however was based on a Louis L’Amour short story titled, “The Gift of Cochise”.
Upon completing the book, I watched the film which is nearly identical to the book right down to specific dialogue.
To be honest, I found both the film and the book to be pretty underwhelming. Though the film did contain this absolute gem of a scene:
I’ve watched that scene like 100 times and it never gets old.
Anyway, the book tells the story of Hondo Lane, who appears one day at the frontier home of Angie Lowe and her six year-old son Johnny. Hondo quickly discovers that Angie is raising her son alone, her husband having disappeared several months ago.
Meanwhile, Angie seems to be caught in the middle of a growing war between Apaches and U.S. cavalry. The Apache chief, Vitorro, has taken a particular interest in her son whom he calls Little Warrior. He’s insistent that the boy needs a father and tells Angie that if her husband doesn’t appear soon, she’ll be forced to take an Apache warrior as a husband.
Hondo eventually comes across Angie’s husband who is very much alive, ends up killing him in self-defense, and then finds himself falling in love with Angie while simultaneously defending and pursuing the Apache warriors.
I won’t spoil what comes next, but suffice to say it’s pretty standard fare. I presume you can guess where it’s all leading.
I suppose Hondo appears on so many lists because it’s a fairly representative example of much of L’Amour’s vast output of Western novels. His name is simply synonymous with the genre. For that reason, I’m glad to have read it, but I enjoyed L’Amour’s The Quick and the Dead far more.