Commentary/review

Bingo – another strong contender for my personal Best Book of the Year listing. I have been lucky lately. I enjoyed this book for several reasons.

This was the first book from the Longmire series I encountered. It is a prequel to the main series – it takes place before Longmire and the Bear join the US Army. The writing is both funny and grim, playful and serious. The book reminds a little less of Larry McMurtry’s classic “Lonesome Dove” series than the main procedural crime series which also features Longmire, only much later. “First Frost” strangely reminded me of “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy although it was much less grim than the aforementioned genius classic piece of allegorical fiction. Yet there were many unreal descriptions of cruelty and bloodshed on a desert with so much cold calculation, stoicism and strong poetry that I could not resist the temptation to compare these works. Perhaps it was intended. The theme of American concentration camps for the Japanese population during World War 2 appeared also in “Snow Falling on Cedars” by David Guterson.

“First Frost” is masterfully written and very enjoyable. The jokes are funny, the characters are alive and there is plenty of delicious absurdity. The storyline speaks to typical sensitivities and delivers literary satisfaction. The Author knows his craft.

The book is fantastically read by an experienced lector – George Guidall. Never an hour wasted. His characters have a lot of personality and sound just right. His voice is made for the American Western and any blends thereof. What a treat.

The cover is of a no-content type. I do not approve but understand. Nothing to write home about.

Cover Photo by https://unsplash.com/@ivan_andriavani on Unsplash