Book Review: Conagher: A Novel by Louis L’Amore

I have a handful of books by Louis L’Amour that I wanted to read or reread. Conagher is one of them. I really love the movie because it is more of a love story than a normal Western can be. (To me at least) Since I love the movie, I wanted to read the book.

I already read the book once before, but I thought I forgot most of the book. Recently, I had time to sit down and read. So, I picked up Conagher again and began to reread it.

The Amazon’s blurb about the book is…

As far as the eye can see is a vast, empty horizon. Evie Teale has finally accepted that her husband won’t be coming home. To make ends meet she runs a temporary stage station. But though she is diligent and careful, Evie must prepare for the day when the passengers no longer come and she must protect her children in an untamed country where’s it’s far easier to die than to live.

Miles away, another solitary soul battles for survival. Conagher is a lean, dark-eyed drifter who is not about to let a gang of rustlers push him around. While searching the isolated canyons for missing cattle, he finds notes tied to tumbleweeds rolling with the wind. The bleak, spare words echo Conagher’s own whispered prayers for companionship. Who is this mysterious woman on the other side of the wind? Conagher only hopes he can stay alive long enough to find her.

Even though I started reading the book with the mindset that I forgot most of it, after reading the first chapter I started to remember it.

For anyone looking for a western romance novel written by Louis L’Amour, Conagher is probably the closest you will get. I have not read ever single book L’Amour wrote, but out of all the books I have read, Conagher is one of the most romantic. The interactions between Evie and Conagher as well as their mutual love for one another is very well done. It builds well and is well rounded.

The plot is also well thought out, especially how the reader knows about Evie’s husband before the main story begins. The way Evie begins to realize her husband isn’t coming home and how, at the end of the book, Conagher discovers why is well laid out. L’Amour gives enough information about what happened for the reader to know and have no more questions about Evie’s husband’s disappearance. This way, there are no more questions about what actually happened and why. Yet, by the end of the book, the reader also gets a bigger pictures of what kind of a person Evie’s husband was and what she actually thought of him. This makes her efforts to move on from his disappearance more understandable and logical.

The book is short. It is less than 200 pages long. This makes it a fast read, but within the pages are enough information to make the reader enjoy the story and see the full picture of what happened.

If you are looking for a more romantic toned novel by Louis L’Amour, Conagher is a perfect choice. If you are looking for a novel written in the style of actual romance novels, or one that does not include action or violence, then this is not the book for you. It is written by Louis L’Amour, and L’Amour used his known style of writing to write this book. Since not everyone enjoys L’Amour’s writing style, this book will not be for everyone. Still, if you enjoyed the movie and want to read the book, then please read it!

Well, that’s all for now! Thank you for reading!