There are authors in this world, who have been blessed with the ability to tell a story, which can, not only touch your soul but also help you relive it through their words. Such books or rather, works of art are a Godsend and such a rarity that we seldom come across them.
The The Last Trail by Zane Grey is one such book and I had the pleasure of reading it recently.
The Last Trail is a Western Novel and was written by Zane Grey, who is considered the father of Western Genre and is the author of 86 books, 25 of which were published after his death.
All of this sounds impressive. However, I did not know this, when I began reading The Last Trail. I read about the author while writing this review and it has only increased my respect for him.
I found The Last Trail on Kindle Unlimited, once I finished reading Rule Breakers by Preeti Shenoy and was in dire need of a classic, to undo the damage it had done on my vocabulary and grammar.
The story revolves around the time when settlers (referred to as pioneers) in America were in search of good land to build a new life; constantly at war with the Indian Tribes and the Outlaws, out to steal their money, horses, and women.
All that stood between them and the villains were bordermen, who lived a solitary life, trying to bring the Outlaws and Indians to justice, rescuing women and horses and warning the pioneers about any impending attacks.
A romantic story on the lives of the pioneer and bordermen is woven in The Last Trail and then to make it more interesting, a love angle is thrown between our hero, the rugged borderman and the most beautiful woman in the settlement.
Even though the story is gripping and will keep you glued to the book, until the very end. It is the author’s description of the outdoors, which will enchant you the most. Especially if you are, like me and love nature and travel.
After all, there are only a handful of people in this world, who can write lines like these, “This June morning in the wild forest was significant of nature’s brightness and joy. Broad-leaved poplars, dense foliaged oaks, and vine-covered maples shaded cool, mossy banks, while between the trees the sunshine streamed in bright spots. It shone silver on the glancing silver-leaf, and gold on the colored leaves of the butternut tree. Dewdrops glistened on the ferns; ripples sparkled in the brooks; spider-webs glowed with wondrous rainbow hues, and the flower of the forest, the sweet, pale-faced daisy, rose above the green like a white star.
Yellow birds flitted among the hazel bushes caroling joyously, and cat-birds sang gaily. Robins called; bluejays screeched in the tall, white oaks; wood-peckers hammered in the dead hard-woods, and crows cawed overhead. Squirrels chattered everywhere. Ruffed grouse rose with great bustle and a whirr, flitting like brown flakes through the leaves. From far above came the shrill cry of a hawk, followed by the wilder scream of an eagle.”
This is not a story; it is poetry and art, from the imagination of a man, rightly called the father of Western Genre. For he manages to describe a world, we would love to visit and maybe even spend rest of our lives in.
This is the reason, I feel, The Last Trail is a must read for all travelers, writers, and lovers of arts.
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