Shane (1949 original; edició 1983)

A small book. Quick, easy read. Much of the story is about what isn't said. ( )

This small little book packed a punch! I haven't read a western book in a long time... but now that I think about it, I don't think I have ever read a western... or maybe I have and just can't remember. Either way, I loved this book! There were many parts I reread just to ponder over what message Schaefer was trying to convey. He imparts wisdom, wise advice, and the character of a man throughout this book. One of my favorite quotes is when Shane is telling Bob that a gun is just a tool:
"Listen Bob. A gun is just a tool. No better and no worse than any other tool, a shovel-or an ax or a saddle or stove or anything. Think of it always that way. A gun is as good-and as bad-as the man who carries it. Remember that."
Wish more people felt this way.
Now I want to see the movie based on this book again. It's been awhile since I've seen it.
Special thanks to LibraryThings Member's Review Program for this free book and the opportunity to read and review it. ( )

Does Shane die in the end?

Might be a few "Spoilers" below for those who have not read the book, or seen the film. You have been warned. :-)

I read this book not too long ago (after watching the 1953 film).

The film's ending imagery suggests that the character "Shane" dies in the end of the film. The final few seconds of the film show the title character slumped in his saddle, about to fall off, as he rides through a cemetery towards a bright light in an otherwise dark, midnight sky . The night is almost pitch-dark, there is no moon, just this heavenly-bright stretch of sky.

Shane is riding directly towards this light, indicating his spirit is about to enter heaven.

Final image of the film (look quickly, it is only a second or two) shows Shane and his horse *descending* into the ground, between two of the tombstones in the cemetery, until both are lost from view.

Shane's mortal body is being returned to the earth.

Pretty unmistakable what is happening here, for those who care to look carefully and think about it a bit.

The book ends differently.

In the book, we know from Bob's description that Shane has been shot in the torso, as he rides away into the dark, soon lost from view. The book doesn't end there, though, but goes on to state that when Bob's father, Joe, finds out that Shane is still alive after the gunfight, he (Joe) is surprised and happy at this news.

And yet. . . and yet. . .

Although Joe, Bob's father, having been informed that Shane has been critically injured in the gunfight - most likely fatally - Joe never bothers to go out to look for Shane, not to help him, not even to, perhaps, find his body to bury him. A man in those days - any days, really - with a gunshot to the torso would not be able to ride a horse very far at all.

Joe does not go to find Shane, even though Shane, by his selfless act, has saved Joe's life, the lives of Joe's family, Joe's homestead and likely the entire homesteader community at large. Whew!

The whole of the story is extremely well written, but this last bit to me seems illogical, and at odds with the previous body of the work. True, Joe and Shane have just engaged in fisticuffs, but considering the kind of man Joe has been portrayed as throughout the book, I don't think this would have stopped him from going to search for his friend Shane.

It seems to me like a betrayal - of both Shane and of Bob - that he does not do so.

This has been bothering me quite a bit, and I would be very interested to know how other readers look at how the book ends.

Thanks. :-) ( )

Shane lives. ( )

So good. Great story and characterization. Pretty short but very impactful ( )