Willeford, Charles

Tucson. 1999. Dennis McMillan Publications. 1st of This Particular Edition. First Published in 1971 by Lennox Press As The Hombre From Sonora. 0939767333. Includes An Essay The Author Wrote About This Novel-Jake Dover As Existentialist. 141 pages. hardcover. Jacket design by Michael Kellner. Collage & digital illustration by Marta Foust. keywords: Literature Western America. FROM THE PUBLISHER - Set against the sweeping panorama of Arizona circa 1880, this work has many of the surface trappings of a standard western. However, from the first shocking realisation that the line between good and evil is being overstepped, the author then begins to dismantle the American cowboy myth. THE DIFFERENCE was described by Charles Willeford as a post modern western. Filled with outcasts and misfits, liberally dosed with black humour and jarring violence, and set in the wild west of 1880's Arizona. The protagonist, Johnny Shaw returns to southern Arizona to collect his inheritance, but before long becomes embroiled in a deadly dispute with the Reardon family, which results in the death of one of the sons. Shaw flees and finds an unlikely ally in a blacksmith, Jake Dover, who knew and respected Shaw's father. Dover hides Shaw from the Reardon's, and teaches him how to use a gun with speed and precision. Finally Shaw returns to Arizona fo an almighty showdown. Shaw tells the story from his point of view, believing himself to be right, but Shaw's professed virtue is at sharp odds with his actions. Those actions are made especially jarring by Willeford's terse prose, which adds impact to his character's sudden, simple bursts of violence. THE DIFFERENCE was originally published in 1971 as THE HOMBRE FROM SONORA, under the name Will Charles. inventory #26740 ISBN: 0939767333.