Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell is a sweeping, literate western centered around the disparate group of lawmen and outlaws--and men who were both--that swirled around a battle that went down in history as the Gunfight at the OK Corral.
Where Russell's novel gives a fresh perspective is through the thoughts and actions of the wives, lovers, and other women associated with Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the others who loomed large in the tale of the gunfight.
But plenty of time is spent on the more well-known figures, including some tertiary ones, as the actual gunfight does not occur until several hundred pages into the telling. A briefer, and more melancholy, section tells about the aftermath, and what happened to most of the main players.
A really good contemporary western not only for fans of the genre but for readers interested in history. Recommended.
I checked this out from the Morrison-Reeves Library in Richmond, Indiana.
Where Russell's novel gives a fresh perspective is through the thoughts and actions of the wives, lovers, and other women associated with Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the others who loomed large in the tale of the gunfight.
But plenty of time is spent on the more well-known figures, including some tertiary ones, as the actual gunfight does not occur until several hundred pages into the telling. A briefer, and more melancholy, section tells about the aftermath, and what happened to most of the main players.
A really good contemporary western not only for fans of the genre but for readers interested in history. Recommended.
I checked this out from the Morrison-Reeves Library in Richmond, Indiana.
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