by Nathan Williams
Daily Lobo
The book West Bound contains several linked stories of a family that begins in Tulsa, Okla., and makes its way to Albuquerque, moving through the twentieth century.
Robert Gish starts with his focus on Jesse James, or J.J., and his move from Tulsa. Later stories switch over to his son as the protagonist and point of view character. The book functions as a collection of short stories linked by common characters.
J.J. tells his stories in third person, and through him the reader experiences many of the tribulations that went on during the early 1900s. J.J. is plagued by money troubles, bullwhips and ethical concerns about racial treatment. Gish takes the issues of living during that time and shows them through the lens of a character. Viewing large issues such as racial inequality through J.J.'s eyes makes them even more real as it places them in a human context, rather than historical.
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Gish further increases the power of such events by understating them. He does not play them up and slam the reader, but weaves them into the story and lets readers realize the full impact of the events for themselves.
When Otis takes over as the point-of-view character, Gish switches to first person. It seems to be a simple decision but its impact echoes through the following stories. Otis functions like a storyteller speaking to a group of friends around the campfire. It changes the dynamic between Gish and the reader, making the stories more personal. Like the dialogue, it serves the tone of the book and immerses the reader into the setting.
The slow pace continues into Otis. Gish makes it even more apparent with his rambling focus. True to the around-the-campfire storytelling style, stories veer on tangents, and anecdotes pop up throughout the text. Distracting at first, they smooth into the style and add to the Western atmosphere.
Gish uses vivid descriptions. The settings render beautiful landscapes that create the atmosphere. Interjecting descriptions also slow down the narrative time, yet another tool Gish uses to control the pace of his writing.
Characterizations, like his descriptions, are handled well. There is a chapter dedicated to a character named Mrs. Romeo. The focus remains on how Otis sees her, but Gish does not waste the chance to explore and develop multiple things at once. In describing Mrs. Romeo, he places her in context within her community. Rather than saying, "she was friendly," he places her in scene with other characters to demonstrate her caring nature. In doing so, Gish not only brings her to life, but fleshes out the community she lives in. By focusing on a single character, Gish gives the reader a community.
West Bound begins slow and jarring with the prevalently passive third person when J.J. is the protagonist. The book begins to shine when Gish changes over to Otis' character in first person. An interesting slice-of-life read with a historical focus on life in the west, it should appeal to those who enjoy such a setting.
