The Sin Killer

The Sin Killer (Book One of the Berrybender Narratives) – by Larry McMurtry

This book surprised me. My only experience with Larry McMurtry was his wonderful (albeit uneven) Lonesome Dove tetralogy. That series was a Western.   This book, also part of a four-book series, is also a Western.  So I should expect the same thing. Right?  Not really.  This book is a comedy.  This book is gut splitting funny.  Rarely does a novel make me howl with laughter at various times.  One makes the experience even more rewarding is that you rarely see humor involved in the ‘American Western’.  Sure, we have the movie ‘Blazing Saddles’ but, as good as that movie is, the humor feels forced.  Here it feels uncomfortably genuine.

Lord Berrybender is an old rich English aristocrat.  He’s very rich. He decides to take a trip to the ‘West’ of the United States with an entourage of about 30 people on a chartered boat up the Missouri River around the year 1830 for a hunting expedition. His ensemble includes his wife, his mistress, various servants, tutors, and about 5 of his 50 children. Yes. You read that right. You can get away with a lot when you’re that rich.  There’s also a dog, a parrot, and a spare vessel that is employed to carry only the Lord’s expensive claret.  Very rich indeed.

Well, this group is incredibly out of place and they encounter all sorts of crazy characters that one would expect when reading a novel about the Old West in the year 1830.  Oldest daughter Tasmin is about 16 and quite beautiful.  Unfortunately for Lord Berrbybender, she’s also quite the rebel.  While exploring the prairies one day while the boat is stuck, she meets Jim, the “Sin Killer”.  He’s only a few years older than her and completely the opposite in every way possible. After all, the old west is his home. It’s lust at first sight between these two.

The curious pair of lovers serve as a center for the story, yet there’s so much confusion and chaos that ensues, it makes your head spin. Fortunately, the author includes a handy “cast of characters” at the beginning of the book. It’s a necessity.    It’s quite irrelevant to describe the story in any more detail that I already have.  Despite all of the trials and travails, it’s still a raucous read.  I’m eagerly anticipating the next three novels.  I doff my cowboy hat to Mr. McMurtry. He really surprised me, and the surprise was a welcome one.