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| Plot Summary of Cottonwood |
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Ballantine, Feb 2004, 23.95, 304 pp.
ISBN: 0345461002
In late 1872 into 1873 Cottonwood, Kansas saloon owner Bill Ogden has no problems with his wife having extra marital affairs as the duo lives apart with Bill mostly residing above his saloon while Ninna calls the family ranch her humble abode. However, Bill wishes her choice in bedmates were of a higher quality though he also cheats with a few lowlifes too.
He takes exception to Ninna's latest pathetic lover by shooting holes in the bowler hat of the salesman. Not long afterward, someone kills the pots and pans traveling peddler. The townsfolk wonder if perhaps Bill dispatched a rival, but he questions the disproportionate number of vanishings and murders. He begins to hone in on self proclaimed mystic healer Katie Bender and her mother as clever killers of the Plains. However, Bill switches concerns when Chicago industrialist Marc Leval offers him a business partnership that unbeknownst to his new associate includes the man's wife in his bed. As the violence increases, Bill finally heads west to start over as a photographer wondering if anything will ever bring him back to Cottonwood.
'Cottonwood is an amusing western tale that provides a distinctive look at the Old West through the eyes of an antihero over about two decades. The story line ironically tears apart beliefs established by Hollywood and the genre, but also pays homage to the Wild West. The tale lacks a central plot drifting from one major anecdote to another in a fiction kind of manner in which Bill serves as the focus. Still fans of satires will appreciate this humorous look that is mindful of the west of Jane Fonda (Cat Ballou) not John Wayne.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Cottonwood |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 19th century
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kind of romance:
- playing footsy while inconveniently married
Life of a profession:
- businessman, small
Crime & Police story
Yes
Story of
- catching a killer
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Job/Profession/Status story
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 4 ()
United States
Yes
The US:
- Midwest
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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