Most of Louis L’Amour’s protagonists settle conflicts by fisticuffs or gunfire. So it goes in May There Be a Road (2002, Bantam Books, 311 pages), a collection of 10 short stories by this celebrated author.
With settings that vary from the Brazilian coast to Tibetan mountains, L’Amour (1908-1988) pegs these tales neatly into the action-adventure genre. A 34-page title-story, “May There Be a Road”, tells how a Tibetan people devoted five years to build a cherished bridge.
“Scarcely four feet wide, the bridge was built of their handmade rope, of slats cut from pine forests, and of thin planks laid across the slats. With every gust of wind the bridge swayed, but those who had built it hoped that it would be their lifeline to the outside world.”
Suddenly, circumstances twist. Instead of anticipated benefits, the bridge may bring destruction for its creators.
“In the days that followed the finishing of the bridge, Tola Beg, an ancient yak hunter, has been the first to cross, and he brought strange news. Chinese soldiers of a new kind had come to Sinkiang and to Tibet. The Dalai Lama had fled to India, and soldiers were in Khotan and Charklik as well as Lhasa. People had been driven from their farms and their flocks to work upon a new road, harnessed like yak or camels….
“ ‘There is danger….’ Tola Beg gulped his yak-butter tea noisily, as was the custom. ‘The Chinese respect nothing and they have no God. The mosques and lamaseries are closed, and the lamas driven to work in the fields. The prayer wheels are stilled, and there is a curse on the land.’ ”
Thanks to his many Wild West novels, L’Amour remains a “favorite frontier writer”. He liked to imagine riding trails, panning for gold, working on ranches and slapping leather.
Deft descriptions and a quick-fire pace enliven his characters. “This guy is big enough to gather the Empire State Building under one arm and the Chrysler Tower under the other, and looks tough enough to buck rivets with his chin….”
L’Amour’s first novel, Hondo, appeared in 1953. His others, scattered across the years, include Crossfire Trail, The Haunted Mesa, Guns of the Timberland, Hanging Woman Creek, High Lonesome, Where the Long Grass Blows, Jubal Sackett and Last of the Breed. More than 270 million copies of his books have appeared in 20 languages. His stories inspired dozens of movies.
The author’s life rivaled those of his heroes. Raised in North Dakota, he left home as a teenager and worked as a seaman, lumberjack, miner and boxer, among other duties. He won dozens of prize fights. Also a journalist and lecturer, he read diligently and built a 17,000-volume personal library.
Written decades ago, the stories in May There Be a Road came together when assembled by the author’s children. Beau L’Amour, his son, writes:
“ ‘The Ghost Fighter’ and ‘Fighter’s Fiasco’ were the second and third stories that Louis sold…. ‘May There Be a Road’ was written in 1960 and attempted to alert people to the Red Chinese invasion of the Tibetan plateau.”
L’Amour relies on a trusted formula. Heroes meet villains who pose problems. The heroes react by out-punching or out-shooting their nasty adversaries, leading to decisive endings.
The stories resemble each other, but many readers can enjoy them all.
Although L’Amour died two decades ago, his 100-plus books remain in print. Probably he’ll never run out of admirers.
Approval rating: 61 per cent.
For more information: www.louislamour.com or www.bantamdell.com.
(April 18, 2008)
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