Jim Harrison Critical Essay | Critical Essay by Anne V. Kish

Critical Essay by Anne V. Kish

[Legends of the Fall] is a trilogy of tough, masculine stories reminiscent of Hemingway in terseness of style, sardonic philosophy, and even in heroes who are not too far removed from the much over-used and abused "grace-under pressure" code….

These are three good stories each with a neat epilogue that adds a sense of completeness to the story, each involving fascinatingly rare characters whose singlemindedness, if not their particular brand of grace under pressure, is to be admired.

From the viewpoint of fictional technique, "Revenge" seems the most nearly perfect, not only because the action is limited in time to the few months between the assault and the vengeance, but because the subject matter is confined to the single major thread of revenge. "The Man Who Gave Up His Name" spreads itself a little thinly over twenty years. "Legends of the Fall," which promises the most by virtue of its...
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