BLIND YOUR PONIES

...by Stanley Gordon West

I very much enjoyed this book, for a number of reasons.

I read some reviews which said this book was 'sappy' and I take that to mean that it doesn't tend toward the cynical realpolitik many have come to favor.  I take sappy to mean that there is concern here for belief, for hope, for success to grow out of Spirit.  It has to be that, or else 'sappy' is just lazy language.

First, I grew up in NW Montana.  I went to school in Darby and in Alberton.  I taught school in Three Forks and during that time lived in Willow Creek, the very little half-boarded-up town central to the story.  I've walked the main street and walked the country around the town.  Willow Creek is written truthfully.

Second, I loved the characters.  Sometimes it is easy to judge someone because they are rude, threatening, or unfriendly; then you discover their story and suddenly that person looks quite different.  You understand them and can accept them easily into your life.  This book is full of those characters; people with backstory.  Some characters in the book are too young to have much of a history; in this case West has written them so the reader can see the history accruing.  All are characters that will hang on your memory.

Third, I played basketball in highschool.  I love the game.  In Alberton, if you don't go to school there or spend much time in the bars, the athletics at the school are the big social draw.  I know how much it means to the community and to the kids playing.  West writes basketball with some authority.  Granted, ending every game with seconds on the clock and one point up or down gets a bit tiring, but there are some wonderful plays and coaching tricks that make every game a fun read.

And fourth, West is marvelous with language; rarely beating any basketball expression to death.  The reader is led through fresh expressions time after time.

Finally, the book is a delight; full of wisdom, full of fun, rife with love and love interests, rife with the silent ticking of fate behind all things.

I rate it a solid 89%.  Heck, I don't mind tearing up over inspiration.

The story of the ponies is not fiction, although the writer's interpretation is a bit off. We always considered the boys' plunge off the cliff as a willing sacrifice by very brave young men who intended to trade their lives for the lives of their people; it's a Native American thing.

Blind Your Ponies by Stanley Gordon West

My rating: 4 of 5 stars