"THE LAST BUFFALO HUNTER" JakeMosher

Some of my favorite novels have been written from the perspective of a young narrator. Although this story isn't in a league with "Bless Me, Ultima," or "I Heard the Owl Call my Name," or "Captain Alatriste," the author, Jake Mosher, is just as good as the famed authors in the technique of narrating the story from a young boy's point of view.

A dream came true for 14-year old Kyle when his parents gave him a bus ticket to spend the summer in Montana with his paternal grandfather. Though he had dreamed of the "wild West" full of buffalo, cowboys and Indians, he wasn't prepared for the reality of his hard drinking, foul-mouthed, trouble-making grandfather and his friends.

The author skillfully weaves the boy's life into that of the local population in the small town of Mistake, MT
. In addition to his grandfather, he meets the local characters who spend most of their time drinking in the only saloon. There are the overly-plump sisters who fight over who gets to sleep with the sexually obsessive Cole (don't call me grandpa!) There is the muscle-bound former bad guy who is now a good guy that always shows up to save Cole from the barroom brawl. There is the town drunk, the kind-hearted sheriff, the bad property developer and the like.

A lot of the story is funny and endearing. But the writer departs from a believable story and moves into a stereotypical, mythical tale. And his characters' hijinks become way too far fetched -- it's overkill. He falls into the writer's trap of trying to make something mystical out of the family's Indian heritage. Just what is it that makes writers include gratuitous Indian lore into stories that take place in the west? First, Kyle's grandfather (white man) is saved from certain death by nice Indians. Then he marries the chief's daughter (of course). She then turns into a wolf that haunts the next two generations (um, okydoky). It's unnecessary and detracts from a fun story about unusual characters who impact a young boy's coming of age.