Superb story of redemption.

"She was beautiful, compelling, secretive, aloof, and proud, magnificent as a living flame. She was mocking because knowledge of the world, of the fragility of women and falsity of men, had been as an open page. She had lived in sight of the crowded mart, the show places where men and women passed, knowing no more of earth than that it was a place of graves." ( )

Grey attempts to convey the allure of the desert, but this is trying to unscrew the inscrutable. Having grown up on the edge of one, i know its odd appeal and sympathize with his efforts. He clearly has spent time there.

I have seen people visibly recoil at their first experience of a desert. It drives home the utter insignificance of an individual at the center of a vastness, one who may not have seen a full horizon for the trees or the great Milky Way for the city lights.
Much of the attraction comes from accepting this inconsequence and then embracing it.

The desert is the true protagonist of the story, the plot a lesser element lacking real depth. If you are not interested in the desert, give this a pass. ( )

Adam Larey thinks he has killed his brother, Guerd, over a girl. He flees into the desert with a hanging sheriff on his trail. He escapes his pursuers but eventually he runs out of food and water and is wandering delirious in the desert when a prospector named Dismukes finds and nurses him back to health as well as teaching him how to live in the desert and how to manage burros.

He is again rescued another time by a group of Indians who teach him more about living in the desert. He wanders the desert for years including a stay in Death Valley where he met a very strange and unhappy couple.

The title clearly explains much of the story as Adam wanders through the desert searching for redemption from the guilt he carries for killing his brother. To help him forget the guilt, he helps people anywhere he finds them even if they do not want his help.

If one wishes to learn about the desert, its plants and wildlife, one will learn much here. You only have to get through the pages and pages of romantic descriptions of the western desert and mountains to get that information. I love the desert but I found his lengthy epistles tiring. ( )

One of my favorite Zane Grey books. If you've ever felt dry in your soul read this book. It takes you through the wilderness of life. I enjoy reading this and looking for spiritual analogies. Read it along with the Psalms and you'll find there can be refreshment in the wilderness. ( )

From the Little Free Library (LFL) - since I wanted to try out Zane Grey. The writing was old-fashioned and the story just did not capture my attention. So after 3 chapters, I am taking it back to LFL.
Done with it 11/24/16 - not counting it toward my "books read" for the year. ( )