True Grit

By: Charles Portis

Narrated by: Donna Tartt

Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Mattie Ross, a 14-year-old girl from Dardanelle, Arkansas, sets out to avenge her Daddy who was shot to death by a no-good outlaw. Mattie convinces one-eyed "Rooster" Cogburn, the meanest U.S. marshal in the land, to ride along with her. In True Grit, we have a true American classic, as young Mattie, as vital as she is innocent, outdickers and outmaneuvers the hard-bitten men of the trail in a legend that will last through the ages.

©1968 Charles Portis (P)2006 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Charles Portis is perhaps the most original, indescribable sui generis talent overlooked by literary culture in America." ( Esquire)

“Tom Wolfe, who worked with Portis as a reporter at the New York Herald-Tribune in the early 1960s called him – the original laconic cutup. A generation of novelists since then have simply regarded him as a writers-writer and have made his name a sort of secret password. Soon, they’ll no longer have him to themselves.” ( Rolling Stone Magazine)

“Like Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and Thomas Berger’s Little Big Man, Charles Portis’s True Grit captures the nanve elegance of the American voice.” (Jonathan Lethem)

Still One of the Best

What's not to love about a stubborn young girl who explodes off the page and a rotten old Marshall joined up to do justice to an outlaw hiding out in the territory? Not a word wasted, this is not just entertaining, but a shining example of master craft.

Can an audio book become dog-eared?

This was a revelation! Having grown up thinking of True Grit as "another John Wayne western", I missed out on the book's humor, wonderful characters, and classic storytelling. The movie is a bit dated, but the book is timeless. I already know that I will be reading, listening to and sharing dog-eared copies of True Grit over the years.
Donna Tartt gives an inspired performance. Her love of the book comes through in every line. Make sure you listen to her afterward as well.

What a Fine Novel!

I’d seen the the film in 1969 with John Wayne, Glenn Campbell, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper & Kim Darby as well as a long string of others of the era who were regulars on the silver screen, but had never read the book. I didn’t know what I was missing… until now!!!

Wonderful!

So much better than the movie. The movie made a lot of changes. Narration was excellent.

Great Book

Great book, great story, and great narrator. loved it better than either movie.

WOW!!! Awesome book, Awesom narrator!!

Think I'll go back and listen to this one again. It is so good. Everyone will like it.

Better than/equal to the movies

I can see why this is considered a classic. The pacing is fantastic and the characters really come to life. Even the historical setting had a life of its own and I found myself googling background characters and historical information mentioned throughout the book. I really enjoyed this book!

Overall, I was no a fan of the narration. This is why: Although the narrator did Maddie, the main character VERY well, she was not able to give the male voices much life. Also, she tended to take long (water?) breaks that left gaps in the story at odd times. I almost quit the book halfway through because she became grating to me, but I'm glad I stuck it out.

My daughter picked this for a school assignment and our whole family enjoyed it!

An entertaining and intriguing story enjoyed by me and my 3 daughters, 16, 13, and 9 years old. A highly recommended story for car trips or just listening time.

everyone should read this book

As the narrator, Donna Tartt, notes in her essay, this book can be read over and over again. Her narration is delightful and sympathetic. i highly recommend it.

Excellent Reading

I can not imagine a better reader for this book than Donna Tartt. I had neither read the book, nor seen either movie version and now I probably won't. Tartt's accent is unvarying throughout the reading and while affected and poorly done accents can ruin a reading, her's never varies and fits the style and time of the book and the voice of the woman telling the story. One of my favorite audio books.