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)

loved it

wonderful story, the narrator does a great job and totally gets the spirit of the story.

As good as your imagination

I watched this movie in 1969 with my mother and a few friends, the theater was full so we all sat close to the front, nearest the screen. I didn’t know it was a book, I thought it another Hollywood production. I grew up loving John Wayne, and this bolstered that feeling of enthusiasm - to me John’s body English and expressions were so fluid, so natural. He sits a horse beautifully and believably. So the story was to me fantastic with Kim Darby nailing Matty as did the new actor Glen Campbell.

Later in the ‘70’s while in college I saw the book in the bookstore and impulsively bought it. I read it in a few days, staying up late reading it rather than doing my physics or math homework - I was depressed when I finished it. I’d never read a story with idioms, expressions and phrases. I found myself quoting lines from it such as, I’ve had enough and enough is as good as a feast - and others. Now I’m almost 70 and have reread it 4-5 times, I keep a copy on my night stand.

When I heard there was an audio version available I bought it. I’d never heard of Donna Tartt, I hoped her choice as a reader would satisfy my minds ear of Matty’s - she did, she nails it. Not only with her accent, her tempo, her voice inflections and pauses. And, sometimes she pauses, swallows, takes another breath and continues reading, just as though she was the part itself.

Now I have two ways to reread the story, read the book and listen to Donna’s version as I call it now.

I’m generally not much of a fiction reader, but Charles Portis won me over with this seemingly simple story disguised as a masterpiece.

Classic Cowboy Story

I felt the narrator did an excellent job with his book. I really like the way Donna Express yourself by reading this book. she did an excellent sa after she finished the book.

Wonderful Classic

A great revisit previously read in print. Donna Tartt undertakes the job of voicing Mattie and provides the perfect essay that places the novel in its historical niche.

A Classic

I loved True Grit! The narrator is excellent. The book moves right along and keeps the listener interested.

now i know why it's a classic

not always a big fan of the classics, but based on a recommendation specifically for the audio book, I gave this a whirl.....and was not disappointed!

Read More Portis

This is the Charles Portis book with the most broad appeal. But if you enjoy the quirkier aspects of the book, the humor, his catalogue gets way weirder. I love this book, but I very much enjoy the author in general. Please read, please enjoy, please come back for more.

good story but it seem to be too short

I enjoyed the story; it just seem to be too short. I feel it ended abruptly jump to the Future to wrap up seem like there might have been able to be a little more to it. Looking forward to seeing the movie now and comparing.

A classic

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. A great story that is well narrated.

What was one of the most memorable moments of True Grit?

The description of Rooster Cogburn.

Which character – as performed by Donna Tartt – was your favorite?

Mattie Ross, of course!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No laughing or crying, but really enjoyed hearing this classic tale of the

Gritty prose; excellent performance!

What made the experience of listening to True Grit the most enjoyable?

Simple, gritty prose recounted from authentic Southern perspective and dialect.

What was one of the most memorable moments of True Grit?

Rooster with the reins in his teeth racing towards lucky Ned and the gang.

What does Donna Tartt bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Southern twang!

Any additional comments?

I laughed out loud more than once.