Hombre is a classic western by Elmore Leonard, considered among the very best of the genre ("One of the best western novels of all time" - Western Writers of America). Like most westerns it's a study in morality, in this case personal integrity. It was made into a film starring Paul Newman, whose quiet strength suited the character.
The stage lines in 1884 Arizona have closed with the arrival of trains, leaving a few disparate characters stranded in Sweetmary. Narrated by a young man who worked in the coach office, an Army doctor and his wife are desperate to get out, as is a shady gunslinger, and the McLaren girl they brought over from Fort Thomas who has been held captive in an Indian camp for four years. John Russell, although half white and half Mexican, has been raised by an Apache tribe. He has inherited land from an adopted white father and faces the decision to stay or to sell. They all head off in a hired mud wagon, with Russell forced up with the driver as no one will ride with an Apache. Taking a shorter route, they lose direction and are set upon by bandits, leaving them stranded in the barren landscape. As infighting breaks out, Russell capably sets off on his own and they begin to follow him - as do the bandits.
The current of racism, as no one wants to be near an Apache animal like Russell, is slowly tempered as they realize he is the only one who knows a way back. Russell has strong integrity and never retaliates or belittles this weakness. Reaching an impasse, they confront this hipocracy and we see that honour is lived and earned, not bestowed.
It's a terrific story that builds to a tense standoff and shoot out. As rough as the old west but centered on strong characters and like all good westerns, humanity. Recommended.
My other Elmore Leonard reviews:
1961 / Paperback / 201 pages
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