Natasha Carthew's latest book is The Light That Gets Lost. At the Guardian, she tagged her top ten revenge reads, including:True Grit by Charles PortisRead about the other entries on the list.
The theme of justice and revenge is explored to great effect in one of my favourite childhood adventure books of all time, True Grit. Young, gritty, female protagonist Mattie Ross fully expects that the local sheriff will bring her father’s murderer to justice. When he refuses to give chase, Mattie must find someone of sufficient true grit who will restore moral balance by doing what’s just and necessary; ultimately it is she who possesses this trait the greatest.
Throughout the course of the adventure in True Grit, the central themes are obtaining justice, revenge, duty, and doing the right thing. No matter whatthe motivation is for retribution and how it is carried out, Portis shows there is a price to pay for those determined to seek justice: it can change you, kill you, do you in.
True Grit also appears on Dan Smith's top ten list of fictional hunts, Becky Ferreira's list of seven favorite tales of revenge in literature, Anthony Bourdain's list of ten favorite books, Andy Borowitz's list of five top comic novels, Tad Friend's five best list of novels on success, Willy Vlautin's list of five great books set in the West, and Jonathan Lethem's list of five terrific novels overshadowed by their film versions.
--Marshal Zeringue
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