'Tonto' collects Leonard stories

The Tonto Woman and Other Western Stories

Delacorte Press

HHH

Lately it seems that author and Detroit native Elmore Leonard has received more attention for the film adaptations of his crime capers ("Get Shorty," "Jackie Brown" and "Out of Sight") than his actual work as a writer. This is not due to any shortcoming on his part but rather the fact that the majority of the adaptations have been high profile releases that were well received by critics and audiences. As an author, Leonard works in two genres: crime and westerns.

Leonard's latest, "The Tonto Woman and Other Western Stories," is a collection of short stories that the author mainly wrote for pulp magazines before he worked on novels. The 19 stories deal with everything from stolen buffalo skins to a son taking revenge for his father's death. The majority of the tales are less than 20 pages each, but a few of the stories are significantly longer.

Some of the superior stories are "The Colonel's Lady," involving an Apache and a kidnapped girl, "The Big Hunt," a first person account which involves a homeless boy and some pieces of gold, and "The Tonto Woman."

The book's title story is told in flashback, a trademark of Leonard's work, and deals with a married woman who was outcast by her husband after her face was tattooed by the Mojaves. The woman comes into contact with a roaming criminal and the situation comes to a head when her husband enters the mix, letting it be known that he's not too pleased with his wife hanging out with this mysterious man.

Leonard does a fine job creating the setting of the stories, making the reader feel as if they were in the old West. The author does extensive research for his work and it pays off, creating a mood that is just as important to the stories as any of their quirky characters.

The one glaring component that the book lacks is some sort of introduction by Leonard or background information on the stories. Even something short would give readers a little more insight to where the stories come from and how Leonard's career got started. There is nothing that indicates the origin of the stories, so many readers could get the wrong impression about the book.

Despite the lack of an introduction, "The Tonto Woman and Other Western Stories" is an enjoyable read that should be of great interest to the author's fans.

- Matthew Barrett

01-11-99