Synopsis
In the 1950s, West Texas suffered the longest drought in the memory of most men then living. By that time, Charlie Flagg, the central character of this novel, was one of a dying breed of men who wrested their living from the harsh land of West Texas. The struggle made them fiercely independent, a trait personified in Charlie’s persistence throughout the seven dry years, his refusal to accept defeat, his opposition to federal aid programs and their inevitable bureaucratic regulations, his determination to stay on the land he loves and respects even as he suffers with that land. Charlie is by no means the typical cowboy hero. Self-sufficient, courageous, with a strong sense of right and wrong, he is also old and overweight, a thoroughly believable human being who has trouble communicating with the wife who loyally struggles to keep life in its pattern, the son who has no feel for the land but yearns for the rodeo circuit, the Mexican family who has worked for him for years and whose help he can no longer afford. Although Charlie never loses his dignity and never quits, he does not win out in the end. When the drought breaks, it has lasted too long and he is too old.
There is no surprise ending to this story, no magical solution to the harsh realities of life in West Texas. The reading of this novel lies not in what happens next but in the unfolding depth of a strong character and the clear picture of a time and a place.
There is no surprise ending to this story, no magical solution to the harsh realities of life in West Texas. The reading of this novel lies not in what happens next but in the unfolding depth of a strong character and the clear picture of a time and a place.
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About the Author
Elmer Kelton is the author of over thirty novels set in the West and the recipient of awards from the Texas Institute of Letters, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Western Writers of America, the Western Literature Association, and others.
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Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Search results for The Time It Never Rained (Chisholm Trail Series) (Volume...
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The Time It Never Rained
Published by
Texas Christian University Press, Fort Worth, TX, 1984
ISBN 10: 0912646918
ISBN 13: 9780912646916
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Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. Inscribed, "For Hank -- a story of dry West Texas in the 1950's" and signed and dated by the author. Near Fine in a Near Fine dust jacket. Minor ruffling to bottom corner of pages 270-280. Book is otherwise Fine. Unmarked but for author's inscription/signature. Price-clipped jacket has an odd series of four faint spots on rear panel. No chips or tears. 377 pages, with an Afterword by Tom Pilkington. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 046154
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The Time It Never Rained (Chisholm Trail Series) (Volume 2)
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hardcover. Condition: As New. Seller Inventory # 0912646918-VB
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The Time It Never Rained (Chisholm Trail Series)
Published by
Texas Christian University Press, 1984
ISBN 10: 0912646918
ISBN 13: 9780912646916
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The Time It Never Rained (Chisholm Trail Series) (Volume 2)
Published by
Texas AM University Press, 1984
ISBN 10: 0912646918
ISBN 13: 9780912646916
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Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 69P46_53_0912646918