McElroy, Lee (Elmer Kelton). Eyes of the Hawk. Doubleday, 1981.
My favorite Western author, who happens to be from my own hometown of San Angelo, Texas, is Elmer Kelton. Before his death in 2009, Mr. Kelton wrote and published more forty Western novels, some under pseudonyms which included Tom Early, Alex Hawk, and Lee McElroy. Eyes of the Hawk was originally published by Kelton, using the name Lee McElroy.
Comparisons are odious and everyone has his own tastes, but I think Mr. Kelton is a much better writer than any of the other famous authors of westerns: Louis L’Amour, Zane Grey, and certainly better than Larry McMurtry. I grew up in West Texas, among the heirs of the Western tradition, and as far as I can tell Mr. Kelton gets Texas and the West and cowboys and ranch life right.
My favorite Kelton novel is The Time It Never Rained, but this one, Eyes of the Hawk, is in the running for second place among all the books by Kelton that I have read. Reed Sawyer, as an old man, narrates this story of his life and his friendship with a rancher named Thomas Canfield. Thomas Canfield is “a proud man with the fierce-eyed stare that led the Mexicans to call him gavilán–the hawk.” Canfield is hard but kind to newcomer Reed Sawyer, and Reed becomes Cnafield’s employee, hired hand, and eventually is treated as part of the family as he works and supports Canfield’s ever-expanding land holdings and cattle business. But Thomas Canfield is just as strong and implacable toward his enemies as he is loyal to his friends. So when Branch Isom, a powerful businessman, and the entire town of Stonehill, TX become Canfield’s enemies, Reed Sawyer is caught between the two opposing men and forced to go from observer to actor in the ensuing drama.
This book is just so insightful about human nature and how we can become that which we hate and refuse to forgive. I would recommend it to young men (and old men) who enjoy the Western genre, and I would be curious to hear their thoughts on the story after they read it. Thomas Canfield is an admirable character in many ways, but (Spoiler alert!) he is consumed by his thirst for revenge and his bitterness toward those who have injured him. Branch Isom, on the other hand, begins as a ruthless and brash climber who will do anything to beat out the competition, but he learns eventually to humble himself and to try to make peace. Both men change over the course of the novel: one for the better and one for the worse.
Content considerations: Western violence (not explicit or gory), some cursing, prejudice against Mexicans and Polish immigrants.
Elmer Kelton’s website. You can check out a copy of Eyes of the Hawk and other books by Elmer Kelton from Meriadoc Homeschool Library.