Honey in the Horn Book

Keeping with my goal to read each Pulitzer Prize winning novel written prior to 1940 (which isn't so monumental a task considering the first was awarded in 1917), I finished reading "Honey in the Horn" and I'm glad I did. Yes, it's archaic. Yes, for today's standards it wouldn't even find a publisher much less win a Pulitzer (if for any reason it lacks political correctness). But to approach a 70-plus year old novel without placing yourself in the author's reference of time is unfair to yourself and the writer.

From the point of view of Davis and his contemporaries, HITH is a gorgeously written novel, dripping with profound beauty and sometimes ugliness, and loaded with fascinating characters. The novel itself is a historical (it takes place in 1902), chronicling the lives of Oregon settlers. HITH reads much like any western novel of its time and even brings to mind John Wayne-style Western films. You might even call it a tour de force. The main characters are in a constant state of motion, moving from settlement to settlement. Along the way, they run into intriguing people who have their own back stories (common writing technique for that period). Davis's richly detailed characters leap from the pages as if they were people I'd met myself.

Davis stated when he wrote HITH that he had no intention of making any social or political commentary, and indeed HITH avoids overt pontificating, which adds to the novels appeal. At times the novel drags, other times HITH is so entertaining I found myself unable to set the work down. Planting myself in 1936, I can see why the Pulitzer committee bestowed Davis with the prestigious award. Oregon history buffs will devour it. Western literature buffs might enjoy it. Overall, I read HITH quicker than anticipated and I'm glad I spent time in Davis's imaginative world.