A hellhole like Yuma Prison does all sorts of things to a man. Mostly it makes him want to escape. For two men facing life sentences--Harold Jackson, the only black man behind the walls, and Raymond San Carlos, an Apache half-breed--a breakout seems impossible. Then the law gives them two choices: rot in a cell, or track down and bring back the five most ruthless men in Arizona. Originally published in 1972. Reissue.
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A hellhole like Yuma Prison does all sorts of things to a man. Mostly it makes him want to escape. For two men facing life sentences--Harold Jackson, the only black man behind the walls, and Raymond San Carlos, an Apache half-breed--a breakout seems impossible. Then the law gives them two choices: rot in a cell, or track down and bring back the five most ruthless men in Arizona. Originally published in 1972. Reissue.
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New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 256 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
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Elmore Leonard (1925 -- 2013) wrote western novels before turning to the crime and suspense fiction for which he is better known. The Library of America has recently published a volume of four of Leonard's western novels and eight of his stories which offers an excellent opportunity to explore his writing in this genre. I have been enjoying reading each individual work in the LOA compilation.
Published as a paperback original in 1972, "Forty Lashes Less One" is the final western novel in the LOA volume. The story is set in 1909, the last year of operation of the Yuma Territorial Prison in Yuma, Arizona. The prison had been established in 1875 and was built by convict labor. In 1909, the inmates were transferred to a new Arizona State prison in Florence. The site of the old prison is today an Arizona State Park.
Leonard's novel offers a gritty look at Yuma Territorial Prison and its horrors just as the facility was being closed and the inmates transferred to Florence. The depiction of prison life is as central to the book as is the story. The novel features an attempted escape by some inmates as they were being transferred by train to the new Florence prison. The scenes of prison life have a realistic feel, but Leonard's book is a work of fiction.
The book includes many characters involved in the administration of the prison together with many of the inmates, including two women. The language of the story is realistic and raw and includes many racial epithets unacceptable today. It is clear that the book rejects racially offensive views offered by several characters just as it rejects the cruelty of the old prison.
The central characters in the book are two inmates convicted of murder, an African American named Harold Jackson and an Apache Indian Raymond San Carlos. The two men become bitter enemies when the meet in the prison due to the machinations of another prisoner, Frank Shelby, the kingpin among the inmates and the villain of the book. Jackson and Carlos are thrown together in a horrible pit, the snake den, in solitary confinement. They gradually become fast friends due in part to the well-meaning but bumbling attempts of the new temporary superintendent in Yuma's final days, Everett Manly. Manly, 60, had converted to religion as a young man and had had an undistinguished 40-year career as a fundamentalist minister. He knows next to nothing about prisons but he takes an interest in reform and in Jackson and Carlos. He makes awkward and laughable efforts to teach the two young men Christianity, but he ultimately gives the two inmates strength and purpose when he gives them the opportunity to learn to run. Manly is far from free of racism but he does show an interest in his inmate charges and works towards having them better their situation in life.
The book describes the hierarchy of prison life, with Shelby and his group intimidating the other inmates and the guards. Leonard shows the foul cells, the cruel hard labor of the inmates, the corrupt guards and administrators, the ever-present violence and sickness, and the inevitable sexual abuse occasioned by the presence of the two women inmates. The book builds to the moment of transfer to Florence and the plans of Shelby and his followers to escape during the train trip.
The book includes the sharp, realistic dialogue that would make Leonard famous together with the depictions of prison life. In places, the book becomes too cluttered with characters and sub-plots and lacks the sense of pacing that Leonard would master soon after writing this work. The book invites reflection on religion, as taught by Mr. Manly, and also includes a sharp portrayal and critique of racism and of the prison system. It also includes complex plotting and a sharp twist at the end of the story. "Four Lashes Less One" is worthy of inclusion in the LOA, and is a great deal more than a stereotyped prison melodrama.
