Who recommended True Grit?

2 people have recommended True Grit in the interviews, articles and reading lists we track, including Anthony Bourdain and Matt Damon. Each name links to their full reading list.

Is True Grit worth reading?

2 people we track recommend it. It is best for: a short-fiction writer revising a first-person draft who has to deliver a 10k–20k-word novella next month and needs a concrete model for keeping a single, distinctive narrator alive across scenes and long stretches of dialogue right now; a commuter or traveler facing a single long trip (a 6–12 hour flight or overnight train) who wants a propulsive, finish-in-one-sitting novel with literary texture so you can use the trip to actually finish a book without heavy emotional investment; a book-club organizer choosing a short pick for a meeting in two to four weeks who needs a readable title that sparks debate about justice, stubbornness, and moral certainty without heavy historical prep — good now if you want something short and discussion-ready. It may not suit: annoying if you prefer deep psychological interiority—this is driven by an outward, moral ledger, not inner analysis; you'll likely put it down when the narration keeps restating the narrator's certainties or the episodic posse-chase starts feeling repetitive; annoying if you expect modern pacing or flashy action—the prose is plainspoken and often deadpan rather than cinematic.

What books are like True Grit?

Readers of True Grit also turn to Blood Meridian, The Pillars of the Earth and 11/22/63, based on the lists and recommenders these books share.

True Grit by Charles Portis: Recommended by 2 People

Name: True Grit
Author: Charles Portis

True Grit tells the story of Mattie Ross, who is just fourteen years of age when a coward going by the name of Tom Chaney shoots her father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robs him of his life, his horse, and $150 in cash. Mattie leaves home to avenge her father?s blood. With the oneeyed Rooster Cogburn, the meanest available U.S. Marshal, by he...