“San Angelo novelist Kelton knows intimately the work and ways of the West. That’s why real cowboys love his writing. And this book adds admirably to the genre of the changing Old West.”
—Southern Living
“Kelton’s explanation of these men—cowboys without a future—is the strength of his writing. He understands them well, and his descriptiveness is simple, but complete. There is a rhythm to his writing when he is taking on men like Calloway. They are so familiar to him, so universal, their dialogue is seamless. The Smiling Country doesn’t need The Good Old Boys as a primer, though it adds to its pleasure. Kelton’s newest work stands on its own.”
—The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“You can never go wrong if you want to read a good story with realistic characters and you pick up a title by Elmer Kelton. In the case of his newest book, The Smiling Country, the guarantee is as good as gold … . Kelton’s characters jump off the page, they are so real. This is another fine title from the man named the Greatest Western Writer of All Time in a 1995 survey by the Western Writers of America.”
—American Cowboy
“Multiple Spur Award winner Kelton knows how to tell a wallopin’ good story without beating the reader over the head with it. His affection for his characters and his gentle sense of humor win the reader over bit by bit, until we find ourselves genuinely caring how the story comes out.”
—Abilene Reporter-News
“Old-timey dialogue, newly minted, rhetorical stretchers, and whopping good humor right out of Twain.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Calloway is one of the most memorable characters in recent Western fiction, even though he doesn’t carry a gun and would probably run away from a bad guy. But his heart is as big as the open range, and it’s ever so easy to root for his happiness. An exceptional sequel.”
—Booklist
“Elmer Kelton’s Westerns are not filled with larger-than-life gunfighters who can shoot spurs off a cowboy’s boots at a hundred yards. They are filled with the kind of characters that no doubt made up the West … . They are ordinary people with ordinary problems, but Kelton makes us care about them.
—Oklahoman
“Kelton’s latest is a bowl-of-beans book: it ain’t fancy, but it sure is filling and it goes down good.”
—Texas Monthly