Deadwood
by Pete Dexter
Published by Published by Vintage Books (Division of Random House)
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Reviewed by Andrea Sisco
An aging William "Wild Bill" Cody rode into Deadwood (in the Black Hills) in 1876 with his longtime friend Charley Utter. And it was in Deadwood that he was murdered on August 2, 1876.
While Wild Bill dies, the people and situations in Deadwood revolve around him as a man and the "legend." And it is the very essence of Wild Bill's personality that runs through the book even though a great deal of the story centers around Charley Utter.
Dexter divides Deadwood into four parts. The first is Bill Cody, next is China Doll (a beautiful Chinese woman), then Bill's wife Agnes Lake, and finally Calamity Jane.
Deadwood is not your typical western. And there are serious and humorous moments. The humanness of Wild Bill in the bushes relieving himself (which was difficult given his prostrate problems) when young Malcolm Nash accidentally shot Wild Bill's horse in the head is both fear provoking and funny. A somber and touching moment was Wild Bill's last letter to his wife Agnes. The harshness of a prostitute's death and trip to the "death house" is chilling. And then there is Agnes' trip to Deadwood following her husband's death. All these situations and so much more make up the grand book that is Deadwood.
I've enjoyed so many of Pete Dexter's books. But Deadwood is my favorite. To pigeon hole it as a western might keep people from reading it and that would be sad. Western aficionados will enjoy it but readers of good literature will love it. Dexter has the ability to tell a story in a way that simply commands your attention.
Armchair Interviews says Dexter's use of language and his sense of time and place are brilliant. The characters are real, complex people with all the strengths and weaknesses of human beings everywhere.