This one is a bit out of my normal territory, but my wife grabbed it for me from the library and thought I’d like it. She’s usually right. So I grabbed it and worked my way through. I even had to add a category of “Western” to this blog to cover it.

Miracle of the Jacal is not some sort of religious book. It’s a historical novel, sort of, based on the life of Elfego Baca, and built around the story of an interview with Baca late in life. Randisi provides a historical outline, giving the facts to which he attached his collection of tales, and says that the rest is his imagination. He actually appears to take less freedom with history than many historical novels.

I enjoyed these stories, but wouldn’t put them on the top of my list. I find western history interesting, but western fiction a bit repetitive and often a bit boring. As an occasional break from my normal reading list, however, this book was worthwhile.