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"The Last Cowboy" begins with a duel where Henry fights the local sheriff. This incident is the start of Henry's killing spree throughout the book. He rarely shows his human side, being cold and uncaring, except in his desire to return home to his girlfriend in Kansas. In a recent interview, author Daniel Uebbing describes his cowboy hero as having neither a black or white hat: "I'd say his cowboy hat is tan, ruffled and rugged. He's the kind of character who is very rebellious and very romantic-he keeps his own law in his head and his own love in his heart. However, he also represents a certain satirically fabled duality in the persona of American masculinity." Despite his less desirable qualities, Henry Dunn is a character who fascinates readers, making them question what it means to be a man, and what it means to be free.
The Last Cowboy
Daniel Uebbing
Robert D. Reed (2008)
ISBN 9781934759134
Reviewed by Danelle Drake for Reader Views (10/08)
With eager anticipation I opened the book and was consumed from beginning to end. “Hey, baby, this is America. It’s a free country.” Even for those who would never admit it, everyone (both men and women) loves a cowboy. Bringing up visions of the sweat-covered hottie out on the tractor or the Wrangler-clad bull rider on television, the cowboy is the all-American fantasy.
Henry Dunn, “The Last Cowboy,” reads like a crazy man. He puts the best of them to shame. Beginning with a duel where both participants, he and the sheriff, were both barely able to stand, much less shoot, Henry starts a killing spree which really never ends. Rarely showing any heart, Henry is a cold, cold, uncaring man. He is consumed by the fact he wants to return to his girlfriend in Kansas. None-the-less he relieves his stress by bedding prostitutes whenever available. One encounter left him with more than he bargained for; killed the mother and now caring for the child. The Kid, barely a toddler, learns the ropes quickly and almost instantly becomes the cowboy’s partner in crime.
Both serious and down-right hysterical at the same time, this book is worth the read. From dance class to tae kwon do, I carried the book around for days while my daughters attended classes. When asked what I was reading, I would giggle and say, “I am reading ‘The Last Cowboy’ a book about a drunken cowboy that could have been written by a drunken cowboy.”
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