Etta: A Novel

Powerful, Fun Read

In Etta, author Gerald Kolpan takes the reader on a rollicking ride that explores the life and times of Etta Place. For those for whom this name does not ring a bell, Etta was the mistress/partner of The Sundance Kid and a member of the Hole In The Wall Gang which included Butch Cassidy, Kid Curry, Peg Leg Elliot and a host of others. Although this gang were bank robbers and held up trains, they enjoyed a popularity in the general population for their insistence on stealing only from the rich.
Since little is known of Etta's life, Kolpan is free to make up an interesting tale. What is known is that Etta was a beauty, who dressed fashionably and could ride and shoot like the best cowboy. In Etta, the name is a pseudonym for a rich girl who grew up riding; the daughter of a wealthy man without a son who taught his only child to ride and shoot and be adventuresome. This background makes the character believable in terms of what is known about her.

From that point, various storylines from the era are brought into the story. Koplan gives Etta a famous friendship. He has her meet and become best friends with Eleanor Roosevelt in her pre-marriage days when she spent her time in New York working in a settlement house. Etta is also portrayed as replacing Annie Oakley in the Wild West show of Buffalo Bill Cody. She also has run-ins with various Pinkerton detectives, especially the top operative who spent years looking for her and the rest of the gang.

Readers will enjoy this look at the last of the Wild West. The privations of frontier life are shown. Badmen and lawmen alike are featured, with often only fate separating the two. An underlying theme is the way the poor are mistreated by the wealthy, and the lengths that fair-minded people are driven to as they attempt to remedy this disparity. The characters are engaging, and the tone is breezy. The reader is swept along on a rollicking tale that they will hate to see end. This book is recommended for all fiction readers who enjoy a great tale about a time in our country's history when life was less structured and men made their way by various means to survive.

interesting, lovely first book

i actually won this book in a give-away but i would gladly pay for it. i thought it was an interesting premise and executed beautifully.

Etta - the mystery woman

I really enjoyed this book. Etta of the title is Etta Place, the reputed girlfriend/wife of the Sundance Kid. Very little is known of this young woman's life before or after her association with the outlaws of the Hole in the Wall Gang. Koplan has written an entertaining tale of who Etta may have been - based on speculation and news stories of the time. He tells the story with alternating chapters of narrative, diary entries, letters, and news stories. All these help ground the novel in the time depicted. Koplan stays true to history where possible, but does have his Etta rub elbows with some of the mighty of the time. Recommended to anyone who enjoys a good Western.

Good read if you like the wild west.

I enjoyed this book because I love that time period. To find out Etta was real was interesting. I quickly became discouraged that there is no information out there (search engines) about Etta to speak of. How can no one know who she was?

Interesting Story

Good writing style and interesting story. Gave you a good insight into the difficulties women had to deal with in that era. It was embracing to find a woman with such ambition, nerve and senstivity. Would suggest this book to others. Most enjoyable and enlighting.

So who was this gal that both Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid loved?

This was a super-fun book to read. Though history evidently records the fact that Etta Place was her name, this story is fiction and could very well be true! The story itself is full of adventure, challenge, near misses and gives a pretty decent review of what America was like in this time. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are portrayed as likeable (they were lovable in the movie, but maybe that's because we were looking at Newman and Redford!!!!) and you don't meet them until midway through the book. Plus the way Etta comes to the Hole in the Wall Gang is another story in itself. Historical fiction is one of my favorite things to read -- this ranks up near the top!

Interesting Premise

It's difficult to read this book without constant flashes of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" in your mind, but it is very readable and believable, until the arrival of Eleanor Roosevelt. Her involvement in the plot demanded more than I was willing to devote to the work. However, unlike several other recent title I have purchased, I finished this one and enjoyed the trip. It might make a good summer reading "modern American novel" for high schoolers because it is engaging, based -- to a degree -- on fact and makes several good points for readers to ponder. I passed it on to my friend and she passed it on to others, so it is enjoying some popularity among my reading group.

A highly entertaining, the perfect escape from the stress of everyday life.

Etta is the story of Etta Place, the Sundance Kid's beautiful, mysterious lover. Little is known about her, so Gerald Kolpan imagined her story. This novel is first and foremost a classic western full of train robbers, gun fights, and wild, untameable horses and men. But running through the story and defining it is Etta's unforgettable and unique voice, tough and no-nonsense, never shying for the hard or gruesome facts of her life, yet also refined, intelligent, and passionate. Etta is a complex and fully drawn character that I felt had become a good friend by the end of the book.
I listened to this book on audio and Kirsten Potter does an admirable job of bringing Etta to life. I found it highly entertaining, the perfect escape from the stress of everyday life.

More fun than the Wild West

Etta is a fun book. Kolpan is a clever writer and has created a wonderful fictionalized life for Etta Place, the Sundance Kids paramour. Etta is such a strong character and her life so plausable, I had to keep reminding myself this was fiction. Whether you like the American West time period or not, this is historical fiction not to be missed.

Fictionalized history.

Etta
Gerald Kolpan
Random House Publishing
ISBN: 9780345503688
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for ReviewYourBook.com
5 stars
Fictionalized history.
Forget the movie!
Little is known about the woman that loved the Sundance Kid and rode with the Kid and Butch Cassidy. Who was Etta Place? Gerald Kolpan has created a life for Etta Place. Kolpan's image of Place is one of a young girl raised by a single father. She was taught to shoot and ride. After her father's suicide, she was forced to change her name. The Black Hand was after her for her father's unpaid debts. When a man accosts her, she kills him in self defense. His family accuses her of murder. She takes refuge with Butch Cassidy's gang. Her life was one of adventure. She robbed trains, pretended to be Annie Oakley, and befriended Eleanor Roosevelt. She and Sundance considered themselves champions of the poor.
My review can never do justice to this book. Gerald Kolpan has captured the essence of Etta Place. This book is captivating. I enjoyed every page. I felt Etta's fear, triumph, sadness, and joy. I will look forward to more books by this author.

A great novel, even if you think you don't like the Wild West

I received this book from Library Thing's Early Reviewers program. It is due to be released in March. I was dubious - to say the least - not being a fan of historical fiction or the Wild West. But I feel an obligation to read these early releases quickly and get a review out. And so I began.

Boy, was I surprised! Apparently Gerald Kolpan became fascinated with Etta Place some years ago when he realized that the notorious companion of The Sundance Kid was a vast mystery. Almost nothing is known about her. So Kolpan has proceeded, in this book, to craft a fictional account of what her life might have been like - where she came from, how she happened to mix up with Butch Cassidy's gang, and her romance and life with the Sundance Kid. The result is a book you can't put down. This story is imagined so well that it could actually be her life - in fact, I wish it was a true story. This book is about as close to perfection as it gets for me. A little bit of suspense and intrigue, a good solid love story (without too much sappy-ness), and a deep character study.

In the past, books where the author tries to intersperse news articles or journal entries has seemed jarring to me. In this book, Mr. Kolpan does a great job of weaving them into the story. In fact, I have no criticisms of this book at all. Read it. You'll love it, even if you think the Wild West holds no interest for you. This is a story about a woman's life, and an fascinating one at that. But plan wisely, you'll be reading late into the night!

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