The Long Night of Winchell Dear

by Robert James Waller

Book Overview

The steady tick of an aged Regulator wall clock and the squeak of an overhead fan turning slowly are soft but insistent, counting down the night, while the high desert thrums like a half-remembered Victrola song. The sounds are below the consciousness of Winchell Dear, an old-time gambler, a Texas poker player on the southern circuit, as he waits for something . . . something vague that his life of chance tells him is evil and moving his way. He has...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307209962
• ISBN13: 9780307209962
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Shaye Areheart Books
• Length: 158 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

"Concentrate on what he says about card playing and ignore all the rest of the corral dust he hands

A lot things all come together on a cold,windy night in southwest Texas,at the ranch of an old weathered gambler. Winchell Dear's ,ranch The Two Pair,is just off Route 90,in Slater's Draw a few miles from Martha or Clear Signal. A lot of living on the part of some very interesting characters goes into life in this hardscrabble region of Texas on the Mexican border.Nothing is handed to anyone and you get out of life no more than you put in,and at times, not even that.Each of the characters in this story live in their own worlds,some of that because of choice and much because of circumstnces. Things have a funny way of coming together in completely unexpected ways,with their backgrounds influencing everything that happens.It's impossible to choose which of these people you think you get to know,but that is just the way it is. It is a great read,and every page is filled with things that make it impossible to put down.It is not a long novel,and I for one, like a story like this.It leaves one wondering where things went after this weird night.There is certainly lots going on with these people and the events of that fateful night ,that would make one wonder and even wish for the author to give us a sequel.

I had to change my mind about Waller

I had long ago written James Waller off as an author who wrote a story about a woman who cheated on her husband while he took his kids to the state fair. I never cracked that book, because frankly, the movie annoyed me to no end. Sorry if I'm not a romantic, but that just seems like a raw deal. I picked up "Long Night..." at the library mostly because the cover had a cowboy boot in a stirrup on the front, and it had been a long, long time since I had read a western. I was initially disappointed when I found it wasn't, but quickly cast aside those disappointments as I was drawn into an interesting tale of the reminiscing of a gambler who is unaware of big trouble heading his way, but for the gnawing instinct that made him a poker legend in the first place. "Long Night..." reaffirmed my belief that a great novel does not have to be believable, or even plausibly realistic, if it contains characters who are interesting; characters you wouldn't mind spending some time with. Throw in some poetic prose, and Waller has a real winner here! Winchell Dear opened a door for me, and before I could shut it, "Texas" Jack Carmine barged in, followed (more politely) by Carlisle McMillan. Those two gentlemen (term loosely used in Carmine's case) were enjoyable enough that maybe, maybe, I'll give Robert Kincade a chance to prove his merit.

Not a good title for the book

This book reads like a classic. The literary quality flows. It's unfortunate that a lot of people might not read the book because of the title. I'm a librarian so I get a chance to look beyond titles and summaries before I choose to read a book. I give books a chance to interest me. I'm very glad I did with this one. However, still I say, Winchell with the last name of Dear would of kept me off balance while reading the book because the last name (one word!) unknowingly sends a mixed message regarding the content. Everytime I read the word "Dear" my mind kept wanting to revert to light romance reads. There is a meaningful story inside this book and well worth the time it takes to read it. I hope the book doesn't become a "albatross" for the author.

A great new book by Robert James Waller

I love anything by Robert James Waller.......this was another great book, building up to a surprising end.

Entertaining Romp From Versatile Writer

Fans of Madison County will be surprised and a little shocked by this book, but fans of all of Waller's books should appreciate it. After his first three romance books took off, Waller changed directions and started doing something few writers do... he started writing what he wanted to write and didn't hold to any one genre. While I like his love stories best, even the one contained in High Plains Tango (his most developed to date) I did enjoy "The Long Night of Winchell Dear." Borrowing lyrics from his song "Blue Suspenders" from his excellent and underrated album "Ballads of Madison County," Waller creates Winchell Dear, a professional gambler with a checkered past and a few regrets. Dear lives on a ranch he won in a poker match. On this property also lives his maid, an American Indian, and a rattlesnake that is mentioned several times to foreshadow it is going to play some part in the story. Staying with the maid in her adobe is an aging Mexican drug runner. On the way to the ranch, for reasons left unexplained until the very end, are two comical stereotypical mob hitmen who banter back and forth and use language the average "Madison County" romance reader will likely find inappropriate. Waller builds up all of these characters, makes us care about them, and brings them all together in the end. He also introduces a few others along the way and tosses in a pinch of romance (but not quite enough to satisfy.) As always, it takes a chapter or two to get used to Waller's style of writing. He skips from one character's point of view to the next without using section breaks. Some of the narrative and a little of the dialogue is clunky. It is kind of hard for a man who lived in Iowa all his life to move to Texas for a couple of years and pick up on the rough Texan vernacular, but Waller gives it his best shot. Some of it is kind of forced, as if lifted from old west movies from the forties, but once you get into the story you overlook things like that. And he misuses the term "ya'll." Northerners take note: "Ya'll" is PLURAL. No Texan is going to tell one person, "Ya'll want to go to the store?" The term means "You all," much like, "You guys" or "You's twos." Aside from those minor complaints, the story is fast paced... I can see it being made into a pretty good movie. Waller's prose, as always, captures the winds and mystery of the rugged Texas night. He holds a great respect for the reclusive ways of life and the dreams that surround them. He captures the essence of his characters and doesn't disappoint. I look forward, as always, to his next one. And hopefully next time it will be another love story, as that is the kind of book he writes best.