Union veteran Bobby Hale-sometime soldier; full time deserter; half-time Native American fighter. So what exactly drives Bobby Hale? Belief in his own destiny.

Hale's odyssey is poignant because it brings him across a plethora of people: good, bad; indigenous, intruders; soldiers, warriors. And all this in an era where America wars to tame the west. Bausch's prose is powerful, his narrative flowing. By the end, we truly flinch when Bobby witnesses the mutilation of one Native American by several others.

I thoroughly enjoyed 'Far as the Eye can See.' Not your typical classic western but neither is it irredeemable. ( )

A simple, meandering novel which takes you on one mans journey through western America in the 1870's. There isn't much plot to speak of and the story gets dry and slow at times but I also can't imagine cutting anything because it all serves the purpose of connecting the reader to Bobby Hale. I thought Bobby to be a somewhat lacklustre character until the last 100 or so pages when I realised how truly invested I was in his story. I wanted him to survive, to get a happy ending with Ink and Little Fox. And while I'm not fond of first person narration I thoroughly enjoyed its use here. Bobby isn't a hero or a villain and his inner thoughts as he tried to rationalise what he has done and seen was truly heartbreaking.

I imagine a better understanding of this period in American history could have helped paint a picture of what Hale was living through but all I had was Bausch's words. Ultimately, all I knew is what Bobby knew and that's that life for him and others like him was bleak, violent, corrupting, and quick. Seeing everything through his eyes meant the reader only saw snapshots of history with no bigger picture. This is brought home in the last paragraph when (**spoilers**) Bobby, in 1876, talks of going to Nez Perce and hopefully getting a happy life with Ink and Little Fox. As it turns out (learnt through the authors note and some googling) war hits the Nez Perce in 1877. I wonder if perhaps Bausch finished the novel this way in hope of writing a follow up or if he wanted to add one last moment of tension to clued in readers. ( )

This story meanders without a lot of purpose, much as Bobby Hale meanders around the west. That is not necessarily a negative thing unless you are looking for a plot-driven story, and this ain't that.

Bobby enlisted in the army during the Civil War multiple times just so he could collect the enlistment bonus. He traveled with wagon trains, with a wonderful character named Big Tree, tries to get himself out of scrapes he should never have got into to begin with, and generally doesn't have much direction in life. And he doesn't have a clue about how to treat women.

All of the problems are because he, and other people in the story, have a tendency to shoot people when they shouldn't. It's an ongoing issue.

The atmosphere and vernacular in the story are nicely done. And I like ol' Bobby despiute his shortcomings. The conflicts between the Indians and the settlers/army are sad but not unexpected. However, Bobby looks at them from a different perspective.

I enjoyed this book but it is truly a meandering story, so be prepared to go along for the ride.

I was given an advance copy of this book for review. ( )

I love a good Western and this is definitely a good one. It reminds me of other notable books of the West such as Little Big Man, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, Black Elk Speaks, and Monte Walsh. This is a wonderfully rich narrative of life in the High Plains and the Rockies from the end of the Civil War until Custer’s battle at Little Big Horn. Bobby Hale, at least that’s what he is answering to now, signed up with the Union Army during the Civil War. Actually, he signed up a number of times, collected the enlistment bonus, served a spell then moved on to sign up somewhere else. He was under fire in a couple of major battles. He saw men who were standing shoulder to shoulder with him fall horribly wounded or dead on the spot. He fired his share of bullets at the enemy, but his heart wasn’t in it. He headed west, teaming up with a family in a covered wagon, who were bound for Oregon. Although he had learned a lot while in the army, Hale was city bred and found that he had a lot to learn from Big Tree, a huge Crow Indian, who was helping lead the settlers west. Learning the lay of the land, hunting, tracking, preparing fresh game, indeed living off the land, were all skills needed to survive in this always beautiful, but oft times hostile land. Hale learned to be wary of not just the Indians, but also the White Man. Each time you came across another human being, you had to be on guard. Sometimes they would greet you with open arms, other times you would be greeted with an arrow or hot lead. Halle was not immune to this conundrum himself. The longer he lived in this land the more he became like a part of it. Much to his chagrin, sometimes he shot first and asked questions later. His relations with women were a difficult learning experience as well. Starting with his prissy aunt, who raised him in Philadelphia, to the camp followers he engaged with during the Civil War, to Eveline, one of two widowed sisters he says with in Bozeman, Montana. Eventually he meets Ink, the mixed-race girl he wounds with a rifle shot while he is on the run from both the Indians and the cavalry. He was in a very dark place in his life then and this slip of a girl, who needed his help touched his humanity. The book tells us as much ourselves as it does about others. This book provided for review by Amazon Vine. ( )

Bobby Hale was a Union soldier many times over. Joining under different names to get the joining bonus, though he does end of participating in two horrendous battles. Wanting to make it to California, circumstances and misfortunes see him get only so far and no further.

What a fascinating character he turns out to be, a somewhat of a reluctant hero after a few missteps. This is a time when settlers are moving west, to Oregon and California, a time of great Indian hostilities and the armies attempt to corral all Indians into one confined space. A time when gold has been discovered in the Black Hills and many want to go and become rich. Renegade generals and Indian scouts attempting to solve the Indian problem, as they see it.

I became deeply invested in the history of this time and all the characters surrounding Bobby. It was interesting to see how all these characters helped Bobby grow as a person and become a survivor. When he inadvertently shoots a young half Indian girl who is running from her Indian husband, his life changes again. Trying to get back to the fort and safety he ends up witnessing the Battle of Big Horn.

A fascinating read of the old west with a very likable narrator telling us his story.

ARC from NetGalley. ( )