Joe Pepper

This book was first published in paperback in 1976 under the Lee McElroy name, and I don't think it is quite as good as other Elmer Kelton books. For one thing the story is told in first person, which is not my favorite story-telling form. Secondly, Joe Pepper is not your solid, everyday kind of person. He was a man with a past. Gunfighting, gambling, and even being a sheriff at one time. He lived by his wits and walked on both sides of the law. I like my main protagonist to be a little bit more clearly defined on the good side. Yes, they can have a past, and have done things they knew were wrong, but in the end they make amends and become solid citizens. Joe Pepper never reforms even in the end. Oh, he may be likeable enough to some, but not for me. Elmer Kelton just missed this time with this story

I have read (and loved) many books by Elmer Kelton, but this one is different from them all. Right out of the gate, you realize that this is one continuous story, told to a preacher by a presumably condemned man. It is sad, funny, realistic and believable ... all in the same book. Mr. Kelton incorporates a lot of Texas (and Old West) history in this tale. It starts out by giving a little bit of Joe Peeler's (later, Joe Pepper's) background and the things that happened to him when he was young. A man that straddled both sides of the fence, he did what he had to to make a living. I suspect that's how it was in the real world of the Old West: not all good nor all bad, but a little mixture of both. If you like Westerns or Elmer Kelton, you won't go wrong with JOE PEPPER.

HI I DONT KNOW ABOUT PREVIOUS REVIEW BUT THIS BOOK WAS GREAT. IT HAS A HILARIOUS TONE THROUGHOUT WITH THIS CONDEMNED MAN CONFESSING HIS PAST ACTS. IF YOU LOVED LONESOME DOVE YOU WILL FIND YOU CANT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN . I AM NOW A BIG ELMER KELTON FAN .