Alexandra Fuller, a citizen of the world now that she has left Zimbabwe for the wide open spaces of Wyoming, has written a great-hearted romance about an ordinary boy. And in doing so she both undoes and re-embroiders the great cowboy myths of that country.
Colton H Bryant embodies the lives and misfortunes of many young men in Wyoming, who are raised hunting, shooting, fishing, riding horses and also working on the oil rigs.
A gentle soul, but doing his best, Colton vomits when he kills an elk and loves his horse to distraction. He is a hyperactive kid, which shows in his schoolwork. His childhood is engraved with the torment of his mocking peers who relentlessly and incessantly call him a “retard”. His mantra against this is “Mind over matter,” and he tells himself “I don’t mind so it don’t matter”.
Fuller has produced a wonderfully engaging and readable tale, filling out the nuances of Colton’s life — which is the upper end of nonentity, but rich in friends, love and family. All these people, however, are on the receiving end of the ill-treatment and lack of concern from the oil companies which own and run the rigs.
Criminally unsafe working conditions are par for the course, and no matter how tough these young guys are, they are no match for these heartless, profit-driven oil barons. When kids cry in Wyoming, or older folks are downhearted, they are told, “Cowboy up, cupcake!”
Fuller says this book is not fiction; it is the story of the real Colton H Bryant and she lists her sources in detail to substantiate the hard facts, as well as the more ephemeral realities of life for ordinary young guys in Wyoming.
It’s reminiscent of the movie Erin Brockovich except no oil baron has yet met his Moses at the hands of a beautiful and sassy woman. But more importantly this beautifully written story is a real tribute to Bryant and surviving abuse and will hopefully give the working guys in the United States the heart and mind to stand up to corporate bullies.
And it is also a great song to the Wyoming landscape and extreme weather. A wonderful holiday read.
The Legend of Colton H Bryant by Alexandra Fuller is published by Simon and Schuster