Connect with Etta Online


Facebook Shelfari

GoodReads

 

What the Fans Say

Gerald Kolpan is a good storyteller and this fast paced western adventure story is fun from start to finish, even for those who already know the end of the Butch and Sundance story. We will likely never know the real Etta Place but Kolpan has done her proud with this version of what might have been.

Despite being centered around characters from the Wild West, it's not really a Western - it's more straight-up historical fiction. Kolpan's writing is smooth and authentic, and he seamlessly weaves letters, newspaper articles, wanted ads, etc. into his main narrative, which is not always the easiest style to pull off. Etta inspired me to go learn more about the actual history of the people involved, plus it kept me interested enough to tear through it in less than two days.

Etta, the first novel by Gerald Kolpan (and another Early Reviewer book) is a winner. In it, Kolpan imagines the life of Etta Place, a "real-life" figure about whom little is known beyond her status as girlfriend of the Sundance Kid. The life Kolpan creates for Etta is perfect - adventurous and complex with a great sprinkling of real historical figures. It's not the truth, but it's better than. It's life at its storytelling best.

Gerald Kolpan takes the known history of Etta, creates a plausible background and peppers it with the events and people of the time. the result is a page turner, a rollicking adventure taking the reader through time structures by actual events. You will need to remind yourself the story if fiction.

I couldn't put it down. Etta Place (as created by Gerald Kolpan) is a brave young woman who is left with nothing after her father commits suicide and leaves her with his unpaid debt. She travels across the country determined to make something of herself. Along the way she meets up with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and befriends Eleanor Roosevelt. This is a compelling adventure combined with a sweet love story. I would reccomend this book to everyone!