This is a very old paper back book that I got as a result of winning an eBay auction. One interesting factoid, as I was unpacking my bounty, I found another book with the exact same cover, different author, published much later. Strange!
This is the story of two brother who tramp about the virginal west, long before most westerns are set. Their last name is never given, just the first; Charles,red-headed and bearded , strong and, when necessary, ruthless. He has an opinion about everything and would be glad to share it with anyone. David, dark of hair and, sometimes, soul.
During the course of their wandering they steal a woman from the man who bought her from her uncle. Karin is beautiful, blond, blue-eyed and intense, deeply in love with David and emotionally bound to both brothers. She is also plagued by bouts of extreme depression, complete with visual hallucinations..
This trio, plus Jean, the man who owned Karin wander the west, trapping hunting, always moving on, Until Charles finds a woman he wants and Karin becomes fragile because of her inability to have a baby.
This is not a happy novel, there are many happy events and even some passages that will make you laugh. It will also make you think. Are some people just not destined to find happiness? If they made different decisions would their lives turn out differently? At the end, only Jean, the weakest and most flawed of them finds peace and contentment. ( )