I always have great empathy for natural reclusives who find themselves stranded outside their comfort zone and Larry McMurty’s Sin Killer (2002) is a perfect example. Trapper/Indian-fighter Jim Snow 
(nicknamed Sin Killer) relinquishes his solitude in the first of Larry McMurtry’s tetrology, the Berrybender Narratives; but Jim would have (and probably should have) kept to himself had his youthful lust and fire-and-brimstrone religious guilt not combined to drive him into marriage with Tasmin Berrybender. Tasmin is an English noblewoman traveling with her absurdly wealthy, self-indulgent family through America’s West in the mid-19th century. The sometimes-flammable culture shock these lovers endure continues through all four books of McMurtry’s tetrology.
Jim Snow makes it to the Memorable Hermits list for tenacity alone. You just know trouble is brewing when Snow’s first words to his future bride are ”You talk too much.” He does his best to warm to the “civilized” family he marries into, but Tasmin is continually burdened with Snow’s inclination to just walk away when the spirit strikes or the noise overwhelms him. He rarely feels obligated to discuss his plans or forewarn her of these departures. I think many hermits are prone to this type of spontaneous desertion. It’s a self-preservation maneuver symptomatic of waiting too long before escaping the social tumult.
Lonesome Dove fans or anyone in the mood for a good dose of escapist fiction, should read the Berrybender Narratives. (McMurtry claims they are the end of his fictional sojourns into 19th century America.) The other three books in the series are: By Sorrow’s River (2003), The Wandering Hill (2003) and Folly & Glory (2004).
As always, McMurtry’s multiple points of view create an engrossing portrait of an unforgiving, brutal wilderness where multiple factions and cultures battle for survival. McMurtry’s bawdy humor and social commentary soften the saga capturing the reader’s empathy for a multitude of fascinating characters, some of them fictionalized versions of historical figures.
Pragmatic self-sufficiency meets clueless self-indulgence in an untamed wilderness makes for a good yarn.
Huh? Maybe the books aren’t as escapist as I remember - I think I’ve been watching a sequel on the news lately.
“pragmatic self-sufficiency meets clueless self-indulgence” now I LIKE that and wonder how often it happens.