Joe Starrett, his wife Marion and their young son Bill are homesteading in a Wyoming valley. A big-time cattle rancher, Fletcher, wants the entire valley to himself and is trying to get the homesteaders to leave. One day a lone horseman names Shane rides into the valley. The entire Starrett is entranced by his quiet strength and sense of danger, but they realize he isn’t dangerous to them. Joe asks Shane to help out on the ranch and the summer passes quietly.

In the fall, Fletcher returns and raises the stakes. He sends his men into town to beat up Shane, figuring that would intimidate Joe into leaving. But Shane takes care of them easily. Fletcher responds by sending more men and again, with some help from Joe, Shane takes care of them. Fletcher hires Wilson, a gunfighter. Wilson provokes a fight with another homesteader and kills him, then tries to intimidate Joe. Joe plans to fight back, but Shane knocks Joe out and goes into town alone where he kills both Wilson and Fletcher. He then rides out of the valley never to be seen again.

There was something about this book that bothered me the first time I read it. I was watching for it this time and it bothered me even more. Joe is supposed to be this tough, smart, wonderful guy — so cool, in fact, that he realizes that Shane is a better man than him and doesn’t even mind that his wife is in love with the guy. Shane was faster with a gun and dressed cooler, but when the flash is removed, he’s just a killer trying to reform his ways but unable to escape who he is. Joe is a successful rancher with a beautiful wife and the respect of his neighbors. It seems like that makes him the better man. And Shane was just too sharp, too cool, too good to be believable.

On one level, this was a rousing Western adventure story, and on that level it was pretty good. On another level, it was a story about the stupidity of men and how they have to act tough and fight to be real men. I guess there’s supposed to be a third level, a sort of morality tale about the mysterious stranger who saves the innocent villagers.

The experts try to pawn this off as a meaningful story about a boy's love for a man, and that man's struggle to escape his past and live a normal life. Forget all that. It's a well-written, great adventure with great characters.

OK, what I wrote above was my reaction the first time I read the book. I just read it again and had a different take. There was something that bugged me the first time. I watched for it this time and it bugged me even more.

Everyone in the Starrett family fell in love with Shane, including Joe's wife Marion (I think that was her name). And Joe was OK with that because he knew Shane was a better man than he was.

But Shane wasn't a better man. He was a gunfighter on the run from himself and plagued by guilt because he didn't like who he was. Joe was a responsible farmer with a solid family and the respect of his community. The whole worship of Shane thing bugged me.

I don't see Shane as a picture of Christ because Christ was never conflicted about who He was or what His mission was, which is the whole point of Shane's story.

I gave it a 6 the second time around.