Lifestyle

The Writer of ‘Forrest Gump’ is Back with an ‘El Paso’ Tale

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Winston Groom’s latest novel, “El Paso,” is coming out almost two decades after his last novel. But after writing a monumental bestseller called “Forrest Gump,” penning a new fictional novel isn’t a chore for Groom.

Groom’s career as an author began after he served in the Vietnam War. After going through the traumatic battles, he truly felt like he had something to say. He wrote two novels about Vietnam which he followed up with his best-known work, “Forrest Gump.” Eight years after publishing the iconic book, the movie was made and Groom stopped writing fiction and began focusing on history. With “El Paso,” Groom returns to the style of fictional characters meeting historical figures that he used in “Forrest Gump.”

As NPR explains, the book follows “Lt. George S. Patton [as he] leads his troops into Mexico in pursuit of Villa and sympathizers show up in Villa’s camp, including the cowboy movie star Tom Mix, the Socialist journalist John Reed and the Civil War writer Ambrose Bierce.”

Fans have already started devouring “El Paso” and leaving positive reviews online. Amazon user Skylark said, “It was clever to include the famous figures of the day to his cast and, he dealt with them fairly, for the most part. It was certainly hard to put down. This, I predict, will be as popular as his Gump book and I for one, loved it far more.”