The reading of this novel lies not in what happens next but in the unfolding depth of a strong character and the clear picture of a time and a place. There is no surprise ending to this story, no magical solution to the harsh realities of life in West Texas.

When the drought breaks, it has lasted too long and he is too old. Although Charlie never loses his dignity and never quits, he does not win out in the end. Self-sufficient, courageous, with a strong sense of right and wrong, he is also old and overweight, a thoroughly believable human being who has trouble communicating with the wife who loyally struggles to keep life in its pattern, the son who has no feel for the land but yearns for the rodeo circuit, the Mexican family who has worked for him for years and whose help he can no longer afford. Charlie is by no means the typical cowboy hero. In an oft-quoted spurt of enthusiasm, the western aficionado Jon Tuska called The Time It Never Rained one of the dozen or so best novels written by an. 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. The struggle made them fiercely independent, a trait personified in Charlie's persistence throughout the seven dry years, his refusal to accept defeat, his opposition to federal aid programs and their inevitable bureaucratic regulations, his determination to stay on the land he loves and respects even as he suffers with that land. The Time It Never Rained (Hardcover) Published December 31st 1988 by G. Almost every scene is about Charlie Flagg, a cattle and sheep rancher.

The story is based around actual events - specifically, the Texas drought of the early 1950s - which the author experienced both as a friend and relative of ranchers and as a reporter for the ranching industry. His first novel, Hot Iron, was published in. He grew up on a ranch near Crane, Texas, and earned a journalism degree from the University of Texas. By that time, Charlie Flagg, the central character of this novel, was one of a dying breed of men who wrested their living from the harsh land of West Texas. The Time It Never Rained is an unusual Western by Elmer Kelton. Elmer Kelton (1926-2009) was award-winning author of more than forty novels, including The Time It Never Rained, Other Men’s Horses, Texas Standoff and Hard Trail to Follow. He also received a Owen Wister Award for lifetime achievement.In the 1950s, West Texas suffered the longest drought in the memory of most men then living. Kelton's novels have won seven Spur Awards, from the Western Writers of America, and three Western Heritage Awards, from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Kelton's memoir, Sandhills Boy, was published in 2007. He served as the associate editor of Livestock Weekly from 1968 to 1990. Kelton worked as the farm and ranch editor of the San Angelo Standard-Times from 1948 to 1963. He graduated from the University of Texas in 1948. Elmer Kelton (Ap – Aug) was an American author, known for his Westerns.

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