True Grits ending was only regretable in the sense that the book had to end. I have watched the movie many times and picked up the book recently and found I enjoyed it much more than the movie. I am a John Wayne fan and had always assumed I liked the movie so much based on the good story, fine casting and because I am a John Wayne fan. This book made me realize I was also a Rooster Cogburn fan and now, a budding Portis fan. The writing is excellent, funny, fast-paced, exciting and sad, as it was designed, but most of all, it creates an ambiance steeped in life in the old west, in which real people lived. The book reveals no all good characters nor all bad bad men, but real human traits disliked and liked in each character. 34 years later I say thank you Charles Portis.