 The book ends with Gus completely growing up by confronting his parents with Eddy and forgiving them.Voted 35th best novel in the "San Francisco Chronicle" list of The 20th Century's 100 Best Books of the American West.In 2002, Sierra Club Books released a 20th Anniversary Edition that includes a new afterword by the author describing Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks influence on him at the age of 16 and how this led him to a life of literature.