Lonesome Dove By Larry McMurtry - A WESTERN MASTERPIECE?
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- Опубликовано: 30 июл 2024
- A review of Lonesome Dove By Larry McMurtry.
A love story, an adventure, and an epic of the frontier, Larry McMurtry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, Lonesome Dove, the third book in the Lonesome Dove tetralogy, is the grandest novel ever written about the last defiant wilderness of America.
Journey to the dusty little Texas town of Lonesome Dove and meet an unforgettable assortment of heroes and outlaws, whores and ladies, Indians and settlers. Richly authentic, beautifully written, always dramatic, Lonesome Dove is a book to make us laugh, weep, dream, and remember.
It’s still my number one favorite book ever.
Same
This, War and Peace and, strangely, God Emperor of Dune are the best books I’ve found so far.
Trivia: McMurty wrote a screenplay of Lonesome Dove first, shopped it to every studio and they all turned him down. But, he loved the story, so he turned the screenplay into a novel, which was a runaway hit, very quickly everyone wanted him to write a screenplay, even though they had all turned him down a few years before.
You are a great book commentator! I didn't read LONESOME DOVE, but I did read McMurty's HORSEMAN, PASS BY and liked it. Haven't read much western fiction, aside from Cormac McCarthy, most of whose work I've read. I love the TV film of LONESOME DOVE...it should be considered one of the greatest westerns in film, and I have seen nearly all the highly-regarded westerns. Your comments really make me want to read LONESOME DOVE now
Just bought it.
I read Lonesome Dove back in 2020 for my Pulitzer Prize Project and loved it. I've heard from a bunch of people who were dissatisfied by how subtle the critiques of western tropes are, but I found it very satisfying. I was captivated by the prose pretty quickly, but I did take a long time to read it simply because I wasn't doing a lot of reading as, you know, the world locked down. I've not read any other McMurtry books, I feel like I'll skip the rest of the Lonesome Dove series because all of those books were published after Lonesome Dove (the ones that are earlier in the series were prequels), and I just like the story being what it is. I don't feel like I need more. But I do want to read The Last Picture Show for sure--especially since it also plays with ideas of the mythologizing of the wild west. His short novel Horseman, Pass By was also adapted into the classic Paul Newman movie Hud. And of course, Terms of Endearment sounds interesting--at least in part because it's such a departure from the others.
Great review. Favourite westerns? LD, of course. The Shootist by Glendon Swartout, Blood Meridian, No Country for Old Men (as in modern western), Legends of the Fall by Jim Harrison. I better stop there.
Yes I've read LD. My favourite book bar none. It took me until they set out on the trail but as I knew it was coming and as that was basically what I wanted to do anyway I enjoyed the character building and watching them pack up etc, so for me the excitement built fairly early on. I was REALLY looking forward to the adventures they would have. And McMurtry gives you enough interesting characterisation to make you confidently feel you want more. I say "watching" because reading LD is like a movie unfolding in your head. His writing is masterful. It's sooo good.
Favorite book of all time. Although it does technically take about 150-200 pages to get going into the meat of the story, I was hooked by the ambiance of this book from cover to cover. I remember raving about the book to my girlfriend after 20 minutes. This book made me love reading again, and I’m reading Streets of Laredo at the moment. I know for a fact that no book will ever quite live up to lonesome dove, and I will continue to read it for the rest of my life. That being said, I’m really enjoying Streets of Laredo
Great review. True Grit by Charles Portis is a 5 star book IMO.
The characters are well-written and excellently introduced from the beginning. I don't think it took me any time at all to get into it, even if the main plot only kicks off in Part II.
I liked True Grit, The Searches, and The Border Trilogy. Also, you may like The Last Picture Show by McMurtry.
I've read the whole series. LOVED LD, liked very much Streets of Laredo, and the other 2 were ok.
Now I suggest you read The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy if you haven't.
Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy
The Big Sky - A. B. Guthrie jr.
The Wonderful Country - Tom Lea
Me and Gallagher - Jack Farris
Comanche Vengeance - Richard Jessup
Blood Meridian, so far, isn't hooking me, and i'm on chapter 13.
Superb review of an amazing book. I enjoyed every book in the series with The Streets of Laredo being the best after Lonesome Dove. I have read westerns for decades. For me Lonesome Dove is the top. Some excellent westerns are: The Virginian by Wister, Valdez is Coming by Leonard, Hombre by Leonard, Butchers Crossing by Williams, True Grit by Portis and The Big Sky by Guthrie.
Elmore Leonard's westerns are fantastic. Top shelf stuff.
Thanks for this review! It was a book my father-in-law loved, so I had tried to read it (to have something to connect with him, some 30 years ago), but it felt like a slog, and I didn't finish. Now I'm inspired to pick it back up.
Absolutely amazing character novel.
The sequel to Lonesome Dove is just as good - Streets of Laredo. Sadly Gus McCraemis gone but Woodrow, Pea Eye, Lorena and Clara are all there, plus some real people like John Wesley Hardin. If you thought Blue Duck was a bad man just wait until you meet Mox Mox! A great and grownup masterpiece.
Well Andy-it has been thirty-five years since I read this magnificent novel so I say it's time for me to read it again. I don't believe I had difficulty with the first 100-200 pages as I usually dump the book by that point (Atlas Shrugged for example) , but as you stated. everyone is different. I also read the direct sequel-Streets of Laredo-and thought it was excellent but not in the same league as the original.
As for other great westerns=True Grit by Charles Portis is a classic. The book is much better than either film version. Larry McMurtry also wrote some shorter westerns that are quite good-Anything for Billy (about Bily the Kid) and Buffalo Girls(about Buffalo Bill, his traveling show, and Calamity Jane)
Efficient review. Thanks.
I prefer The Searchers, Blood Meridian, and Butcher's Crossing.
Butcher’s Crossing outstanding 👍👍
I thought it was exciting from the very first page. What other book opens up with pigs eating a snake?
Great book, kinda slow and agonizing at times but all in all arguably not this absolute best.
Didn’t care too much for that one. If you wanna read a western read blood meridian
Agree, Blood meridian is a fantastic western!!
@@DanLyndon wat?