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A review by delightfulmayhem
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was the first western book I've read, and I was surprised at how much it got under my skin.
The story centers around a cattle drive that journeys all the way from the bottom of Texas up to Canada. You wouldn't think a cattle drive would be all that fun to read about however, in this story we've got cowboys, ranchers, cooks, farmers, horse thieves, Native Americans, sherrifs, and gunslingers. The cast of characters is diverse in both race and gender and everyone gets a good amount of screen time. This book is like a medieval fantasy quest novel set in the Old West. Larry McMurty does a phenomenal job at describing what living life during this time is like, and it was not a good time or place to live. It was nasty. He gets into the grittiness, the despair, and the drama of it so well.
The characters have so much depth. I loved the chemistry between the two main characters, Woodrow Call and Augustus McCrae. These guys just don't get along, and yet they love each other and get along in the end. I loved every bit of dialogue between these two.
The only thing I did not like so much is the negativity toward Native Americans in the story and how they are branded as thieves and murderers. It made me wonder if Larry McMurty was a hater of Native Americans and Mexicans.
Keep in mind this book is rated R and does contain some content that may be triggering to some including sexual assault, misogyny, rape, death, injury detail, kidnapping, racial slurs, murder, torture, and gun violence.
Favorite Quotes:
• “If you want one thing too much it’s likely to be a disappointment. The healthy way is to learn to like the everyday things, like soft beds and buttermilk—and feisty gentlemen.”
• “If you only come face-to-face with your own mistakes once or twice in your life it’s bound to be extra painful. I face mine every day—that way, they ain’t usually much worse than a dry shave.”
• "My main skills are talking and cooking biscuits. And getting drunk on the porch."
• “You’re the only man I know whose brain don’t work unless it’s in the shade.”
• " The first difference Newt noticed about being grown up was that time didn’t pass as slow."
• “The eastern sky was red as coals in a forge, lighting up the flats along the river. Dew had wet the million needles of the chaparral, and when the rim of the sun edged over the horizon, the chaparral seemed to be spotted with diamonds. A bush in the backyard was filled with little rainbows as the sun touched the dew."
The story centers around a cattle drive that journeys all the way from the bottom of Texas up to Canada. You wouldn't think a cattle drive would be all that fun to read about however, in this story we've got cowboys, ranchers, cooks, farmers, horse thieves, Native Americans, sherrifs, and gunslingers. The cast of characters is diverse in both race and gender and everyone gets a good amount of screen time. This book is like a medieval fantasy quest novel set in the Old West. Larry McMurty does a phenomenal job at describing what living life during this time is like, and it was not a good time or place to live. It was nasty. He gets into the grittiness, the despair, and the drama of it so well.
The characters have so much depth. I loved the chemistry between the two main characters, Woodrow Call and Augustus McCrae. These guys just don't get along, and yet they love each other and get along in the end. I loved every bit of dialogue between these two.
The only thing I did not like so much is the negativity toward Native Americans in the story and how they are branded as thieves and murderers. It made me wonder if Larry McMurty was a hater of Native Americans and Mexicans.
Keep in mind this book is rated R and does contain some content that may be triggering to some including sexual assault, misogyny, rape, death, injury detail, kidnapping, racial slurs, murder, torture, and gun violence.
Favorite Quotes:
• “If you want one thing too much it’s likely to be a disappointment. The healthy way is to learn to like the everyday things, like soft beds and buttermilk—and feisty gentlemen.”
• “If you only come face-to-face with your own mistakes once or twice in your life it’s bound to be extra painful. I face mine every day—that way, they ain’t usually much worse than a dry shave.”
• "My main skills are talking and cooking biscuits. And getting drunk on the porch."
• “You’re the only man I know whose brain don’t work unless it’s in the shade.”
• " The first difference Newt noticed about being grown up was that time didn’t pass as slow."
• “The eastern sky was red as coals in a forge, lighting up the flats along the river. Dew had wet the million needles of the chaparral, and when the rim of the sun edged over the horizon, the chaparral seemed to be spotted with diamonds. A bush in the backyard was filled with little rainbows as the sun touched the dew."