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Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Infidelity, Mental illness, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Abortion, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Gore, Sexual violence, Violence
Minor: Genocide, Misogyny, Racial slurs
Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape
Moderate: Gun violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Murder
Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Murder
McMurtry obviously loves his subject: the book is full of western tropes but he manages to undermine the myths by showing how harsh and unforgiving frontier life was, and how survival depended on luck as much as judgement and skill.
The action is nicely paced. The characters are all deep, beautifully drawn and uniquely flawed, so you end up loving and admiring them but wanting to slap some sense into them too. The book is funny as well as exciting and sad. It’s worth reading for Gus’ hilarious monologues alone.
Some of the plot lines depend heavily on coincidence. Characters run into each other all the time and at one point McMurtry tries to explain this away by telling us there was only one road. The last few chapters are tragic and pretty bleak, but worse than that, the introspection goes on too long and gets a little boring.
I also wish the author had been a little braver in his myth busting. There’s a lot of frontier justice in this book and McMurtry can’t help justifying every lynching. I think it would have been more interesting and Captan Call had occasionally got the wrong guy.
Still a great book to read.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Rape, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault
Minor: Gore
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Sexual violence
Moderate: Rape, Torture, Kidnapping
Minor: Racial slurs