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The first section of the book is remarkably slow; I only got through it because I was mildly interested in the characters, of which there is a wide range. The POV switches constantly which helped keep me engaged. Then, by part two of the novel, Call decides to do a cattle drive and things start to pick up. The themes/discussions of loyalty, brotherhood & friendship, death, fate, and luck (plus some I surely didn’t pick up on) come up.
By the end of the drive, some characters have developed (for better or worse) and some have died. Again, perhaps tying back into the themes of luck and fate (especially in the case of Jake, who started running with the wrong crew and hung for it). Then, Gus dies and makes the absurd request for Call to take his body ALL THE WAY BACK to Lonesome Dove. He does, and then the novel ends: with Call exactly where he started. I’m just not sure what the point of it all was.
It’s said that McMurtry’s work is so popular because he shows the “bad” side of the American west, so maybe it’s not a satirical take so much as a realistic one. And sure, some characters ended up better off than when they started, like Lorena, and Newt. Maybe that’s the point, that some people win and some people lose. It just felt deeply unsatisfying to me for Call to go all the way back to Lonesome Dove because a delirious, septic Gus wanted to be buried in a pretty spot. Maybe the point is their friendship and devotion/loyalty to each other.
The actual writing was enjoyable. It was very atmospheric and felt authentic. I did come to be fond of some characters by the end: my favorites were Clara and Newt, I think. However, it did naturally have lots of period- and genre-typical sexism and racism, especially towards Native Americans- all of the ones given any amount of discussion are depicted as excessively aggressive and barbaric, like the main villain Blue Duck, and Gus & Call’s whole career was centered around killing Native and Mexican “outlaws” even though they go and do the same stuff (kill men and steal horses) right back. Perhaps that’s ironic on purpose and is meant as a critique of that behavior? The N-word makes frequent appearances and the African American in the cast of main characters is killed off, though the crew does treat him with respect for the most part.
I’d love to see some explanation of this novel that makes it all click for me because I WANTED to love it. So, please, if you have any suggestions to help in my understanding, let me know.
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation
Graphic: Animal death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Grief, Pregnancy, Colonisation
Minor: Genocide, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation
Minor: Child death, Miscarriage
Graphic: Gore, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation
Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism
Minor: Pedophilia
Graphic: Animal death, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Racial slurs, Rape, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail