A review by kuhnja
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A western Oddysey. Very unlike any other western I’ve consumed before. 

This one took me a minute to get though at almost 900 pages and one missstart. I started this on audio and abandoned it about halfway through because I thought it warranted a little more of my attention and I was so right. I’m glad I restarted from the beginning because it made me appreciate the story so much more. This is one I felt like I would have read and written a paper on in college. I wish I could be in a class and hear the debate and analysis over this one. 

The length helped the epic timeline of the story have more impact. The multiple storylines were an annoyance at first but a delight once I settled in. I loved the interconnectivity. The ending felt a little rushed and tacked on. It was so close to being perfect.

The story was so heartbreaking and raw and real. Trajedy was matter of fact without the drama that most books add. It made the loss feel more like it does in real life. The book was so sad, so funny, so full of longing and what might have been. Hubris and comradery. 

Last year it felt good to hit my reading goal, and this was a different kind of goal, to get through such a long book, but it was such a delight.

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