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A review by justinlife
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
5.0
This book is truly amazing. It’s really hard to describe why I came to that conclusion without a little backstory.
1. I have never been interested in the Western genre. From the outside, it looked boring and repetitious. I mean, how many books can be written about a time period and be good, am I right?
2. I had zero desire to go out West and explore that part of America. I love the West Coast, but have not necessarily been a fan of the West itself.
3. I had super low expectations going in. Like, real low. I only read it to challenge myself to see if my prejudice was justified. This book destroyed those prejudices. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are authors who write the same damn things about the West, but this book surprised me.
Now that I got that out of the way, I can go into a little more details about this book. I didn’t expect this book to be such an epic. I didn’t expect it to be so grand. I didn’t expect the characters to be so interesting and well developed. Yet, as I was reading this book, I was amazed at how well I knew the characters. I was impressed with the dialogue and, at times, the lack of dialogue. I wanted to see the West and I could see how the West could have been post Civil War and it made me completely intrigued.
This book is brutal, though. Because you know the characters so completely, when some of them die, it’s heart wrenching. Watching the deaths affect other characters is also difficult. You begin to feel it for these characters and what they are going through. You begin to question why anyone would want to be the first settlers. As I was reading this book, I understood very clearly that if I had been alive in that time, the West was not where I would be. I would HAVE to be elsewhere.
If you do decide to read this book, let me know. There’s much to be discussed. This book does have its flaws. Even though not every Native American is considered barbaric, the ones that fulfill that trope, fulfill it to extent. Women do not fair much better either. There are some strong women characters, but because of the time, there’s not much you can do with them. McCurty does a lot in showing their heartache and their disdain without exposing his reader to all the violence that got them there. Don’t get me wrong, you witness it, but he doesn’t sensationalize it.
The characters and the visuals this book bring are the main stars of this show. These are people that you want to know, or after reading about them, you feel as if you do know them. As I stated earlier, I had no desire to visit the West, but now, after reading this book, I would like to venture out and see what was and what could have been. This book created such strong images in my mind that it’s like I have seen the wild horses running free, and last few herds of buffalo, the emptiness of the plains, and the dry, dusty towns of Texas. That , to me, was a rare treat. Not every book has been so visually evocative.
This book was one of my favorite books I have read. I do hope some of my friends decide to pick it up. I would love to discuss some things, particularly the last 50 or so pages.
1. I have never been interested in the Western genre. From the outside, it looked boring and repetitious. I mean, how many books can be written about a time period and be good, am I right?
2. I had zero desire to go out West and explore that part of America. I love the West Coast, but have not necessarily been a fan of the West itself.
3. I had super low expectations going in. Like, real low. I only read it to challenge myself to see if my prejudice was justified. This book destroyed those prejudices. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are authors who write the same damn things about the West, but this book surprised me.
Now that I got that out of the way, I can go into a little more details about this book. I didn’t expect this book to be such an epic. I didn’t expect it to be so grand. I didn’t expect the characters to be so interesting and well developed. Yet, as I was reading this book, I was amazed at how well I knew the characters. I was impressed with the dialogue and, at times, the lack of dialogue. I wanted to see the West and I could see how the West could have been post Civil War and it made me completely intrigued.
This book is brutal, though. Because you know the characters so completely, when some of them die, it’s heart wrenching. Watching the deaths affect other characters is also difficult. You begin to feel it for these characters and what they are going through. You begin to question why anyone would want to be the first settlers. As I was reading this book, I understood very clearly that if I had been alive in that time, the West was not where I would be. I would HAVE to be elsewhere.
If you do decide to read this book, let me know. There’s much to be discussed. This book does have its flaws. Even though not every Native American is considered barbaric, the ones that fulfill that trope, fulfill it to extent. Women do not fair much better either. There are some strong women characters, but because of the time, there’s not much you can do with them. McCurty does a lot in showing their heartache and their disdain without exposing his reader to all the violence that got them there. Don’t get me wrong, you witness it, but he doesn’t sensationalize it.
The characters and the visuals this book bring are the main stars of this show. These are people that you want to know, or after reading about them, you feel as if you do know them. As I stated earlier, I had no desire to visit the West, but now, after reading this book, I would like to venture out and see what was and what could have been. This book created such strong images in my mind that it’s like I have seen the wild horses running free, and last few herds of buffalo, the emptiness of the plains, and the dry, dusty towns of Texas. That , to me, was a rare treat. Not every book has been so visually evocative.
This book was one of my favorite books I have read. I do hope some of my friends decide to pick it up. I would love to discuss some things, particularly the last 50 or so pages.