My grandfather also did trail drives. He remembered hiding under the table during the range wars.
He ended up being a surveyor for the Brazos.
I would sit on his knee for hours listening to his cowboy songs. One was a very sad song about the Sioux Indians. He would always have a tear on his cheek at the end of the song.
Very thoughtful reflection on Lonesome Dove, one of my favorite books of all time. I've only read it twice and am due for a third reading soon. The TV version is a decent adaptation because of the wonderful acting and worth watching, but McMurtry's prose is tenderly sad and sweet, and the images he painted have stuck with me for years. Thanks, Sonny!
Since I never actually watched Lonesome Dove, and after reading a good portion of the story, I stopped reading and will return after I actually watch starting this evening. SONNY'S word is good enough to make me realize I have missed out on something.
The first part of the book is colorful characters and stunning weird deaths and moving on. The last part of the book is amazingly deep and thought provoking. Do not read the sequel, just don’t do that to yourself. I’m not sure what McMurtry was thinking. The prequels were obvious cash grabs. The sequel was awful and made no sense.
"Lonesome Dove" was a beautiful love letter to the West of long ago. Romantic and brutal at the same time. When you grow up in the wide-open West, you appreciate McMurtry's ability to express the complicated feelings we have for the land, the people, and the critters that inhabit it.
"The Last Picture Show", followed years later by "Texasville," was understood by anyone that grew up in a small town. Was he telling tales out of school? Sure, but they were true.
I never read "Lonesome Dove," but I have viewed the mini-series multiple times.
Bill Wittliff's co-scriptwriting with book author Larry McMurtry was fantastic. Made sense that two Texans could create a period piece to embody that post-Civil War period. As an Easterner, I appreciate the reality they seemed to bring to the period, along with the directors and the cinematographers.
I was inundated with 1/2 hour western TV shows during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
My father, a WW2 combat veteran (33-years old when drafted) of the European campaign, was fond of "Maverick" and "Have Gun Will Travel." I realized as an adult that the attraction was the intellectual perspective of those shows.
Therefore, I wasn't a major fan of western genre movies as a kid and thereafter.
[BTW - Pops said that the most realistic WW2 movie was Saving Private Ryan, most of the others filmed during the war were propagandistic or afterwards rationalizations of America's "greatism.".
I watch the series every few years for the acting, scripting, cinematography, and seeming reality of its period.
BTW - connection of Val Kilmer and Lonesome Dove. Val was fantastic as the kidnapped Texas governor, overweight, in a pit, dealing with scorpions.
One of my three favorite books. Thank you for the article, Sonny! For me, Gus and Call are people trying to stay relevant, fighting and scrapping for continued relevance, in a world which views them as less so every day and scoffs at or ignores them while the country barrels ever forward. I don’t think a day goes by where something about that story doesn’t cross my mind.
We all have to do more than just try and get through the territory. Just ask Jake Spoon!
My Larry McMurtry story (spoiler warning if you've not read Lonesome Dove yet) - Growing up in 1950s/'60s, lots of westerns on TV. Me dad had always had western paperbacks around, from Louis L'Amour in the '60s to Longarm in the '70s/'80s. I read one or 2 but never clicked with me. Saw Last Picture Show when it came out, while wasting time in my little town just months after my own h.s. senior year. I wasn't in the plot but the atmosphere felt kinda familiar. Angst, ennui, alienation. Lost boy? Later saw Hud on TV; again, my perspective was that of the coming-of-age teenager - what's a grown-up man supposed to be like? Not sure how I liked the men closest to me as models for that. Fast forward a few years, marriage, career, parenthood, imposter syndrome bigtime. Along the way read a couple of McMurtry's books, saw Terms of Endearment movie (seemed just soap opera to me).
Then an older sister told me she thought I'd like this new book, Lonesome Dove. Thick book, quickly hooked. Yeah it's sad. Sometimes funny. McMurtry's characters brought up so many different emotions for me. I was in the midst of some troubling years. Crying over those characters maybe helped a little. Next time I visited the old man I saw Lonesome Dove on the coffee table. I asked, "You reading this one?" "Finished it..." and he looked away. Then he said, maybe more to himself than to me, "I just can't understand how he could never admit that boy was his son..." He and I had not been what most people would call "close." In that moment a 30-year-old dam cracked. Took another couple years for each of us to give enough signals so I could eventually take the plunge of asking if I could hug him. And we got to have 10 years after that, working on our own version of "close."
So yes, Sonny, your friend called it true: Life is a long, treacherous, breathtaking journey; it's an enormous blessing to end up with people you love. You might not even know which twists & turns will lead you there. Give gratitude for whatever nudged you in a good direction.
I loved Lonesome Dove when I read it many, many years ago. I’ve never re-read it, though. Maybe I’ll give it a try to see if I feel differently about it now. My favorite Larry McMurtry book is Cadillac Jack, maybe because it takes place in Washington DC, where I live and where his bookstore, Booked Up, was before he moved it to Texas. I recommend his memoirs, too: Books, A Literary Life, and Hollywood.
I have always been a reader, and now that I am retired I am happily reading 2-3 books a week. Lonesome Dove is by far one of my favorites. I make sure to re read it once a year, especially when I want a comfortable good cry. A masterpiece!
I'm reading Lonesome Dove for the third time (after having just rewatched the miniseries), and the thing that really strikes me - as a much older reader than I was the first time around - is how easily a life could be snuffed out back then, and how those who made it through to old age carried not just the physical hardships they endured but also the many psychic scars from all those losses. We are definitely not built for that kind of life anymore.
Having read the body of McMurtry’s work , i agree that Lonesome Dove is his opus. The title explicates the core of its meaning. There is no peace in the world that humankind has created from what must have been glorious. We have reaped what we have sowed. And yes, “sad” is an insufficient description.
Thanks for 'shout outs' to two favorites, Lonesome Dove and Heat. Great stories.
My grandfather also did trail drives. He remembered hiding under the table during the range wars.
He ended up being a surveyor for the Brazos.
I would sit on his knee for hours listening to his cowboy songs. One was a very sad song about the Sioux Indians. He would always have a tear on his cheek at the end of the song.
Just wanted to say
Sorry Sonny, could not even begin to WANT to read about C Norris, some of the TV stuff was
meh, okay, I guess. After losing Duvall, well can't even go there.
Very thoughtful reflection on Lonesome Dove, one of my favorite books of all time. I've only read it twice and am due for a third reading soon. The TV version is a decent adaptation because of the wonderful acting and worth watching, but McMurtry's prose is tenderly sad and sweet, and the images he painted have stuck with me for years. Thanks, Sonny!
Since I never actually watched Lonesome Dove, and after reading a good portion of the story, I stopped reading and will return after I actually watch starting this evening. SONNY'S word is good enough to make me realize I have missed out on something.
The first part of the book is colorful characters and stunning weird deaths and moving on. The last part of the book is amazingly deep and thought provoking. Do not read the sequel, just don’t do that to yourself. I’m not sure what McMurtry was thinking. The prequels were obvious cash grabs. The sequel was awful and made no sense.
Don’t watch it - listen to the audiobook! It’s so good!
Many people are saying!
"Lonesome Dove" was a beautiful love letter to the West of long ago. Romantic and brutal at the same time. When you grow up in the wide-open West, you appreciate McMurtry's ability to express the complicated feelings we have for the land, the people, and the critters that inhabit it.
"The Last Picture Show", followed years later by "Texasville," was understood by anyone that grew up in a small town. Was he telling tales out of school? Sure, but they were true.
Absolute masterful storytelling.
I truly enjoyed Texasville ( and Duan'es depressed )
I never read "Lonesome Dove," but I have viewed the mini-series multiple times.
Bill Wittliff's co-scriptwriting with book author Larry McMurtry was fantastic. Made sense that two Texans could create a period piece to embody that post-Civil War period. As an Easterner, I appreciate the reality they seemed to bring to the period, along with the directors and the cinematographers.
I was inundated with 1/2 hour western TV shows during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
My father, a WW2 combat veteran (33-years old when drafted) of the European campaign, was fond of "Maverick" and "Have Gun Will Travel." I realized as an adult that the attraction was the intellectual perspective of those shows.
Therefore, I wasn't a major fan of western genre movies as a kid and thereafter.
[BTW - Pops said that the most realistic WW2 movie was Saving Private Ryan, most of the others filmed during the war were propagandistic or afterwards rationalizations of America's "greatism.".
I watch the series every few years for the acting, scripting, cinematography, and seeming reality of its period.
BTW - connection of Val Kilmer and Lonesome Dove. Val was fantastic as the kidnapped Texas governor, overweight, in a pit, dealing with scorpions.
Val Kilmer. Tombstone. AI will NEVER
One of my three favorite books. Thank you for the article, Sonny! For me, Gus and Call are people trying to stay relevant, fighting and scrapping for continued relevance, in a world which views them as less so every day and scoffs at or ignores them while the country barrels ever forward. I don’t think a day goes by where something about that story doesn’t cross my mind.
We all have to do more than just try and get through the territory. Just ask Jake Spoon!
My Larry McMurtry story (spoiler warning if you've not read Lonesome Dove yet) - Growing up in 1950s/'60s, lots of westerns on TV. Me dad had always had western paperbacks around, from Louis L'Amour in the '60s to Longarm in the '70s/'80s. I read one or 2 but never clicked with me. Saw Last Picture Show when it came out, while wasting time in my little town just months after my own h.s. senior year. I wasn't in the plot but the atmosphere felt kinda familiar. Angst, ennui, alienation. Lost boy? Later saw Hud on TV; again, my perspective was that of the coming-of-age teenager - what's a grown-up man supposed to be like? Not sure how I liked the men closest to me as models for that. Fast forward a few years, marriage, career, parenthood, imposter syndrome bigtime. Along the way read a couple of McMurtry's books, saw Terms of Endearment movie (seemed just soap opera to me).
Then an older sister told me she thought I'd like this new book, Lonesome Dove. Thick book, quickly hooked. Yeah it's sad. Sometimes funny. McMurtry's characters brought up so many different emotions for me. I was in the midst of some troubling years. Crying over those characters maybe helped a little. Next time I visited the old man I saw Lonesome Dove on the coffee table. I asked, "You reading this one?" "Finished it..." and he looked away. Then he said, maybe more to himself than to me, "I just can't understand how he could never admit that boy was his son..." He and I had not been what most people would call "close." In that moment a 30-year-old dam cracked. Took another couple years for each of us to give enough signals so I could eventually take the plunge of asking if I could hug him. And we got to have 10 years after that, working on our own version of "close."
So yes, Sonny, your friend called it true: Life is a long, treacherous, breathtaking journey; it's an enormous blessing to end up with people you love. You might not even know which twists & turns will lead you there. Give gratitude for whatever nudged you in a good direction.
Thank you, Larry McMurtry.
my views on Hud have changed numerous times,
try the book, terms, the film was wild over the top. Book is better, Flap comes off
way
Worse in the book. I've read everything McMurtry's ever written. very HUMAN
that was great to read.
Make it a Kilmer double-feature:
Watch Heat, followed up with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
Lonesome Dove is on the list of top 10 books I've read, absolutely unforgettable. Time to revisit while I have time left!
I loved Lonesome Dove when I read it many, many years ago. I’ve never re-read it, though. Maybe I’ll give it a try to see if I feel differently about it now. My favorite Larry McMurtry book is Cadillac Jack, maybe because it takes place in Washington DC, where I live and where his bookstore, Booked Up, was before he moved it to Texas. I recommend his memoirs, too: Books, A Literary Life, and Hollywood.
I have always been a reader, and now that I am retired I am happily reading 2-3 books a week. Lonesome Dove is by far one of my favorites. I make sure to re read it once a year, especially when I want a comfortable good cry. A masterpiece!
I'm reading Lonesome Dove for the third time (after having just rewatched the miniseries), and the thing that really strikes me - as a much older reader than I was the first time around - is how easily a life could be snuffed out back then, and how those who made it through to old age carried not just the physical hardships they endured but also the many psychic scars from all those losses. We are definitely not built for that kind of life anymore.
Having read the body of McMurtry’s work , i agree that Lonesome Dove is his opus. The title explicates the core of its meaning. There is no peace in the world that humankind has created from what must have been glorious. We have reaped what we have sowed. And yes, “sad” is an insufficient description.