Three Solid McMurtry Books

I used to love reading author Larry McMurtry’s books. His prose has always been highly readable, and his best books combine this accessible prose (which is more sophisticated than it may appear to some) with excellent stories. McMurtry has a way with dialogue and character that many other popular novelists won't ever match.

Unfortunately, it seems (to me, at least) as though McMurtry’s recent novels have descended into some kind of Western kitsch – existing within the genre, playing off of its archetypes, and yet not adding anything new. His recent novels aren’t all terrible, mind you, but they have struck me as somewhat lacking his old verve. As a result, it’s sometimes easy to forget that he is capable of turning a really good phrase or two – and that, once upon a time, he wrote some extremely good novels.

Lonesome Dove
Of his books set in the ‘Old West,’ of course, Lonesome Dove is the best of the bunch. There’s very little doubt about that. Like all of his work, it’s not a difficult read, even at 800+ pages. Charting the course of an epic cattle drive, the heart of the story lies in its examination of the friendship between Augustus McRae and Woodrow Call, both Texas Rangers and two very different men. The book (and the myriad television series it inspired) are all so well known now that it’s practically pointless describing the plot. All that needs be said is that the book is genuinely good.

Streets of Laredo
And then McMurtry wrote Streets of Laredo, the sequel to Dove. While some readers seem to have liked it, a great many more seem to have heartily disliked it. I count myself among the former group, though it must be admitted that McMurtry had his work cut out for him when he wrote this book. Is it as good as Lonesome Dove? In a word, no - but it is worth a read. McMurtry apparently wrote this book as he was in the midst of a rather profound depression, and that melancholy pervades the entire sequel. It charts the lonesome path of a now elderly Woodrow Call as he tracks down an outlaw.

Streets of Laredo is an enormously affecting book, and quite well written. Melancholy, sure, and occasionally depressing (it centers on the issues of age and death, so that’s no real surprise), but quite affecting. It is also ten times better than the unfortunate prequels that McMurtry would go on to write.

The Last Picture Show
The Last Picture Show is easily one of McMurtry’s best books, at least on par with Lonesome Dove, if not better. It’s certainly a much leaner book, and manages to maintain an incredibly tight focus on a small group of characters in a small Texas town. It manages the nearly impossible feat of being an affectionate portrait without in any way being nostalgic or naïve about the nature of the town and its people.