The short version of the review is that this book stands on its own as one I really enjoyed.
Now, there are some caveats I need to get through.
I like to read things in order. McMurtry wrote his Lonesome Dove “series†in somewhat reverse order, starting with Lonesome Dove, then writing the prequels (Comanche Moon and Dead Man’s Walk). I figured that reading them in the right chronological order (the reverse of how he wrote them) would have me reading his best work first since I would assume he would develop and improve as a writer.
I was wrong. I have no idea why McMurtry wrote the prequels to this story, and I’ll review those in another post. On this post I want to focus only on Lonesome Dove, the first of the three that he wrote, and the one I truly enjoyed.
McMurtry creates some truly memorable characters in Gus and Call. The two characters are built of many of the sorts of building blocks that most men want to be built of, but they also have some of the crumbling mortar holding those blocks together that we’ve all endured and developed in our flawed lives.
Call is the perfect picture of the man who hides everything he doesn’t really want to look at deep inside hard work and long hours. He is a wonderful image of that “lone wolf†that so many of us feel inside our heart. McMurtry does a great job of letting the weakness and flaws of those sorts of building blocks shine through brightly. For an introvert like myself, Call is a wonderful hero character.
Gus is the true “starâ€. He displays the easygoing and fun-loving spirit that most men with they could find within themselves. He loves whiskey and women, and never misses a chance for a card game and a tumble in the hay. He’s the perfect image of irresponsible fun most men wish they could get in closer touch with. With the upside that when the chips are down and the important work needs to get done, Gus is always there. He’s learned what’s really important in life, and that’s what he focuses on.
While there were a few places where the story felt a bit draggy, they were few and far between. I would absolutely recommend this to any man, and particularly to men of my age who grew up idolizing “The Westernâ€. Women might enjoy it as well – his writing really is romantic in many respects. In fact, that’s probably what I really enjoy about it – the mix of adventure, introspection, and romance.
I like 4.5 stars, but don’t have an image for that, so I’ll go ahead and give it 5.
