In The Last Picture Show Larry McMurtry introduced characters who would show up again in later novels, Texasville and Duane's Depr...
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Nov 22, 2008
Bonnie
rated it: 
Sure, it's depressing, but it's a great read. The movie (in black and white) is good, as it stays pretty close to the book, but the book is still better.
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Oct 23, 2007
Chuybacca
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I guess you could call this a coming-of-age novel, but 1) I've never particularly enjoyed coming-of-age novels, and 2) it's not for that aspect of the book that I liked it.
I loved this book for the way McMurtry vividly painted the setting of one small town (and consequently, many other small towns like it). I didn't find myself identifying or personally involved with the characters, but that's ok. I took the whole cast of characters in as support for the overall characterization and More...
I loved this book for the way McMurtry vividly painted the setting of one small town (and consequently, many other small towns like it). I didn't find myself identifying or personally involved with the characters, but that's ok. I took the whole cast of characters in as support for the overall characterization and More...
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Jan 19, 2012
Tom
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The last picture show is one of my favourite films, so i don't know why ive left it all these years to read the book.
I loved the book every bit as much as the film. It's a coming of age tale of boy transitioning from high school to worker in a tiny backwater town in Texas where nothing much happens and everyone knows everyone else's business. If you've seen the film, then you'll find it's very true to the book. The protagonist, sonny, more central in the book than the Jezebel who tricks hi More...
I loved the book every bit as much as the film. It's a coming of age tale of boy transitioning from high school to worker in a tiny backwater town in Texas where nothing much happens and everyone knows everyone else's business. If you've seen the film, then you'll find it's very true to the book. The protagonist, sonny, more central in the book than the Jezebel who tricks hi More...
Jul 13, 2011
Ben
rated it:
A more than enjoyable read of small town life in Texas back around 1950. The story for the most part follows Sonny from his senior year as co-Captain of the football team until a year later when he and his friends have been exposed to all that small-town life has to offer; football, sex, drinking, pool-halls, death, and gossip.
The book discusses the life of a number of characters, those of youth and those of middle age, all living in a small-town with not much in life to look forward More...
The book discusses the life of a number of characters, those of youth and those of middle age, all living in a small-town with not much in life to look forward More...
May 19, 2011
Clint
rated it: 
I think this was one of the author's first books, and that shows a lot, which is why it gets 3 stars and not 4. It's kind of a slice of life book, no real plot, just a series of funny, sad events in a shit-hole Texas town. I feel Larry McMurtry couldn't quite find the right tone for the book, sometimes it seems like a sad novel that really shows the drudgery of this certain kind of life, like The Moviegoer. But then at other times it's almost slapstick satire, like the scene where a school's
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Aug 21, 2010
Brandon
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jul 25, 2010
Nate
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With both prose and setting that are simple and sparse, the characters assume the forefront. Sonny and Duane stubmble awkwardly out of high school and into the mean world, wondering what the meaning of life is now that they are no longer on the football team, seeking wisdom from the poolhall owner Sam the Lion, and Genevieve - the waitress at the cafe. Jacy tries to define herself by the men she has sex with, a road her mother has long been traveling. The small town is so downtrodden that it'
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Jun 23, 2010
Daniel
rated it:
I think it would be perfectly fair to say that I do not like role-fulfillment. By that I mean that I do not believe any of us are born into a role that we must fill until the day we die.
The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry seems, to me, to explore the issue of the roles people are supposed to play.
Each character in the novel is faced with a crux in which they can continue to go on with what is expected of them (whether that role is as a housewife, as a man, as a wealth More...
The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry seems, to me, to explore the issue of the roles people are supposed to play.
Each character in the novel is faced with a crux in which they can continue to go on with what is expected of them (whether that role is as a housewife, as a man, as a wealth More...
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Jul 23, 2009
Debbie
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Jun 18, 2009
David
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I’ve read several of Larry McMurtry’s books and am confident in placing The Last Picture Show among his best work. Only McMurtry can turn life in a small, quiet, down-trodden west Texas town into a “I can’t put this book down” page turner. His characters are so richly developed and his descriptions are so realistic that it is easy for the reader to relate to the story, even if he has never passed through west Texas.
The Last Picture Show is based in Thalia, Texas, which is a fictitious More...
The Last Picture Show is based in Thalia, Texas, which is a fictitious More...
Jan 05, 2012
Lara
rated it:
This was an incredible novel. I am now officially a McMurtry fan, after reading Lonesome Dove, Streets of Laredo, and now this one. What versatility!
This novel captures the ennui of small town life to a tee, especially for those of us living in the South. McMurtry portrays the experiences of three teenagers as they are passing into adulthood with honesty, never shying away from the truth no matter how ugly or disturbing it can get. The characters were so well drawn, as usual with McMu More...
This novel captures the ennui of small town life to a tee, especially for those of us living in the South. McMurtry portrays the experiences of three teenagers as they are passing into adulthood with honesty, never shying away from the truth no matter how ugly or disturbing it can get. The characters were so well drawn, as usual with McMu More...
Dec 12, 2011
Scott
rated it:
James Breech, in his book Jesus and Postmodernism delights in the postmodernity of Jesus’ parables. He writes, “In place of closure, ending, or finality, at the end of these stories we have opening and complexity, a sudden revelation of the genuine ambiguity that occurs when the consequences of actions are seen in terms of the way they penetrate the lives of others.”
That quote kept coming to me as I read Larry McMurtry's The Last Picture Show. It seemed that this modern story was c More...
That quote kept coming to me as I read Larry McMurtry's The Last Picture Show. It seemed that this modern story was c More...
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Aug 22, 2010
Ursula
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Small-town Texas in the 1950s comes alive in Larry McMurtry's words. The small kindnesses, and the small cruelties, are all on display. The book mostly follows along with Sonny and Duane, best friends and silent rivals for the prettiest girl in town, Jacy. It's not much of a rivalry since Jacy is dating Duane - it mostly consists of Sonny longing for her and Duane pretending he doesn't notice.
I liked the way such a brief glimpse into the town brought such a varied cast of characters to More...
I liked the way such a brief glimpse into the town brought such a varied cast of characters to More...
Dec 16, 2009
Tyler
rated it:
McMurtry was still a developing writer when he wrote this one and it shows in some of the descriptions, which tend to overexplain what the reader can infer for themselves. Still, the sense of desolation and repressed sadness of a dying small town comes across strongly, especially in the last 50 pages or so, and this is what really makes the book linger in the mind.
Feb 20, 2010
Whitney
rated it: 
This really should've been a four-star book.
There is so much that has stuck with me in the weeks since it's been read: Ruth's beautiful vulnerability, the depth of disparaging competitiveness between Jacy and her mother, the protective love of Sam the Lion for Billy, and Billy's sweeping through the town, like there exists some prayer of cleaning the place up. Even the town itself, its bleak streets, sucking the life out of anyone fool enough to live there...
What didn't More...
There is so much that has stuck with me in the weeks since it's been read: Ruth's beautiful vulnerability, the depth of disparaging competitiveness between Jacy and her mother, the protective love of Sam the Lion for Billy, and Billy's sweeping through the town, like there exists some prayer of cleaning the place up. Even the town itself, its bleak streets, sucking the life out of anyone fool enough to live there...
What didn't More...
Apr 20, 2009
Tjbrowne
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Mar 15, 2011
Bran
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I expected this book to be a mystery novel for some reason...I don't know why. I've never read anything else by Larry McMurtry, so I guess I didn't know what to expect. Kind of a sad coming-of-age story, but I think he did a great job capturing and portraying the feelings of loneliness and separation that many people have after high school or college, especially in a small town where high school is everything. I liked that the main character, Sonny, was selfish and had many flaws, but the reader
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Dec 31, 2008
Lisa
rated it:
3.5
Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite novels. I'm not sure what I think about Last Picture Show. He does a great job of pulling you into the small Texas town setting and the gossipy nature of life there. You really feel for the loneliness of so many of the characters. But I was really not expecting the amount of sex in this one. (Maybe there's nothing else to do in a tiny Texas town?) It was a lot--well written, granted, but still a LOT. I'd like to look up some interviews or More...
Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite novels. I'm not sure what I think about Last Picture Show. He does a great job of pulling you into the small Texas town setting and the gossipy nature of life there. You really feel for the loneliness of so many of the characters. But I was really not expecting the amount of sex in this one. (Maybe there's nothing else to do in a tiny Texas town?) It was a lot--well written, granted, but still a LOT. I'd like to look up some interviews or More...
Feb 05, 2012
Alexis
rated it:
I loved this movie and I loved this book. This was my first McMurtry, and I intend to read more of his work. He's an amazing writing. His writing is really fresh and descriptive. At one point, he wrote, "she kissed convulsively, like she was trying to bring up a golf ball." Brilliant.
I was surprised by how sexual and dirty this book was. The back of the book describes it as a coming of age story, and there was definitely sex in the movie. But this was pretty much wall to wall More...
I was surprised by how sexual and dirty this book was. The back of the book describes it as a coming of age story, and there was definitely sex in the movie. But this was pretty much wall to wall More...
Dec 26, 2011
Alan
rated it:
To me the mark of a writer is how he or she paints a picture of time, place, and people. Larry McMurtry does a spectacular job at all three in The Last Picture Show. I first read the book close to twenty years ago and have reread it once or twice since. The story itself is depressing but unlike many other depressing stories I've found myself reading over the years, *I* wasn't depressed after reading it...reflective and maybe a bit somber perhaps. But the artistry of McMurtry, for me anyway, was
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Aug 10, 2010
Alisa
rated it:
My mom would be so proud! She has been bugging me to read McMurtry for years, so naturally I was even less likely to give him a try.
Which makes my surprise all the more pleasant. I found things I expected: quirky characters and gritty small town Texas. But I found a lot I didn't expect. This is a graceful, economical, skillful book. McMurtry made me feel the time and the place and the people, as if I knew and understood them. I can't say I even liked Sonny, or anyone else. But I su More...
Which makes my surprise all the more pleasant. I found things I expected: quirky characters and gritty small town Texas. But I found a lot I didn't expect. This is a graceful, economical, skillful book. McMurtry made me feel the time and the place and the people, as if I knew and understood them. I can't say I even liked Sonny, or anyone else. But I su More...
Mar 09, 2009
Sean
rated it:
I am always a sucker for coming-of-age stories, and this one did not disappoint. It was my first time reading McMurtry's fiction, and I really enjoyed it. The neat thing about this book is that I spent three years in the area that McMurtry writes about (Archer City, Texas, and its environs), so I could easily picture the setting. The characters who live in Thalia (the fictional Archer City) think of and refer to nearby Wichita Falls as a city, which I found highly amusing. Yes, technically it is
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May 06, 2011
Ed
rated it:
Larry McMurtry's Thalia, Texas, during the months before the Korean War differs from the small town I grew up in located in Virginia. Sex is a preoccupation for one thing in Thalia. Not just the lust part but it's about the loneliness and alienation the various townspeople feel to their very bones. Duane, Sonny, and the rich girl Jacy swirl in and out of each others lives just like the tumbleweeds do. Football and pool are a big deal, too. An enjoyable, fast read. I've seen parts of the 1971 mov
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Mar 09, 2010
Emily
rated it:
I haven't seen the movie yet, but I will next week and I can't wait. This book is awesomely trashy (not something I would usually praise), and yes, in brief glimpses, it's also sad and moving. The writing is nowhere near beautiful, and the roving POV seems lazier than it does effective, but McMurtry keeps the ball rolling and every page adds something new to the small town scandals of (the imaginary) Thalia, Texas. This book is about horrible adolescent Texans of yore, but also about the clau
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Oct 30, 2009
Laura
rated it:
Definitely one of the more personally distubring books I've read, both for what occurs in it, and for how other readers react to it like it all makes perfectly realistic sense. My high school experience apparently was highly unusual in lacking constant bizarre sexuality, because I can't seem to relate to much of anything here. I read it very quickly, from a certain train-crash standpoint, but I don't really understand how this is "realistic" or insightful into adolescence. Maybe you
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Jun 23, 2010
Sean
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The movie version of Last Picture Show is tattooed on my brain, so it was impossible to read this without seeing the movie, much of which reproduces scenes from the book exactly as written. Which is to say, I have no idea just how good the book is on its own. The movie is brilliant. More happens in the book, and of course we get insight into what characters are thinking, yet I'm not sure any depth is gained from this. That is, compared with the movie. The book, though. Umm...very low-key, simple
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Jan 29, 2012
Darrel
rated it:
This book really came alive for me. It is a vivid, evocative, detailed story of the lives of some of the residents of a fictional small Texas town.
It is set just prior to the beginning of the Korean War but as the familiar saying goes "the more things change the more they stay the same." People both young & old are preoccupied with sex; two of the story's characters get married when they're just barely out of high school - because, well, that's just what happens in a very More...
It is set just prior to the beginning of the Korean War but as the familiar saying goes "the more things change the more they stay the same." People both young & old are preoccupied with sex; two of the story's characters get married when they're just barely out of high school - because, well, that's just what happens in a very More...
Mar 08, 2011
Trey
rated it:
McMurtry, Larry is like sex. When he's bad, it's still pretty damned good. But when is he is on, holy geez, that guys is amazing.
McMurtry, Larry's writings don't just embody "Texas", both glories and imperfections. They ARE Texas. Whether westerns like Lonesome Dove or stories of the small towns like The Last Picture Show they capture what makes Texas a "whole other country."
If you haven't read either of these books, this probably sounds like a pre More...
McMurtry, Larry's writings don't just embody "Texas", both glories and imperfections. They ARE Texas. Whether westerns like Lonesome Dove or stories of the small towns like The Last Picture Show they capture what makes Texas a "whole other country."
If you haven't read either of these books, this probably sounds like a pre More...
May 14, 2011
Liana
rated it:
I liked this book, the characters, the setting, the drawl. Larry McMurtry writes like a man from Texas would. What's more, is he is completely aware of the class, race and gender inequity in his language. He is most truthful in this way and I think it's what makes his voice so distinct, along with his excellent insight on the complexities of friendship and aging. Quite bittersweet.
The way Duane and Sonny see women, or worse, the way the townsmen see women (sans Sam the Lion) was off- More...
The way Duane and Sonny see women, or worse, the way the townsmen see women (sans Sam the Lion) was off- More...
Jul 21, 2010
carl
rated it:
Though the movie was an infamous 'must see' when it came out
somehow I missed it and actually read the book before I finally
saw the flic many years later. Another good read by McMurtry. I was
born in small town Texas but, according to these stories,
didn't miss much by not being raised there.
I like the relationships developed between the characters and
the sense of frustration with the young and old alike as they
look for growing up and mov More...
