"Told in the voice of Nellie Courtright, a spunky, courageous, attractive young woman whose story this is in part, Telegraph Days is the big novel ...
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reviews
Nov 27, 2007
Kani
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Since I listened to this book rather than read it, part of my review has to go to the reader. Annie Potts did an incredible job of making the diverse characters of the old west come alive. Especially our heroine, raised during the Civil War and come of age in the wild west of all our old favorites from Wild Bill to Buffalo Bill and everyone in between. She witnesses all the famous cowboy events of the time and does so with the perspective and demeanor of a Lady. It was so fun I didn't want i
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Feb 25, 2008
Janis
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In the beginning of Telegraph Days, Nellie Courtright and her brother Jackson shake up the sleepy old west town of Rita Blanca. I would have been happy if the story stayed right there. But in further adventures, Nellie drifts around the country, meeting up with figures from western history and lore. I loved McMurtry's dialogue and the main characters in this story but disliked the drifting plot and lack of cohesion. Best -- I listened to it on cd, and the reader, Annie Potts, was pitch-perfe
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Sep 02, 2010
Benjamin
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This was a pretty quick read due to its easy flowing style and first person narrative technique. Marie Antoinette "Nellie" Courtright narrates her own life story, most of it taking place in her 20's. Now, I've read "Lonesome Dove" as well as the three companion volumes to that novel and this book is no "Lonesome Dove". But that is not necessarily a bad thing. "Lonesome Dove" won the pulitzer prize for literature, presumably for the quality of the writing.
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Jul 15, 2010
After their father “hung himself to death” Marie Antoinette "Nellie" Courtright and her brother, Jackson are left orphaned in Rita Blanca, a small dusty town located in what will eventually become the Oklahoma panhandle, but for now is simply known as No-Man’s-Land. Nellie describes herself as "twenty-two, kissable, and of an independent disposition", attributes that when mixed with luck and opportunity put her next to, or in bed with just about every legendary figure of the
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Sep 20, 2009
Sandie
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
SO MANY MEN, SO LITTLE TIME, September 1, 2008
By Bookworm (St. George Utah) - See all my reviews
Larry McMurtrys Telegraph Days give us a glimpse of the old west from a woman's perspective. The woman in question is a 22 year old Virginia native, Nellis Courtright who with her 17 year old brother, Jackson, resides in the town of Rio Blanca, a nothing little place located in an a More...
SO MANY MEN, SO LITTLE TIME, September 1, 2008
By Bookworm (St. George Utah) - See all my reviews
Larry McMurtrys Telegraph Days give us a glimpse of the old west from a woman's perspective. The woman in question is a 22 year old Virginia native, Nellis Courtright who with her 17 year old brother, Jackson, resides in the town of Rio Blanca, a nothing little place located in an a More...
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May 20, 2009
Mick
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Pound for pound, few writers can compare with Larry McMurtry. The Pulitzer Prize winner has penned several contempary classics--among them, 'Terms of Endearment', 'The Last Picture Show', and the epic 'Lonesome Dove'.
So it's beyond disappointment when a writer as talented as McMurtry spits out a contrived, one-dimensional shell of a novel. And that's being kind to TELEGRAPH DAYS, McMurtry's "alleged" spoof of the cheap dime store novels of the 19th Century. This is a Weste More...
So it's beyond disappointment when a writer as talented as McMurtry spits out a contrived, one-dimensional shell of a novel. And that's being kind to TELEGRAPH DAYS, McMurtry's "alleged" spoof of the cheap dime store novels of the 19th Century. This is a Weste More...
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Sep 09, 2007
Robert
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One of McMurtry's most entertaining books, if smaller in scale than the "Lonesome Dove" series. The heroine is a gutsy telegraph operator whose job puts her in contact with Buffalo Bill and other western legends.I don't know if the prolific McMurtry plans any sequels, but as a light-hearted look at Western myth-making, this makes a wonderful companion to "Buffalo Girls".
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Feb 06, 2009
Trisha
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A fun book to read! Not only because of the old-west ambiance that McMurty evokes so well,but also because of his talent for coming up with characters that are so quirky and likable...in this case the copulation-loving Nellie Courtright, who can't seem to last very long without a man to turn into her current fiancee. In addition to the purely fictional characters that gallop across these pages, McMurty also has invented a whole series of new adventures for the Earp brothers (Wyatt doesn't come
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Dec 22, 2008
Michael
rated it:
Not bad, but a little disappointing. The writing is solid here, but I guess I just have an issue with the casual sprinkling of historical figures throughout. I have no problem with using historical figures as characters if they are the story (Pete Dexter's Deadwood, or the TV series Deadwood [possibly the greatest show in the history of TV]), or play large parts, but that wasn't the case here. Each figure (and there are a lot) serves only to show how much every man alive loves Nellie Courtright.
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Jan 20, 2011
Chris
rated it:
This was a short novel on audio that I enjoyed listening to at times I couldn't read a "real" book.
It's a nice little picture of the old west through the eyes of Nellie Courtwright, a telegrapher and businesswoman. Along the way in her story, she meets just about all of the old west legends.
It's a little tongue-in-cheek, and a little dab into history at the same time. It has a dose of realism, showing how it wasn't all about blazing gunfights, but did show how t More...
It's a nice little picture of the old west through the eyes of Nellie Courtwright, a telegrapher and businesswoman. Along the way in her story, she meets just about all of the old west legends.
It's a little tongue-in-cheek, and a little dab into history at the same time. It has a dose of realism, showing how it wasn't all about blazing gunfights, but did show how t More...
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Apr 06, 2010
Chris
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I listened to the audio version of this book on a trip and really enjoyed hearing it narrated by Annie Potts. She really made the book come alive. I just finished a biography by McMurtry about Buffalo Bill Cody, and this is a fictionalized version of the old west, that incorporated much of that nonfiction book. It is written by the point of view of Nellie Courtright, a 22 year old fictional female in 1876, and her encounters with several of the Wild West heros of the day; particularly Buffa
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Jul 29, 2009
Empress5150
rated it:
I LOVED listening to this; both because it was fairly well written (and fun) but also because it was expertly read by Annie Potts (Designing Women). This is a much more light hearted romp than McMurty's Lonesome Dove. It's about a young lady and her brother who are orphaned in the 1870s (or so). They live in "No Man's Land" (New Mexico) and end up running into all sorts of real-life characters such as Wyatt Earp (and his brothers) and Buffalo Bill Cody. Again, just a delight to listen
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May 02, 2009
Rachel
rated it:
One thing I will say for this book: it does a pretty good job of mirroring, in novel form, Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West shows. There's a little bit of everything, none of it quite fully polished. Among the cast of characters are Buffalo Bill, Jesse James, Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, General George Custer, all of whom are involved, at some point or another, in the requisite gun fights. And Nellie Courtright's narration of all of these characters, and events like the shootout at O.K. Corral, lend a
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Apr 23, 2008
Daniel
rated it:
In "Telegraph Days," Larry McMurtry combines something of a tall tale with a revisionist Western, producing a quick, enjoyable read in the process. The tall-tale aspect of the novel comes from the narrator, Nellie Courtright, crossing paths with almost every signficiant real-life Western figure -- Doc Holliday, Billy the Kid, Buffalo Bill Cody, Jesse James, Wild Bill Hickock, and Wyatt Earp and his brothers among them -- as well as being an eyewitness to the shootout at the OK Corral.
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Jun 29, 2011
Ashley
rated it: 
Sigh. This book was so good in the beginning. I loved the spunky heroine Nellie and the writing was actually funny. I thought it was going to be a fun light-hearted western spoof. But then Nellie started sleeping with every man she met and then left town with Buffalo Bill Cody--although she didn't sleep with him. She tried though. By then the book felt rushed and churned out and just got dumb really fast. It's like McMurtry just wrote this for some fast money from his publisher.
Jul 10, 2009
fyc
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The characters just jump off the page and become "people you know". I fell in love with them all! I would put this book in the same category of greatness as McMurtry's Lonesome Dove. The book details a hard life on the plains as well as what it may have been like to have worked with and known Buffalo Bill Cody. It is a delightful yarn told by the master!
Apr 25, 2008
Grace
rated it:
Spunky Nellie Courtright narrates this tall tale from author Larry McMurtry. The Pulitzer Prize winning author (for Lonesome Dove) here presents an outlandish tale of one young woman who goes from telegraph operator in the small town of Rita Blanca (in what was to become the Oklahoma panhandle) , to business manager for Buffalo Bill Cody and his Wild West show, to California journalist. Along the way she encounters (and very often kisses) many of the major celebrities of the American West – Ge
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Jun 16, 2011
Chad
rated it:
I enjoyed Telegraph Days and Annie Potts did a great job as the reader with the Audio CD version. Larry McMurtry worked very hard to squeeze in as many historical figures and events during that time period into this novel and for me it was a little too much, but it still made for an interesting and enjoyable read.
Mar 30, 2009
Matt
rated it:
One can't expect an author as prolific as McMurtry to produce a masterpiece each time he publishes a new novel. This one, part of a long modern line of "strong woman protagonist" novels, is a dud. Wooden characters, laughable behavior in a "respectable" 19th century woman. Not worth your time (or mine)
Nov 25, 2011
Denise
rated it:
A little silly, but entertaining enough. Probably better as an audio book on a road trip. It was fun to have McMurtry write in a female voice. It almost felt that he was doing some kind of stylistic exercise that included trying to work in as many famous western icons as possible.
May 28, 2010
Peggy
rated it:
Main Character, Nellie Courtright, is a colorful character, full of spit-fire and sass. Weave her into the lives of Buffalo Bill Cody, the Earp brothers, Billy the Kid, Jessie James, etc... and you have an entertaining read. Only complaint was the to shift into telling mode to speed to the ending.
Apr 01, 2010
Ginny
rated it:
I love Larry McMurtry’s writing style and his always-entertaining characters. Lonesome Dove is my all-time favorite book. But somehow "McMurty Lite"—which is how I think of these sort of diluted novellas—always disappoint. I didn’t finish this.
Aug 04, 2011
Eric
rated it:
Fluff, and not in a particularly good way. I'd call it a slutty 19th century Forrest Gump, but that's an insult to sluts, the 19th century, and Forrest Gump. I only gave this one star because goodreads won't let you rate a book 0 stars.
Dec 31, 2008
Kitty Tomlinson
rated it:
Nellie Courtright is the telegraph lady for of Rita Blanca in 1876 No Man's Land. She becomes business manager for Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show and has more adventures from there to California. Excellent.
Jan 23, 2012
Wayne
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sometimes a book can really take you by surprise and show you an adventure you didnt expect. although very much fiction the combining of several historical figures made this tale seem very real and very entertaining.
Nov 09, 2008
Joe
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Larry McMurtry is an excellent story-teller. This book is no exception and was very easy to read, entertaining, and at times it was hard to put down. However, there seems to be a trend in each his books that I read of characters who I really don't care about. They don't remind me of anyone that I'd want to be around and they are not particularly exceptional in any kind of a positive way. Also, he seems to have a habit of interjecting strange things into his books that are not necessary and d
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Dec 04, 2008
Cheryl
rated it:
The narrator of this novel is kind of like Forrest Gump in that she encounters every famous person of her time (Wild Bill Hickock, Buffalo Bill Cody and at least a couple of other Bills). Except she's smart and not annoying, and this funny and lively book is also a Wild West portrait of the dawn of the media age. Lots of fun!
Feb 03, 2011
Carolyn
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Loved the sense of the Old West that came through in this book and at first the "coincidental" meetings with legendary figures were fun, but toward the end I lost the ability to suspend my disbelief.
Apr 02, 2010
Thomas
rated it:
Another excellent yarn by Mr. McMurtry. Again he uses his sly charm to overfill the pages while never letting on how much the reader is getting. The book reads fast and light, filled with incident and observation, never seeming to be building towards anything, but nevertheless upon reaching the end, the reader realizes what he/she's been given. Lovely and like all his books filled with an autumnal sadness, and a dying of the light
