An Oscar-winning story of a memorable mother and her fiesty daughter who find the courage and humor to live through life's hazards and to love each...
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Nov 22, 2008
Bonnie
rated it: 
I laughed, I cried.
What a versatile writer!
What a versatile writer!
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Jan 29, 2012
Fabian
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I had never seen the movie and before doing so I picked up this book by the writer of "Lonesome Dove." That work cannot be too easily compared to this estrogen-drenched Fem-Power! novel which paints its heroine Aurora Greenway as a sassy matriarch deeply afraid of becoming a grandmother and too aware of her love life to stop and help all of her sisters in plight: mainly, her daughter and her maid, who suffer at the hands of stupid husbands. Aurora has all the suitors eating right out o
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Sep 02, 2010
Kelly
rated it: 
I have to say, I didn't like this book very much. I started it a long time ago, and just couldn't get into it. I just really disliked Aurora. I mean, normally I can read about people who have completely different outlooks to life than I have, and I can understand where they're coming from and empathize with them and so on. But I just couldn't get myself to want her to get anything she wanted. Emma was okay. I didn't really ever care about her either, though. So I made it through about a quarter
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Oct 14, 2011
Christina
rated it:
Aurora Greenway is one of the best characters ever written, in my eyes. She cracked me up. While she wasn't always a commendable friend, mother, lover or even person, she was human, flawed and still tried to do her best.
The only reason this book doesn't get 5 stars is because I didn't see enough reaction from Aurora with what happend at the end (no spoilers!). I would have liked to see perhaps more remorse- I think I wanted to cry but instead the ending didn't make much of an impact
The only reason this book doesn't get 5 stars is because I didn't see enough reaction from Aurora with what happend at the end (no spoilers!). I would have liked to see perhaps more remorse- I think I wanted to cry but instead the ending didn't make much of an impact
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Aug 11, 2009
Lori
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 23, 2011
Christine
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This is the first novel where I'm having some trouble deciding whether I liked it or not. Like practically everyone else, I loved McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove". So I assumed this would be great as well. And there were aspects of greatness. I love lots of dialogue and this story had it! Also, all the characters were very real and well-developed. But it just didn't grab me as I thought it would. For a fairly short book, it took me forever to read - and that says something, too. I had never
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Mar 11, 2010
Jennifer
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I listened to this as a book on CD read by Barbara Rosenblat. She is amazing and bumps the rating of the book up from 3 to 4 stars. Every character has a wonderfully inflected accents and I really feel like I'm listening to a cast of several different real people as she switches between personalities. I'm not sure how she keeps it up for 13 cds.
Unfortunately, the book kind of slumps to the finish around disc 11, but it's so funny and involving up to then, it's still worth it. Eac More...
Unfortunately, the book kind of slumps to the finish around disc 11, but it's so funny and involving up to then, it's still worth it. Eac More...
May 18, 2010
Sean
rated it:
Terms of Endearment is another novel, aside from the last 40 pages, that bears no resemblance to the movie adaptation. Where the movie defined the “chick flick” genre, the novel is decidedly less weepy. In the book, Aurora Greenway lives in a vortex of chaos, most of which she has taken on herself. Facing the south-slope of midlife with her first grandchild on the way, Aurora is a living contradiction in terms. She’s a widow who leads on her multiple suitors but has little desire to be caught, s
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Jun 16, 2011
Susan
rated it:
This book is almost an exact replica of my relationship with my own Mother and myself. It was stunning to me to read it when I did way back when because I kept stopping and thinking, "do we know Larry McMurtry", or "does my Mother know him."
The answer was no to both questions, but this book is on of the two (2) or three (3) books I reread every so often and still enjoy as if it were the first time.
I'm not great at explaining plots of books, I think be More...
The answer was no to both questions, but this book is on of the two (2) or three (3) books I reread every so often and still enjoy as if it were the first time.
I'm not great at explaining plots of books, I think be More...
Feb 24, 2011
Annike
rated it: 
I honestly didn't like it, but it intrigued me enough to want to know how it ends, so I did finish it, and gave it 1 star for that.
I didn't feel like any of the characters were remotely likeable. The women who were married were all in terrible marriages with abuse of some sort. The fact that they never left of their own accord makes me wonder about the author's attitudes towards marrriage and towards women. The men were largely useless - either lazy, abusive, aggressive, or undeve More...
I didn't feel like any of the characters were remotely likeable. The women who were married were all in terrible marriages with abuse of some sort. The fact that they never left of their own accord makes me wonder about the author's attitudes towards marrriage and towards women. The men were largely useless - either lazy, abusive, aggressive, or undeve More...
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Nov 08, 2009
Mary
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The first, and most important thing to learn, is that the movie and the book are not the same. I listened to this on CD--- a total of 13 CDs, and as far as I can tell, the movie covered the last two CDs. And made up the beginning. And if you're expecting a tearjerker, understand that you have to wade through the first 7/8ths of the book to get to that part.
I enjoyed a lot of this book--- Aurora is an entertaining woman who reminds me of some of the difficult but entertaining people I More...
I enjoyed a lot of this book--- Aurora is an entertaining woman who reminds me of some of the difficult but entertaining people I More...
Oct 30, 2009
Susan
rated it:
I saw the movie years ago, and that probably influenced my evaluation of the book. The movie was SUCH a tearjerker, and the book just did not have that effect on me. Probably because I knew the ending. But also, I think, because (at least as I remember it), the character development was different in the movie. All that aside, it's a well told story. One thing I found particularly interesting was the meaning of the title. I had always interpreted the title in the sense in which that phrase is usu
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Jul 15, 2011
Becky
rated it:
Terms of Endearment is no Lonesome Dove, but boy, can Larry McMurty make a girl cry!
I've never seen this movie (maybe I'll have to rent it now!) and I really didn't know what the story was about. I spent the first half of the book amazed at how well McMurty was writing about women, Aurora especially. While I adored his characters in Lonesome Dove so much, Aurora Greenway might be one of my all time favorites. Towards the end, I started wondering when we were going to hear more ab More...
I've never seen this movie (maybe I'll have to rent it now!) and I really didn't know what the story was about. I spent the first half of the book amazed at how well McMurty was writing about women, Aurora especially. While I adored his characters in Lonesome Dove so much, Aurora Greenway might be one of my all time favorites. Towards the end, I started wondering when we were going to hear more ab More...
Apr 21, 2009
Brittanie
rated it:
I could find nothing to like about any of the characters in this book and yet I was somehow unable to put the damn thing down. McMurtry is a versatile author and one of the few male writers who can write convincingly in the voice of a woman (or in this book's case, several women).
It's fun to read books set in your own city, a treat I suspect is limited mostly to people who live in New York, Chicago or LA. There aren't many books based in Houston, but McMurtry has written five of them More...
It's fun to read books set in your own city, a treat I suspect is limited mostly to people who live in New York, Chicago or LA. There aren't many books based in Houston, but McMurtry has written five of them More...
Nov 30, 2010
Lindsey
rated it:
I'd give this 3.5 stars if I could. This wasn't at all what I was expecting--the book is very different from the film. Houston played a larger role in the book, and it's always interesting to be exposed to someone else's perspective on the place you live.
I decided to read this book for two reasons: a) we're reading Lonesome Dove for book club, and I thought I needed a intro to Larry McMurtry before attempting his masterpiece; b) I recently attended a Terms of Endearment screening an More...
I decided to read this book for two reasons: a) we're reading Lonesome Dove for book club, and I thought I needed a intro to Larry McMurtry before attempting his masterpiece; b) I recently attended a Terms of Endearment screening an More...
May 07, 2011
KJ
rated it:
The characters grow on you with the exception of Emma - who you wish would quit being so laissez faire about her owns life. She's just so frumpy that you almost can't respect her. Why is she with her husband? They don't even like each other. I gradually grew to like Aurora and enjoy her random funny self-righteous comments. If she were in my life though she would be someone I would agitate on purpose to watch them dance in frustration and self-satisfaction like a performing monkey. Strange
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Jul 28, 2011
Mirah
rated it:
I honestly don't understand the reason for all the accolades for this book. It was merely average. Just because a wonderful author writes it doesn't mean it's a wonderful book. I found Aurora annoying. Yes, the dialogue was excellently written (as McMurtry can usually deliver) but the constant droning of her made me tired. Her conversations could have been cut in half and the novel wouldn't have suffered. I wasn't able to relate to either Emma or Aurora.
Apr 11, 2011
Tommie
rated it:
I like books that bring to life eccentric people. Aurora is one of the most eccentric I've met in a book. She is NOT a person I'd like in real life. I found myself liking her in this book. The author made her human --she's awful, shallow, and self-centered beyond what most people are willing to reveal about themselves. But there's something to be said for not hiding ones true self. I'm glad I got to experience a person like Aurora through Larry McMurtry's wonderful prose. (and her cadre of
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Aug 11, 2010
Kris
rated it:
My husband told me I should read this book, so I did. He loves it, I was just OK with it.
One of the few books where I enjoyed the movie more. The book has a whole subplot that I found somewheat boring and kind of distasteful in parts. I was glad it was edited from the screenplay.
It was an OK read - enjoyed parts more than others though, so not a consistent read.
One of the few books where I enjoyed the movie more. The book has a whole subplot that I found somewheat boring and kind of distasteful in parts. I was glad it was edited from the screenplay.
It was an OK read - enjoyed parts more than others though, so not a consistent read.
Dec 20, 2008
Alanna
rated it:
I think if I didn't believe so strongly in marital fidelity this book might have done more for me. As it was, I had a hard time even understanding the people's relationships in this book, let alone finding them believable or even palatable. Aurora Greenway is a fascinating character, but I have to admit that I am beyond glad that she's not MY mother!
Jan 31, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
This book was divided into 2 parts. The first part was about Aurora Greenway, Emma's mother, and comprised 4/5s of the book. The second part was about Emma, and was only about 1/5 of the book. The part about Aurora was too long. It was mildly interesting, but nothing much happened. It took me 5 weeks to read it b/c it just wasn't very compelling. Then Emma's story was interesting, sad, and heartbreaking - but only about 30 pages long. I wanted to read much more about her.
Jun 26, 2009
Marla
rated it:
It was so interesting to read this book after watching the movie over the years. The book is about Aurora Greenway, while the movie was taken from the last quarter of the book. It's an amazing cultural study, full of racism, sexism, spouse abuse, adultery, child neglect -- all presented as routine aspects of everyday lives. Fascinating! It's going to take me awhile to figure out how McMurtry got away with it.
Oct 03, 2011
Brucus
rated it:
Any one of Larry McMurtry's many novels can help anyone understand what makes America tick. The constant driving from city to university to rodeo, hustling tomorrow.
His son James writes and sings hardscrabble music to sccompany his Dad's texts.
Brucus Scriptus
His son James writes and sings hardscrabble music to sccompany his Dad's texts.
Brucus Scriptus
Aug 27, 2008
Neil
rated it:
This is one of the few books I have read more than once. In fact I just bought a copy so I can re-read it after not having read it for at least 15 years. As in most cases, the movie with Shirley McClain is a weak interpretation of the book, so if you've seen the movie but not read the book, you're missing a lot. After reading the book, you will never forget the character Aurora. And don't forget the sequel, "Evening Star."
I love anything by Larry McMurtry - he does great More...
I love anything by Larry McMurtry - he does great More...
Jul 30, 2009
Susan
rated it:
What, I read this book? I must have because it was on a list of books I read while on pregnancy bedrest in 1997, but because I can't remember reading it, it must not have been outstanding. But I sure do remember the movie; it's one of my all-time favorites!
Feb 19, 2009
Joe
rated it:
I liked the book, I just wished I had read it before I saw the movie. There were too many differences between the two stories and I had a harder time picturing Jack Nicholson as an Army General than I did as a flamboyant ex-astronaut.
May 16, 2011
Eva
rated it:
McMurtry is an amazing author with incredible versatility. How he goes from writing a brilliant mother-daughter relationship like this to writing a brilliant western like Lonesome Dove is beyond me. He's truly a genius.
Sep 14, 2009
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Jan 18, 2011
Jen
rated it:
Emma and Aurora are definitely 2 of my favorite literary characters of all time. They are hilarious and you can't help but fall in love with them. I got so addicted to this book I finished it in 3 days. Another great one by Larry McMurtry...
Mar 16, 2009
Molly
rated it:
You'll cry. A lot. But you'll also laugh until you're afraid you might die. The car accident scene with Vernon and Aurora and the General had me on the floor. One of my all time favorites!
