Lonesome Dove (Lonesome Dove, #1) in Overdue Podcast

Aug 30, 2013 Jason rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own

McMurty displayed an amazing talent for character building, but what McMurty giveth McMurty will taketh away. This book walked the line between surprising and believable very well. It really never let up either which is surprising considering this really is a bit of an epic with a hodge-podge crew of characters. Wonderful book; made me a fan of the Western genre, yet I'm not sure I want to read any other at this point because I will be comparing it to this one and I fear that can only lead to di ...more

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Apr 28, 2024 Edward Chamberlin rated it it was amazing

I saw someone call this the "War and Peace" of the American West, and I couldn't agree more. Like Tolstoy's masterpiece, McMurtry writes with an effortless naturalism that is addictive and creates a vast panorama of compelling characters that both depict the specific time and place of the book's milieu, as well as stand in for human life as a whole.

The greatest feature of McMurtry's writing is the effortless nature of the prose. Reading this in close proximity to "Blood Meridian," which describ I saw someone call this the "War and Peace" of the American West, and I couldn't agree more. Like Tolstoy's masterpiece, McMurtry writes with an effortless naturalism that is addictive and creates a vast panorama of compelling characters that both depict the specific time and place of the book's milieu, as well as stand in for human life as a whole.

The greatest feature of McMurtry's writing is the effortless nature of the prose. Reading this in close proximity to "Blood Meridian," which describes a setting very similar to this, I am struck by how unpretentious and unaffected McMurtry's writing is in comparison to McCarthy's. Sure, maybe McCarthy writes with a great vocabulary, but does he really get at any deeper truths than those depicted in "Lonesome Dove"? In a way, though, both books are very different from each other. "Lonesome Dove" is ultimately a humanistic work--and that is its greatest strength--while "Blood Meridian" is philosophical, analytical, sometimes nihilistic and despairing (although its prologue does seem to offer a slight glimmer of hope).

Because it's a humanistic work, the characters are incredibly important to "Lonesome Dove"'s world. And what characters they are! Captain Augustus McCrae has to be one of the greatest talkers in American literature--and the impeccable, often hilarious dialogue is another strength of this epic novel. The book is a great epic, coming in at almost 1,000 pages, so there is plenty of room for different kinds of characters. McMurtry gets at something in the human condition through his proliferation of characters, scratching and pecking at the inherent truth of humankind from many different angles, because he is able to depict so many different types of characters through the novel's vast scope. But there is something recognizably human about all of them, and that is what makes the whole thing so readable.

The choice of setting adds a mythic dimension that only furthers the romantic dimensions of the novel. The Old West strikes something deep in the bones of most Americans, and it is part of our foundational myth. There is something primeval about a group of men striving as a group against the often inhospitable countryside, like Pilgrims eking out an existence in Plymouth or settlers on the Oregon Trail or the Dust Bowl in "The Grapes of Wrath." The Americana of this book only adds to its character, and that was a large part of why I loved it.

There are some minor flaws, sure. The ending wasn't entirely satisfying (how could it be? And I think a dissatisfying ending also was part of the book's theme, as these men can never be satisfied with civilization and everyday life), and there were occasional characters that I found somewhat boring (*cough* *cough* Elmira), but this is the rare book that is as readable as I think it is profound (too often the two are mutually exclusive). In that way, I think of nothing else more than I think of Tolstoy's "War and Peace" (which I still plan to finish someday!). And I can't think of a higher compliment to pay a book than to compare it to that.

4.5/5 ...more

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