Five Star Book Review

Larry McMurtry. Lonesome Dove.

For me a five-star book is something that either I want to read again or something that is so profound it makes an immediate impact. There are lots of ways that books can be compelling: a unique idea, an interesting set of characters, a complex plot, an artistic use of the English language and more. Reading is also a subjective experience, so what appeals to me as a reader may be very different for you. I read a lot for both pleasure and work, but these short reviews are a way for me to show my appreciation for the work and the craft of the author of the reviewed work.

Lonesome Dove is an invitation back to a journey through a time when the American West in transition with a memorable cast of characters. Augustus “Gus” McCrae and Woodrow F. Call are two retired Texas Rangers living in Lonesome Dove on the Texas border with Mexico. One of their former rangers comes riding into town with a description of Montana, and that sets the journey in motion through the central United States driving a herd to establish the first ranch in Montana. Through the drive and the struggles they encounter, I grew to love this group of men. Larry McMurtry takes you back to a different time and makes you feel as if you are a part of the drive observing the conversations between Gus, Call, Deets, Newt, Jake and more. This is a long book, but I wasn’t ready for the journey to end either in Montana or when the book ends.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the American West from a historical perspective, and this journey put a narrative to the time after the Civil War and before the railroads crossed the nation. The drive north may be the unifying plotline, but the characters are what really make this a delightful journey. Gus is the philosopher and comedian who continually needs to talk, there is the driven but quiet Call, to the young Newt wondering about his place in the world and wondering who his father is. It is a story of tragedy and perseverance, of unrequited love and the search for meaning in a wild and dangerous land. I had seen the miniseries years ago, and although the actors do a great job in that series it is impossible even in a long series to capture the majesty of this journey on the written page.