I take my guilty conscience and my first signs of true despair to the internet. The thing is: I *love* exploring – also in an intermedial way – the myth (and history) of the Wild West. I’m a prospective PhD student in literary studies/comparative literature and I’m very interested in the blurred boundaries of nature and landscape writing, historicity and all that stuff. Besides my academic interest though, I have to add that I simply love the vibe, too—especially as a fan of the Red Dead Redemption games.
Now everyone keeps recommending Larry McMurtry’s *Lonesome Dove* to me. Rightly so, I suppose. But for the life of me I can’t get past the first 30 to 50 pages, and I’m currently trying for the third time—and that as a true hardcore reader. I can’t even put my finger on what’s wrong or missing for me. Can anyone give me some encouragement to keep ploughing on? Is it really as good as a Pulitzer Prize winner is supposed to be? Does it get “better” once the plot actually kicks in? (Or is anybody feeling the same way?)
Bonus points for further recommendations, also (very) happy to go outside the usual canon. Thanks so much!
**Edit**: Found this review on Amazon and am so tempted to keep trying.
>Don’t stop reading during the first 300 pages, the reward is unbelievably great.
by n4vybloe
15 Comments
Not getting past 10% in a 800 page book is a pretty weak effort. Lonesome Dove is an epic exploration of the West and caddle driving. Give it the time and respect it deserves.
The start is great. I loved it from the first page. Some lines are so beautiful I had to put the book down and savour them.
I guess it’s just not for you.
I loved Lonesome Dove almost from the first page, so I suspect that it’s just not for you. (Which is fine. Not all readers love everything.)
To me, it doesn’t really get “better” as the plot kicks in as the plot is mostly a pair of old friends driving a bunch of cattle to Yellowstone for no particular reason. Which is to say that the plot (at least for me) wasn’t a major plus to Lonesome Dove. To me, it was much more the gorgeous writing and the wonderful characters. But if you’re not liking them by page 30 (or 50), you’re probably not going to suddenly think to yourself, “Ah, this was the moment I was missing!” around page 500 or so.
It may not be for you. I loved it from page one. In fact my favorite part was probably the first 200 or so pages before they even start on their journey, though this does not mean the rest of the novel was poor. It was all wonderful.
If you’re open for another suggestion for a western with very different writing styles, may I suggest *Warlock* by Oakley Hall? It’s more or less based on the gunfight of the OK Corral, but the cast of characters, moral grayness, and gritty, dusty town leave their mark.
Where *Lonesome Dove* is perhaps poetic and romantic in its writing and makes me pine for those days, *Warlock* does not do this and I don’t at all wish to be in that town.
Edit: it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1958, if that’s your thing, too.
Maybe try reading the series in chronological order rather than order of publication. It begins with the main characters much younger, fully fleshing out the pasts that led them to become who they are by the year LD takes place.
Lonesome Dove was written first, but maybe you will feel more emotional investment by starting from the beginning?
They are truly beautiful novels but also, if you can’t get into them, watch the old miniseries with Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. It is very very close to the novel and will get you all the story and emotions without whatever is turning you off from the book.
It’s a beautiful book. If you don’t finish it, though, it won’t have the chance to break your heart.
What I liked about Lonesome Dove were the excellent, interesting characters and learning about how cattle drives worked. There is really no plot payoff, so if you’re not enjoying it at page 50, you probably still won’t enjoy it at page 800.
I bought and read both Lonesome Dove and Streets of Laredo all the way through, and I just wasn’t impressed. They’re not bad books at all, but i don’t recall anything that made them stand out either.
Someday I’ll read them again and see if something clicks the second time that didn’t the first.
Don’t try to read *Lonesome Dove* for the plot. It’s not about the plot. It’s about the characters. It’s about the journey.
The plot is good, but ultimately isn’t what matters.
Dune to me was a slog through the first 100 pages for the payoff. LD was nothing like this, I enjoyed this book from page 1. I’d give 100-125 pages but if it ain’t your thing, then it ain’t your thing!
Maybe you dont like his style. Try the book “The Son” by Philip Meyer
Even though I liked it from the start, I would say yes it DOES build in interest as it goes on – more adventure and event, more themes become clear, you can see how characters and storylines parallel each other, and you see the West from a wider variety of angles. Personally my interest peaked after this character called Clara (or something like that) appeared, which I think was in the last third of the book.
I’ll go against the grain: I despise this book. I read it because it was my partner at the time’s favorite book and it is the only book that, on finishing, I hurled across the room because I physically wanted it away from me. I found the misogyny utterly disgusting and had trouble seeing past it, especially the ending which was simply gratuitous misogyny at that point, to care deeply about the grizzled old clichés that were the two main characters.
Obviously tons of people here love it. They read around the misogyny, or didn’t notice it, or thought something they liked in the boll outweighed it, and that’s fine. I’m sure I like some books that other people absolutely hate.
But you shouldn’t feel that every book is for every person. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to read it. I wish I’d given up in the first 50 pages, truly, those hours of my life will never come back to me. Why keep trying to read something that you don’t like?
Focus on the characters, on their personalities and quirks. The first 200-250 pages are for character introduction but they are definitely worth it. You Sir are going to have a long and heartbreaking journey with all these people: it’s better if you know something about your future companions!
I’d really like to know what you think of the book after the ride.
Larry McMurty’s style tends to appeal to those who love it fairly quickly, so if it’s not appealing to you then you may just not be a fan, which is ok. As others have said, for an alternate approach to the Lonesome Dove universe the movies are pretty great.
If you have any interest in 18th and 19th century US historical fiction from another region, Alan W Eckert’s “The Winning of America” series about the conflicts between white settlers and Native American members of the Iroquois Confederacy is interesting. Eckert received quite a bit of criticism for creating dialog for historical characters, so keep in mind that it’s fiction. Tecumseh, Blue Jacket, Simon Kenton, and a bunch of other historical figures from Ohio, Kentucky and surrounding areas are featured.