This is about two Great American Novel(TM) type books, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry and Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon.
I ended up reading these two books this spring and I keep comparing the two. Both are stories about male friendship over a wandering epic journey across a stretch of America. Both are alternately very funny and very tragic. Both have the general dynamic of an easygoing character and and an uptight character. Mason & Dixon also sets up the very cruel western American world that Lonesome Dove is set in, and the (unintentional) response of one book to the other was an interesting dynamic.
The similarities also made the differences between these two really stand out. Pynchon is zooming out while McMurtry is zooming in. McMurtry wants to use the American West to tell a story ultimately about people, and Pynchon wants to use the Western Expansion to tell a story about the nature of western colonization. McMurtry is thinking about individual priorities like adventure and duty while Pynchon is (as always) asking who is pulling the strings. McMurtry creates fantastic scenarios out of real pieces, Pynchon uses magical realism freely to create fantasy with fantasy. McMurtry is focused and descriptive and Pynchon is free-wheeling and insightful. Pynchon's style is beautiful and McMurtry's style is stark. Lonesome Dove is a breezy read while Mason & Dixon is (for me) demanding and difficult.
I enjoyed both books, but between the two I prefer Mason & Dixon.
Anyone else who read these have any thoughts?
by TheCoziestGuava