Help! I've read all of Larry McMurtry!

[Caoimhe]

now I am having withdrawals. It's taken me about two years. The last few I have been savoring word for word because I know I am running out of material.

I started with Sin Killer. I'd never read anything of his before, but saw the book on the shelf at the library. Read it, went through the Berrybender novels (fell in love with most of the characters) and then realized that this was not only one of his least popular series, he's done several great ones!

I absolutely loved the book "Moving On".. there was something about Patsy Carpenter...

I haven't read anything BUT McMurtry so long now that I am wondering how I can stand anything. I started reading a book called "Gunman's Rhapsody" but had to put it down because it didn't have the colorful characters and dialogue I was used to. Not that I am into Westerns, just into McMurtry's writing style. It's in my brain!

Any fans out there? I am even thinking of making a pilgrimage to his "book city" in Archer City, Texas. Not sure I could afford the gas though. I hear he is fairly progressive, and his books deal with a lot of semi-hotbutton social issues.

Can anyone point me in the direction of another prolific author with a similar writing style? I do lean toward the historical fiction end of things.

Have you ever been addicted to an author before to the exclusion of everyone else? If so, which author?

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

1. I've had two obsessions

The first was Kurt Vonnegut - I read Slaughterhouse Five, Ice-9 & Cats Cradle over the course of a summer and (especially with Slaughterhouse Five) was stunned. I started Uni in September & discovered an almost complete Vonnegut collection in the library which I read, one by one, barely touching another author until I was complete but none were as good as those first books.

The second was William Burroughs. I'd read Naked Lunch whilst travelling in Australia & it blew me away. I came back to it at Uni & wrote an essay on its importance in contemporary American fiction. Along the way I read Junky, Queer & The Yage Letters.

Then it came to choosing a topic for my 3rd year dissertation & I chose Burroughs. And that's where the obsession began! Helped along by my tutor (Graham Caveney who's written a book on Burroughs) I read pretty much everything I could get my hands on that had Burroughs name to it - from the unpublished collaboration with Kerouac to the final journals. I read all 3 biographies, Victor Bockris' book of dinner table conversations, I bought & borrowed the tapes & CD's of his recordings, watched his experimental films, music videos and big screen appearances. Well you get the idea! I was reading, watching or listening to Burroughs for several hours a day, every day.

However, despite making copious notes I never had a coherent idea for the dissertation and I'd spent so much time immersed in Burroughs I'd left precious little time to write it. In the end I churned out a piss-poor paper about Burroughs' influence on music, film & literature in the latter half of the 20th century using the concept of 'memes'. (My hurried work wasn't helped by a problem with my tutor - which, in respect to his reputation, I won't repeat here - that left me rudderless when I really needed prodding in the right direction.)

That was 4 years ago and despite the fact I regard Burroughs as nothing short of a genius, I have completely lost the passion for his work I once held. (Although I've just ordered the Criterion DVD of "Haxan" for which (for the sixties re-edited version) Burroughs provided the narration). Vonnegut, on the other hand still inspires and I never hesitate to recommend his work.

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Your post is the first I've heard of Larry McMurtry. What would you recommend for a newcomer (& also someone pretty unfamiliar with the western genre)?

[Caoimhe]

2. Wow thanks!

I have only read one or two Vonnegut novels, and no Burroughs. I will definitely look into both.

As far as McMurtry goes, he doesn't just do Westerns, but he does do great Westerns, and they are his best work. He is a great storyteller and what I like about his novels is that there isn't the froofy romance or romantic notions of what life is. Everyone has flaws, some pertain to the plot, some don't.

Have you ever seen the movies "Hud", "The Last Picture Show" or "Terms of Endearment"? They are all from McMurtry books. I loved the books better than the movies, especially with Terms, as the movie really only takes about the last 50 pages of the books and attempts to tell the whole story with it. Of course there is Lonesome Dove, which won him a Pulitzer, and it can't be equalled. It wasn't equalled by the sequels and prequels he wrote to it.

So, to suggest a first McMurtry: tough! My first one was Sin Killer, but it certainly wasn't his best. His writing style sucked me in, even though the plot seemed rather silly. If you like historical fiction you will love all of them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_McMurtry

One of his great methods of storytelling is by using group travel, trekking across unknown or known ground with a group of characters. It makes for witty banter, lots of life/death situations and geography lessons too!

OK enough gushing. Go check out Lonesome Dove (the miniseries was alright, Robert Duval was brilliant, but it was a miniseries, and has the miniseries cheesiness factor) and please let me know how you like it!

P.S. his son James is a talented folk songwriter-singer and guitarist who played for Camp Casey in Crawford! Talent and progressive thinking run in the family!

I certainly plan on investigating your suggestions. Thanks!

[Redneck Socialist]

6. Lonesome Dove and The Last Picture Show would be good starting points n/t

[Mist]

3. Sorry to hear that his Berrybender series was not so popular

my mother and I couldn't get through them fast enough. One huge complaint of mine: I wanted Draga to get her just desserts!

[Onceuponalife]

4. Besides Lonesome Dove series and Berrybender

series, I would recommend "Pretty Boy Floyd", "Anything For Billy", "Zeke and Ned" and "Buffalo Girls".

[Redneck Socialist]

5. Heh, I just re-read "Lonesome Dove"

Big fan. Have you ever listened to his son's work? James McMurtry, though not all that popular is one hell of a song writer. Check out some of his CD's. Well worth a listen.

[argyl]

7. Cormac McCarthy.