Many historic characters are mentioned in the novel, however, the emphasis is on Calamity Jane and her letters to her daughter fathered by Wild Bill Hickok. We know the West is passing when the characters must join a Wild West show and tour Europe. There is poignancy and a feeling of loss. We care about these noble scalawags! A good read!
Evelyn Horan - teacher/counselor/author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl - Books One - Three

This was an enjoyable summer read, a strange short story of western misfits packed, packaged and baggaged to london. Annie oakley's duel with the duke makes the entire book worth reading, as does the reflections on whales, and the beaver. and...

This book was abosrbing, once it got going. It seemed to take a LONG time before a "story" developed. However, McMurtry spends a lot of time setting and introducing the characters. Sad book, about the final gasps of the Old West. I noticed, however, that some of the characters seemed quite a bit like the ones from Lonesome Dove... Same mannerisms and habits, which was a bit bothersome. Otherwise worth reading!

Larry McMurtry knows Texas, and in 1968 put together a book of his observations about all things Texas called In a Narrow Grave. The title is a fragment of a line from the song "The Dying Cowboy"; the title of the song relates more obviously to McMurtry's main topic. From McMurtry's perspective Texas is on the cusp of a change of identity, from cattle rich to oil rich. He both laments and celebrates the passing of the cowboy looking from the Texas that once was to what Texas is becoming. He does all of this in a manner that is both amusing, informative and thought provoking.

McMurtry chose to be "bookish" as he puts it, to following in his father and uncles' footsteps, though as McMurtry relates, those footsteps were being blown away and getting more difficult to follow all the time. He is critical of both the past he admires and the present he seems to distrust.

His journey is at times objective, subjective and intensely personal. In the most touching piece, the last in the book, he introduces us to the McMurtry clan and gives us a family profile of success and failure on the open Texas plain that is touching and heartbreaking in its depth. He describes lost times, places and people.

The shortfall here is the material is dated. Thirty-plus years have produced much change and it would have been interesting if McMurtry had produced an epilogue to bring us up to date and help us close the years since In a Narrow Grave was first published.

In a Narrow Grave is a short collection of essays that was published circa 1968 following McMurtry's first three novels ("Horeseman, Pass By," "Leaving Cheyenne," and "The Last Picture Show"). The themes he explored in these works of fiction are delved into further in this non-fiction work. McMurtry essentially discusses being a writer who grew up in Texas and how that influenced his work. The main theme, of course, is the death of small towns in Texas as people abandon the country for the big cities (he focuses on Dallas, Houston, and Austin).

The most interesting chapter for me was the last one; McMurtry talks about his family, which includes several generations of Texas ranchers and cowboys. Many of the stories he tells about his families have made their way into his novels in adapted versiosn, so one really begins to appreciate just how autobiographical his novels are. I also greatly enjoyed the chapter where he talks about the filming of the movie version of "Horseman, Pass By" (the movie was called Hud, and is a classic). Another interesting chapter describes a road trip he took across Texas. Less enjoyable was the chapter on Texas writers pre-1960, which focused on several non-fiction writers of whom I was unaware.

Overall, I liked this book quite a bit and look forward to reading more of McMurtry's work. If you like the fiction work on McMurtry, you'll likely enjoy this short compendium.

So it's dated history now, but written when Larry McMurtry was a young man beginning his publishing career. What an interesting and insightful read into the views of a "younger man" who later became an honored Pulitzer prize winner! As a native Texan, about McMurtry's age, I can recall a l960's Texas. He has treated his account with wit, energy, honesty and humor! I loved every page of the book and found myself chuckling at life the way it once was in the Lone Star state. As some have mentioned, it would be interesting to have a modern-day follow up of the Texas of today, but perhaps since Mr. McMurtry has now chosen to return to his roots, in Archer City, leaving the Eastern cities to other folks, he might be completely satisfied and comfortable with life as it in his small hometown in rural Texas where on each corner of the town square, he has placed a sizeable bookstore housing rare and collectable books, his legacy to future generations of Texans and others interested in such matters. I have toured these collections, and they are impressive indeed!
Evelyn Horan - teacher/counselor/author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl Books One - Three

Ever since I read "All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers," I wondered what became of Danny Deck. Come to find out that Deck is alive, though not particularly well. He has isolated and insulated himself. Then, after being lost to him for twenty years, his daughter appears and overturns his life. She pierces his armor and brings him joy and tears. There are moving and beautiful moments in this book, and some hilarious ones as well.

I love this book. Danny Deck's journey from a self-involved recluse to the walking wounded is both funny and tragic. Just as in real life, Danny's life changes forever in the course of a phone call. T. R. and the cast of characters that draw Danny back into the land of the living for an all too brief time are unforgetable. I sometimes find myself thinking of this story, partly because something similar happened to me. But I also think of this story when I realize yet again that life short and can turn on a dime. Danny's story is universal, although few of us a gazillioniares. Love, loss and the journey not taken is something everyone, in one way or another, can relate to. This book will make you think.

Danny Deck is a character that winds through many McMurtystories, but this is his first major appearance since "All MyFriends.." In both books, Deck is like the audience watching a performance artist--set on the role of observer, but often getting sucked in (bewildered and unprepared) by the artist's actions. Things begin with Danny sitting at breakfast in his Los Dolores mansion (same house that Jacy stayed in during "Texasville"). He's stinking rich from his successful sit-com years and quarreling with Godwin, his lecherous gadfly/friend from "All My Friends.." The phone rings: his 22-year old daughter, from his short and rough marriage with Sally, is taking him to task. Danny tracks down his girl and brings her to Los Dolores along with the usual unusual cast of McMurty characters. How they get along in this group brings in some hilarious moments (the ex-con boyfriend accidently blowing up Danny's oil tanks while target shooting his AK-47 is one good example). Danny has little choice but to leap into his father/grandfather roles and finds renewed joy in life.
McMurtry uses the theme of death and coping with grief thoughout much of his work--but this story is truly devastating. How Danny tries to keep going for the remnants of his new family is powerful and very moving. Although hard to read in places due to these intense moments, I count this as one of McMurtry's best. END

"The Last Picture Show" is one of my favorite novels. With this sequel, we finally get to see what happens to the characters that populate that novel in the potentially rich setting of the oil bust of the 80s. "Texasville" had me cracking up and feeling like I was leaving for a wonderful, wacky and unforgettable journey, but around page 150 it just got too over the top for me. Everyone's so disfunctional or just plain unlikable that I stopped caring about nearly every character long before I finished reading the book. In the end, Duane's lover Suzie Nolan is the only character I cared anything about, and I was really sick of the endless succession of unbelievable events. And Duane ends up like a mental punching bag. No wonder he's depressed. As multi-volume series novels go, I think John Updike's "Rabbit" series is far superior. Updike creates characters we shouldn't have any business liking or caring about and somehow wins our empathy. I'll be skipping "Duane's Depressed" after this disappointment.

I haven't read many of Larry McMurtry's early books so far, so I don't know if he's not living up to his earlier promise, as some people contend. I did, however, like Texasville quite a bit. The contrast that McMurtry is trying to show here is quite obvious: while life in 50s-era The Last Picture Show was miserably simple, modern life in Texasville is horribly complex. The book is "wacky", and it is long and rambling compared to TLPS, but it reflects the situation in mid-80s Thalia much like TLPS reflected its own time. The story is episodic, like TLPS, but there are many more episodes to cover this time around.

What is interesting in this story is that the characters have had every chance to lead happy lives, yet they are not happy at all. Most of them were at once time rich and successful, but this seems to have made their lives more complicated without actually improving them. Duane and Karla, the two main characters in the story, have bought lots of stuff and have both had more than a few affairs, which distracted them from the fact that they were growing apart. The other characters in the story are in similar predicaments. When the money runs out, chaos erupts. So how could the story not be sort of wacky? It is interesting to see who becomes aware of their unhapppness, and how they deal with it.

This book is also quite funny. The oil bust-era may also remind you of the current high-tech bust. Many of the charactres seem to be in similar situations as today's former dot-com millionaires. I think most readers of TLPS will not de disappointed if they keep an open mind.

This sequel to "The Last Picture Show" focuses on the residents of Thalia, Texas 32 years later, as they prepare to celebrate the county's centennial. The focus shifts from Sonny, who is now a secondary character, to Duane Moore, who is having an emotional breakdown as he watches his business and his family unravel. It's an episodic book, much richer in character than in plot, but still it is very entertaining. Fans of "The Last Picture Show" may not find "Texasville" to be an ideal sequel as its tone is very different from the first book's. It is much lighter, often veering into farce, not always successfully. Some of the episodes go over the top and are so lacking in credibility that you feel McMurtry must have been influenced by the surrealistic novels of Latin America. An episode in a psychiatrist's office, in particular, is poorly conceived and written. But there is such a wealth of colorful characters (enough to populate a Dickens novel) that you can't help enjoying every chapter. My main reservation is that the book cannot quite sustain its length--it begins to feel repetitious before it reaches its rather arbitrary ending. I am very eager to read McMurtry's new sequel, "Duane's Depressed" (which I just bought from Amazon), to see where he takes this saga.

Larry McMurtry uses his excellent characterization skills in portraying Pretty Boy Floyd (aka Charles Floyd), a bandit of the Dillinger variety who robbed banks in the early 30's. McMurtry and Ossana give Floyd a charismatic, misunderstood character, one who robbed banks with a touch of wit and charm. This is in stark contrast to some other accounts of him being a ruthless and vicious criminal.

The book starts off covering Floyd's first payroll heist. It also tells about his adventures in jail and his attempt at a normal life. However, being an ex-con, he wasn't trusted and had to return to crime. The book then follows his various heists, his jail escape, and his adventures with his partners, wife and son, girlfriends, and friends. The reader is also treated to an inside look at his home life with his wife and child and how the life of crime distanced him from them. Ultimately, Floyd's career ends and McMurtry paints a sad picture when Floyd is finally brought to justice by Hoover and the soon-to-be FBI.

This book started off very exciting. I was drawn into the short chapters and Floyd's exciting adventures. However, I found a pattern to the book, which made it difficult to remain interested in: Floyd robs something, Floyd visits his girlfriend(s), visits family and friends, law catches on, Floyd goes and robs something else and repeat. Also, I didn't find much sympathy in the character. McMurtry did color him as a good-hearted man with a wild streak, but I didn't buy into it. He was still a thief. However, his character is interesting and at times, Floyd's adventures are funny and poignant -- which save this book.

I really liked this book mainly for two reasons: 1) It is based on a true story 2) It was VERY fast-paced

Over the years, I read almost everything by Larry McMurtry and have not yet been disappointed. "Pretty Boy Floyd" is a very enjoyable romp. It approaches every character and situation with light-hearted attitude and excitement but does not allow too much time to pass by before reminding the readers that there are consequences for every action and a certain point after which you can never turn back and make ammends.

Charlie appears to be a larger-than-life character. He is kind and courtuous to everyone he meets, unless he takes immediate dislike to a person or that person is shooting at him, and although he has moments when he's blue or his temper flares up, he is hard not to like. The novel abounds with fun characters; from sensible but vulnerable Ruby, Charlie's wife, prescious Dempsey, Charlie's son, spunky Beluah, Charlie's girlfriend, smart and sassy Ma Ash, Charlie's mentor, George Birdwell, Charlie's partner in crime and a cowboy at heart, Bob Birdwell who is the most original character in the novel and etc. The only problem with the whole novel is that it has too many characters and not enough space devoted to each one. The authors take the time to describe Charlie's victims and random people who cross his path but they spend too little time on them for us to care about or too much time to let us know that they were real people and good too.

I don't think that this novel glorifies Charlie in any way. On the contrary, I think a more apt title for this novel is "Crime does not pay". For all the hoopla surrounding Charlie's life and career, the fact remains that he died at 30 and never could lead the life he truly wanted.

Pretty Boy Floyd, is somewhat fictionalized account of the true life of Charles Arthur "Chock" Floyd, the son of Oklahoma farmer and notorious gangster. I listened to the audio version of this book and it was most impressed, despite having reservations about wanting to hear about gangsters. (Not my usual fare). I was, however, most impressed with this audiobook. McMurtry and Ossana do a great job of bringing Pretty Boy Floyd to life. Even the minor characters have great personalities, and McMurtry and Ossana really DO manage to get into Pretty Boy's head.

The Story: Charles, "Pretty Boy" is a small-town boy, with country charm, who is married to a young half-Native American woman named Ruby Hargove. They have a son named Jack Dempsey Floyd. When money becomes scarce, Charles headed north looking for work. After trying various jobs, Pretty Boy tries to make money the easy way- by robbing an armored car. What follows is the tale of Floyd's life. You see him get further and further embroiled into his life as a gangster, have affairs with his girlfriends, and watch as he tries to outwit the law.

Floyd is consistently portrayed as a charming loveable rogue... An'outlaw' with a good heart, a weakness for women, liquor, and a well-cooked meal. (While I doubt many of Floyd's victims found him quite as so charming) the story worked for me. The novel moved at a brisk pace and was overall, greatly entertaining. I would recommend this novel for those interested in Gangsters or the life of Pretty Boy Floyd.

I must admit I became a Larry McMurtry fan when I read Lonesome Dove, my first McMurtry novel. Since then I have been disppointed in most of his books I have read. The Desert Rose was a huge disappointment. Had I read Desert Rose first I probably would never have read another of his books. It was trashy from beginning to end. Was it really necessary to use the f word so often? Perhaps the book is a true picture of the Las Vegas showgirl scene. There many, many, many better books to read. Your time could be better spent.

I love McMurtry's writing -- but this is far from his best. The weakness in this book is the main character: Harmony is powerless, easily intimidated and willfully blind to what goes on around her. Yes, she's a nice enough person, but she lacks the strength to take any decisive action in her life. Her daughter, Pepper, is energetic and domineering, even somewhat ruthless. Harmony watches her daughter's rise in life, but cannot seem to understand it or learn from it. She is, at the end of the book, as unfocused and weak as she was at the beginning. It's true that not every novel has to be a "bildungsroman." Still, I wanted to see Harmony open her eyes and show some spunk.

Poignant, beautiful, complex character-driven novel a must for McMurtry fans.

This is my second McMurtry book (first was Picture Show). In this book, McMurtry details the life of the outlaw in the southwest, Billy Bone, from the eyes of a bored upper class journalist from the east coast. Though parts of it could be construed as the life of Billy the Kid (especially the other outlaws), this is a different Billy altogether. The parts of the book I really enjoyed had to do with when the outlaws were traveling in Texas, New Mexico (Las Cruces), and south o' the border into Mexico.

All in all, I think you'll enjoy this book, but it really is a quick read (and not a difficult read either).

This book cleverly uses the "dime novels" genre while examining the American legend "Billy the Kid". It basically gives insight into the fact that legends can mostly be made from fictitious or exaggerated stories from people in history. McMurtry takes readers on a journey where the question of what makes a man a man is asked, and uses entertaining characters to tell the story of "Billy the Kid".

What a wonderful read! If you are a fan of any of the McMurtry Lonesome Dove series, pick up this book. Although it involves none of the same characters it spins a tale in a similar gritty, adventurous vein. Anything for Billy rivals Lonesome Dove for heart pounding excitement and gut wrenching sorrow.

Meet Billy the Kid,(Or McMurtry's version, anyway) an inexperienced young drifter with a lucky streak a mile wide, an all consuming desire to make a name for himself, and a tragic taste for violence.

Watch the sparks fly when Billy meets Katerina, the beautiful leader of her own band of Mexican outlaws. See Billy tangle with the largest land owner in the west, deadly hired gun men, and vengeful indians, all while he tries to survive his most destructive foe: himself.

Although the book involves a number of colorful characters, Billy is what makes this book so interesting. He is more than just a one dimensional shoot 'em up gunfighter. He's an ambitious kid with his own fears and loves and some very dark problems. He's someone you can root for even if you're not sure why.

Unlike many of McMurtry's other books this one is narrated in first person perspective. The narrator, Sippy, one of Billy's companions, is an east coast, old society gentleman with a penchant for western dime novels. The contrast between the refined narrator and his crude western companions lends a touch of humor to the tale.

Give this book a try. Whether you're a McMurtry western fan or not, this one is hard to put down.