Book Review: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Title: Lonesome Dove

Author: Larry McMurtry

Genre: Western

ISBN: 978-1447203056

Print Length: 850 pages

Authors Goodreads Page: Larry McMurtry

Plot synopsis: Two men decide to up sticks and drive a herd of cattle from Texas to Montana.

Cover: Goodreads.com lists over 50 different covers.

Review:

If you are of the view that the fast, punchy style of Lee Child is the bee’s knees and you are an impatient reader then this book may not be for you, at 850-odd pages this is a western epic.

Interspersed with sharp action, this is a rolling story of difficult relationships with the characters being the antithesis of the gung-ho spaghetti-western style heroes and crippled with awkward self-doubt. The characters are difficult to like and even more difficult to admire, but they get under your skin and you do end up caring about them. McMurtry puts them through appalling trials and tribulations and his propensity to kill the odd one or two off always leaves a sense of doubt as to whether they will survive the challenges McMurtry put them through – including the main characters.

The result is a compelling read that keeps you wanting to find out what will happen to the characters and which even impatient readers may find a worthwhile excursion into something a bit more serene.

What do others think?

Amazon.co.uk lists over 200 reviews of which 95% give 4 or 5 star ratings.

Amazon.com lists over 1,100 reviews of which 94% give 4 or 5 star ratings.

Goodreads.com lists over 4,700 reviews and over 105,000 ratings, of these 86% give either 4 or 5 star ratings and only 1% give 2 or 1 star ratings.

A pretty damned good endorsement of the enjoyment that can be got from this novel.