Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Lonesome Dove. Just saying the name makes me smile. It is one of my favorite books (and movies) of all times. You can't help but fall in love with the main characters Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call.
Gus and Call are two of the most famous Texas Rangers that ever lived. Gus is fun and charming. He loves nothing more than to sit in the shade, drinking his whiskey or playing a game of cards at the Dry Bean. Call is serious and reserved; a hard man at times. He is haunted by a past he would like to forget, if only Gus would let him. Both men are retired now, and living a peaceful life on the Rio Grande running thier livery stable. At least it is peaceful until their old partner Jake Spoon shows up. Jake is on the run from the law after accidently killing a dentist in Arkansas. Jake's arrival and tales of Montana, where he was a scout for the army, spurs the restless Call to start a cattle drive. Gus agrees to it, but only because he knows the drive will lead him through Nebraska where his one true love is.
Some of the people you will meet along the way:
Lorena Wood, a young and beautiful whore, whose one desire is to make it to San Francisco. When Jake arrives she sees him as her ticket out of Lonesome Dove and away from the life she detests.
Newt Dobbs, a boy of seventeen, who is sweet, gentle and strong. He is Woodrow Call's son though he doesn't know it, and Call won't tell him. Call won't even admit it to himself.
Dish Boggett, a top cowhand who is deeply in love with Lorena, even though she wants nothing to do with him.
July Johnson, the sheriff from Arkansas and brother to the man Jake Spoon killed. He sets off to find Jake only to find that his new bride has left him. Now he must choose beteen chasing Jake or finding his wife.
Clara Allen, a strong and spirited woman, who has endured a hard life on the Nebraska plains . She is also Gus McCrae's one true love.
Lonesome Dove is rich with colorful characters; real men and women that you come to know and love. You love them in spite of their flaws and mistakes. In my opinion, there is no one better than Larry McMurtry at writing believable and entertaining characters. This is a story that will make you laugh and cry and wish that you lived in a time where there were such men as Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call.
Any Comments? Feel free to e-mail me.
