Lonesome Dove

Lonesome Dove 

by Larry McMurtry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book! I wouldn't have expected too, but I did. It is quiet, and thoughtful, and full of complicated people doing the best they can in a challenging world. Lots of hard things happen--but ultimately I found the book to be optimistic. The descriptions of the landscape of the American west were beautiful. Harsh at times, but beautiful. It felt like you were riding along with the herd seeing what the cowboys saw. 

“It's a fine world, though rich in hardships at times.”

The point of view in the novel moves around --you are in the thoughts of most of the characters at some point in the story--so you get a full picture of events from all the sides. The main characters have both lived long lives by the time the story begins so they are able to both look back and have a more experienced perspective on things than some of the younger characters. 

“Yesterday's gone on down the river and you can't get it back.”

Augustus McCrae was my absolute favorite character. He is a charming loafer, but ultimately he is a solid, dependable man who is standing up for what he believes is right as he works his way through a complicated world. 

“My main skills are talking and cooking biscuits,' Augustus said. 'And getting drunk on the porch.”

He is also very self-aware and practical about it.

“I'm glad I've been wrong enough to keep in practice. . . You can't avoid it, you've got to learn to handle it. If you only come face to face with your own mistakes once or twice in your life it's bound to be extra painful. I face mine every day--that way they ain't usually much worse than a dry shave.”

This Pulitzer-winner is on my Classics Club list and was part of Nick's 2025 American classics chapter-a-day read-along.