lonesome dove

there is a thread about the 'great american novel' or something to that effect. i've only read snippets, so i don't want to comment too much on that, but i do want to say that larry mcmurtry's book just might be the ultimate american novel when they're putting together such lists in 50 or 100 years.
this book should really be looked at as a nominee in that category and i think it will be in the fullness of time.
the story, the time, the place...it's all there. and, it is great writing. if you want to get a flavor for an americana that has long past, you would be doing yourself a favor by picking up this book. top knotch.

comments?

Country Doctor,

I totally agree. Lonesome Dove is one of my all time favorite novels for a lot of reasons: its beautiful language, characterization, historical detail, and flat-out great story telling.

The mini series is not bad either.

:)

yes, the book definitely is a page turner. but is it great literature? will it stand the test of time? i think yes. i think it will be found in the canon of american lit classes in the universities someday. (i wonder if there are any american lit classes using it today.) moby dick, huck finn, the great gatsby...and, lonesome dove. all american period pieces, and all classics.
of course, that's just me.

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Originally Posted by country doctor

but is it great literature? will it stand the test of time? i think yes. i think it will be found in the canon of american lit classes in the universities someday. (i wonder if there are any american lit classes using it today.) moby dick, huck finn, the great gatsby...and, lonesome dove. all american period pieces, and all classics.
of course, that's just me.

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Maybe. It all depends on if some lit professors think it's great literature or not, really. And, of course, time. If people are still talking about Lonesome Dove 50 years from now, then that will be a mark of it being included in the cannon.

:)

I just finished last night, staying up till some ungodly hour to read the last 157 pages. The Dove is incredible, though certainly one of the bleakest novels I've ever read, which surprised me quite a bit.

As far as it being "great literature," I don't quite think so. I don't think that it will be remembered as a great work of art, but I don't think the Dove ever tries to be. It is what it is, which is a great, great story.

good points by both of you. i'm sure that the book will stand the test of time in the pantheon of the 'great texas novel'. that in itself will keep the book in circulation for decades. but, besides a great story, the characters are iconic. i think this one has got the right stuff to make that great leap. but, as typed earlier, that's just me.

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Originally Posted by country doctor

there is a thread about the 'great american novel' or something to that effect. i've only read snippets, so i don't want to comment too much on that, but i do want to say that larry mcmurtry's book just might be the ultimate american novel when they're putting together such lists in 50 or 100 years.
this book should really be looked at as a nominee in that category and i think it will be in the fullness of time.
the story, the time, the place...it's all there. and, it is great writing. if you want to get a flavor for an americana that has long past, you would be doing yourself a favor by picking up this book. top knotch.

comments?

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As regards Lonesome Dove , read the prequel and sequels to it too. Dead Mans Walk is just as entertaining as Lonesome Dove.

And keep in mind McMurtry's body of other work ,i.e. Terms of Endearment,The Last Picture Show and Texasville to name just a short list of them.

There will undoubtedly come a day when the man is remembered in the pantheon of great American authors. He has amazing range and scope.

And Lonesome Dove and it's adjuncts are ones I keep around and reread every couple of years.

But then I keep Michener's early works (pre historical novel) such as The Drifters and The Fires of Spring around and reread them often too.




B.

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Originally Posted by amb

I just finished last night, staying up till some ungodly hour to read the last 157 pages. The Dove is incredible, though certainly one of the bleakest novels I've ever read, which surprised me quite a bit.

As far as it being "great literature," I don't quite think so. I don't think that it will be remembered as a great work of art, but I don't think the Dove ever tries to be. It is what it is, which is a great, great story.

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I would respectfully disagree , any " great literature" needs to be a " great story" first.

Would Don Quixote have been considered great literature if it was not first a great and highly entertaining story?

But then of course this question is open to personal interpretation and opinion , many consider Melville to be great literature and my idea of hell is to be consigned to a corner with nothing to read but a dusty copy of Moby Dick or Billy Budd.




B.

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Originally Posted by Bluenote

I would respectfully disagree , any " great literature" needs to be a " great story" first.

Would Don Quixote have been considered great literature if it was not first a great and highly entertaining story?

But then of course this question is open to personal interpretation and opinion , many consider Melville to be great literature and my idea of hell is to be consigned to a corner with nothing to read but a dusty copy of Moby Dick or Billy Budd.




B.

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I don't think I like the comparison to Don Quixote. Don Quixote was published in 1605, not 1985, and was one of the first, if not the first modern novel. While no doubt an outstanding tale, it is not remembered solely by the strength of the story. The Lonesome Dove is no doubt a great story, and I agree with you that great literature is first a great story; however, a great story does not always make great literature.

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Originally Posted by amb

I don't think I like the comparison to Don Quixote. Don Quixote was published in 1605, not 1985, and was one of the first, if not the first modern novel. While no doubt an outstanding tale, it is not remembered solely by the strength of the story. The Lonesome Dove is no doubt a great story, and I agree with you that great literature is first a great story; however, a great story does not always make great literature.

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The analogy fits , and one could choose just about any author that has withstood the test of time to utilise for such an analogy. And quite frankly Don Quixote was remembered *first* based upon the strengths of the story and the individual characters within said story.

And both terms are subject to individual interpretation of the reader. As I pointed out with Melville , I don't personally consider his work to be great literature , that said I take no issue with those who do consider it to be such.


And most authors aren't considered to have produced "great literature" until long ,long after they've passed on.

There was a time that Steinbeck wasn't considered to have produced great literature , likewise Hemingway , Faulkner and a whole host of others. There are those who likewise label King as producing "trash horror fiction" , but ( and once again) there will come a time when he's remembered with the same reverence as Lovecraft and August Derleth.

Likewise with any number of examples within the mystery genre.



B.

Larry McMurtry should be recognized as a great author. His ability to weave a story and draw you in emotionally is fantastic. Hell, he doesn't create a story, but an entire world. It exists and keeps on motoring long after you're done reading the pages. The lines of 'great literature' are foggy and indeterminate and subject to individual opinion. I think the Lonesome Dove saga will be remembered as great literature, however.

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Originally Posted by BeccaT

Larry McMurtry should be recognized as a great author. His ability to weave a story and draw you in emotionally is fantastic. Hell, he doesn't create a story, but an entire world. It exists and keeps on motoring long after you're done reading the pages. The lines of 'great literature' are foggy and indeterminate and subject to individual opinion. I think the Lonesome Dove saga will be remembered as great literature, however.

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In addition the Lonesome Dove saga is very well researched and quite historically accurate , something that being a native Texan and a history buff notice and appreciate. Quite a lot of the characters were *real* historical figures and quite a lot of the events are based on real history , granted the author took literary license to some degree , but that said Kicking Bird , Famous Shoes , Charles Goodknight etc. are based upon the real individuals. The Llano Estacado is real ( that's where modern day Llano county got it's name) the Jornada del Muerte is west of the Llano Estacado and to this day neither one is a place to get lost , Palo Duro canyon was the historic home of the Comanche etc.etc.

As I said , personally I value historical accuracy and appreciate the research he put into the series.



B.

Perhaps if McMurtry had written about vampires he would receive more literary respect. ;)

I was *this* close to naming my first child Augustus. I loved Lonesome Dove. I admit I scoffed at it at first, thinking it was just a trashy supermarket novel a la Danielle Steele, but then I was in Mexico and out of books and I found it at some little store and my husband and I took turns reading it out loud, a great memory. I tend to agree with BeccaT that

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"The lines of 'great literature' are foggy and indeterminate and subject to individual opinion."

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I would say that LD is indeed great literature. It did win a Pulitzer, and at the risk of starting a whole new debate, that counts for something, doesn't it?

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Originally Posted by Riesa

. It did win a Pulitzer, and at the risk of starting a whole new debate, that counts for something, doesn't it?

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And the above runs in close parallel to those who will state that Steinbeck isn't a "classic author" , whilst ignoring the fact that he won the Nobel Prize for literature for a reason.


As has been pointed out , the line as regards "classic" or "great" literature is nebulous and subject to individual interpretation.


One persons "classic" is anothers Sears catalog for utilisation in the privy.




B.