Currently, I'm right in the middle of reading
Lonesome Dove! It's something I've been meaning to do as a good Brokie activity for a long time. It kind of feels like Brokie homework to me. But, in a good way. I'm really pleasantly surprised by how much I like the book so far. I've never seen the mini-series. So, in many ways I feel like I'm well behind the times when it comes to
Lonesome Dove. Knowing more about this major piece by McMurtry seems important to understanding the film of BBM though.
I became curious to read it mainly due to various Brokie conversations and even some interviews by McMurtry where it was suggested that there are many similarities between LD and BBM. The most significant similarity seems to be the examination of intense relationships between men. When McMurtry says that he "should have written" BBM, I think (and this idea is largely thanks to Katherine here too) he means he wishes or he could have inserted a romantic relationship between cowboys into LD pretty easily, but he didn't go that far.
Anyway, again, I'm only less than half way through the book at the moment. I'm at about page 350 and my copy is over 900 pages long. There are lots and lots of things that jump off the page as very familiar to me due to my familiarity with BBM. And, LOL, sometimes I have a jolt when feeling like McMurtry has somehow inserted a Brokieism into
Lonesome Dove. But, of course the reality is that he instead iserted a "Lonesome Dove-ism" into BBM. In some ways it feels a bit competitive... like he's inserted his own stamp into the fabric of BBM in terms of the screenplay.
At least two phrases come to mind (as I sit here at work thinking about this)... one is "not the marrying kind" and the other is "talks a blue streak." Those two phrases were prominently used in
Lonesome Dove.
Also little details, like big hunks of bacon. The image of Jack hoisting the bacon slab (I think that's what it is) in the scene where he and Ennis are setting up camp on Brokeback... seems to be a little nod to LD. Slabs of bacon are constantly referenced in LD as a main food staple.
I have another whole theory or idea about the issue of "going to Mexico" in LD vs. in BBM. But, I'll save that for some future post.
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