Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
BBM and Lonesome Dove
belbbmfan:
I finished reading Lonesome Dove a couple of days ago and I have to say, I feel a bit like Newt, you know, left behind. These characters have been with me for a couple of weeks now and I've been thinking about them, even when I wasn't reading. I want to know what happens next. It's like I'm not ready to 'leave them be'.
At times I found it difficult to read because I've gotten so involved with some of the characters. I felt so sorry for Lorie, Deets or Clara. I wanted good things to happen to them. Like Clara said 'it's too much death'. But I guess that's just how things were, tough and tragic.
I can really see why Brokeback Mountain resonated with Larry McMurty in the way it did. There's a strong sense of 'if you can't fix it, you've got to stand it' in Lonesome Dove too.
I've enjoyed reading this book immensely. :)
mariez:
--- Quote from: atz75 on March 17, 2009, 02:23:52 pm ---As part of "bump-fest" I thought I'd revive this thread a bit.
I've also been meaning to stop by and mention that I started reading Dead Man's Walk the other night. I'm only about 30 pages into it so far. And, yikes! I have to say that so far it seems quite brutally realistic and graphic. I know McMurtry had moments of that in LD too... but he seems to start this one off on some startling notes!
And, LOL, I notice the theme of Call trying to train a difficult mare has come back in this one.
I'm excited to learn more about how Call and Gus got started in their early years.
:)
--- End quote ---
Hey, Amanda,
It's been a few years since I read Dead Man's Walk, so I don't remember every detail, but I do remember that it can be very raw and as you said, brutally realistic. If I recall, that type of realism continues throughout the book. I do remember while reading, thinking "How does he think of this stuff?" LD was my favorite of all the books in the series, but they're all well written, and it is interesting to see how and why Call and Gus developed such a strong bond.
--- Quote from: belbbmfan on March 17, 2009, 05:03:12 pm ---I finished reading Lonesome Dove a couple of days ago and I have to say, I feel a bit like Newt, you know, left behind. These characters have been with me for a couple of weeks now and I've been thinking about them, even when I wasn't reading. I want to know what happens next. It's like I'm not ready to 'leave them be'.
At times I found it difficult to read because I've gotten so involved with some of the characters. I felt so sorry for Lorie, Deets or Clara. I wanted good things to happen to them. Like Clara said 'it's too much death'. But I guess that's just how things were, tough and tragic.
I can really see why Brokeback Mountain resonated with Larry McMurty in the way it did. There's a strong sense of 'if you can't fix it, you've got to stand it' in Lonesome Dove too.
I've enjoyed reading this book immensely. :)
--- End quote ---
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Fabienne. I figured you would. :) I agree that it's the type of story that becomes a part of you while you're reading it and for a while after. And, yes, it's easy to see why McMurtry made such an immediate connection with Brokeback Mountain - he knew the people well.
Brown Eyes:
*spoilers*
OMG!! Last night I just read the whole episode in Dead Man's Walk in which Gus is stalked in the pitch dark by Buffalo Hump. Wow! That was so well-written. Talk about a pitch perfect way of making a reader truly experience and sense the fear that the character is experiencing. It's sections of writing like that that I truly love about McMurtry as an author.
:)
mariez:
--- Quote from: atz75 on March 19, 2009, 01:17:59 pm ---
*spoilers*
OMG!! Last night I just read the whole episode in Dead Man's Walk in which Gus is stalked in the pitch dark by Buffalo Hump. Wow! That was so well-written. Talk about a pitch perfect way of making a reader truly experience and sense the fear that the character is experiencing. It's sections of writing like that that I truly love about McMurtry as an author.
:)
--- End quote ---
Yes, I remember that part clearly! It definitely stays with you. Hope it didn't give you nightmares, Amanda!
Brown Eyes:
--- Quote from: mariez on March 19, 2009, 01:46:07 pm ---Yes, I remember that part clearly! It definitely stays with you. Hope it didn't give you nightmares, Amanda!
--- End quote ---
LOL. No, it didn't give me nightmares. I just thought it was very, very effective writing.
The whole topic of the different Native American populations and individual Native Americans discussed and depicted in both LD and now DMW is interesting and complex. Obviously, an individual character like Blue Duck (I don't really know enough about Buffalo Hump yet, to be able to speak too much about him), is really, really un-likable in his brutality and cruelty. But, as a more general subject, I tend to feel so, so sorry for the Native American tribes... in terms of their land being taken over, their populations being largely eradicated, etc. The scenario in LD describing the starving tribe that they stumble upon coinciding with Deets' death is just such a sad situation. I have very mixed feelings about the whole topic.
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