Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (review)

Reviews 165 but sensitive boy who reacts to stories about coons who have been trapped and then chewed off their legs to free themselves. Later, he kills a trapped coon who has chewed through to the bone. When his uncle leaves to set traps for a marauding bear at another ranch, the boy “lay on his bed and wondered how long it would take a bear to chew its leg off.” He takes his uncle’sshotgun and a horse and rides out to put an end to any trapped and suffering bears, only to be caught in a cave as a mother bear returns to her cubs. The story ends with an image that lasts long after the story is read. For me, the best of the collection is “The Things We Know,” the story of a successful lawyer of Mexican descent who realizes the importance of his heritage. It is the story of the dissolution of a marriage but of a return to psychic wholeness. These, and the others, are old-fashioned stories, well-plotted, with ten­ sions gradually building toward sometimes understated, sometimes overpower­ ing climaxes. They are, in a word, marvelous. And ifyou think I haven’t been objective about these stories, read them for yourself and see. DELBERT E. WYLDER Murray State University Lonesome Dove. By Larry McMurtry. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1985. 843 pages, $18.95.) For over twenty years, Larry McMurtry has written about the modern West, producing such notable works as Horseman, Pass By and The Last Pic­ ture Show. In Lonesome Dove, he has at last turned to the historical heritage of the West and produced an epic novel about the frontier. Set in the late 1870s, Lonesome Dove concerns a cattle drive from the Rio Grande to north­ ern Montana. For western enthusiasts, the novel has a bit of everything: rustling raids, river crossings, lightning and hail storms, a locust plague, stam­ pedes, murderous outlaws, lynchings, gunfights, Indian fights. But though packed with action, Lonesome Dove is basically a novel of character. Chief among the rich and varied dramatis personae are Augustus McCrae (Gus) and Woodrow F. Call, both veteran Texas Rangers and now owners of the Hat Creek Cattle Company in the minuscule town of Lonesome Dove. Gus is gregarious, a humorist, and a compulsive talker, who though tremendously effective in action, is normally lazy, preferring to enjoy life and let Call do all the work. Though Call complains, the arrangement actually suits him, for he is a workaholic, a silent loner who drives both himself and others. The catalyst for the cattle drive is a third former Ranger, Jake Spoon, who turns up with tales of tall grass and wonderful country in Montana, to be had for the taking. Call determines to be the first cattleman to enter Montana, chiefly because it will be something to do and has notbeen done before. To get a herd, he undertakes a series of raids into Mexico, where he steals about 166 Western American Literature three thousand head. He also has to enlarge his outfit and adds a number of cowboys to his colorful crew. Gus and Jake, along with most of the other men in the novel, are in love with Lorena Wood, who after a series of misfortunes has become the prosti­ tute at the local Dry Bean saloon. She does not care for any of the men, but is most comfortable with Gus, who treats her like a fellow human and whose conversation can be amusing. Jake Spoon, however, isirresistible to the ladies, and when he turns up, Lorena not only goes out of business but insists on accompanying him on the cattle drive. For all the main characters, the action is tragic. A number of them die violently, others undergo a painful initiation into harsh realities, and the survivors all experience disillusionment, loss, or bitterness. Yet the novel is brimful of vitality. Not only does McMurtry make his characters come vividly alive, but he presents the details of western Americana, history, geography, weather, and trail driving with authenticity. Along with some episodes of startling violence, there is a great deal of mellow and offbeat humor. The dialogue rings...