Rating:  Summary: Obsessed by this book... Review: As I read (and re-read) Lonesome Dove, I yearned for just one other person in my life to share this great novel with. However, no one seemed to be interested in it, despite my praises and constant reviews. To sooth my aching heart, I traced out the trail (in my mind) on the United States Map. the trail that Call and Gus must have taken,from the banks of the rio grande to the ranch in Montana. I marked off every location mentioned in the book. The characters are so real, so human, you might expect to find their graves if you traveled that same route. This book is a classic, a bitter sweet journey you must take.
Rating:  Summary: How could anyone screw this up so bad! Review: I'm speaking about the unabridged audio. First of all the packaging was abominable. DO NOT drive and try to figure out this jumbled mess of cassettes. The packaging will cause you to have an accident and wish you would have never spent this kind of money on something so un-user-friendly. Second, Lee Horsley. Although technically good, he was the only voice. After a while I would have paid double for some dramatization and sound effects. As an addicted audiobook consumer my final advice is to read this great American Classic. Get a leatherbound edition because you will want to re-read it for the rest of your life.
Rating:  Summary: David Malachowski Review: Lonsome Dove is by far one of the best books I have ever read. Whether you are a fan of Westerns or not, it does not matter. This is a wonderful story that is about so much more than a journey of men and women to Montana, but a story about life. The richly developed characters draw you into the book so well that you actually get a feel for what it might have been like to travel across this nations Great Plains in a time when men and women often had little to depend upon outside their very own wits and instincts.
Rating:  Summary: Up there with the best Review: If I had read only 200 or 300 books, I would probably say this is the best book I have ever read, but since I have read at least a 1000 I would have to say it is in a tie with a couple more for 1st place. My wife will no longer let me watch the movie because she is tired of seeing me cry when Gus leaves the story. Lately the thing I find most interesting is the fact if everyone had a friend like Woodrow Call, they would be as good as any two people. The devotion he exhibited is something that does not come along very often. I don't know or have never known anyone that would drag me across the street to bury me; much less across the country. I read the book and try to be like the people and think I become a better person because of it.
Rating:  Summary: Unequivocally the best novel I have ever read..... Review: The only reason I give this book 5 stars is because I cannot give it more. I first read this book 4 years ago, and have recently read it again. Mr. McMurtry shows an astounding grasp of his characters, and develops each one so artfully that you, the reader, cannot let go of them at the end of the book. Gus will have you in his back pocket in no time, and Call...well, Call was just Call. It was a full time job.The author will make you laugh, cry, sit on the edge of your seat, and grip the book with white knuckles. I have never had a story stay with me so long after I had put down the book upon reading the last word. Mr. McMurtry has truly succeeded in that quest for the "Great American Novel".
Rating:  Summary: Lonesome Dove Review: This was one of the greatest books I have ever read. I recommend this to anyone who reads this review. I also recommend the sequels (Streets of Laredo, Comanche Moon, Dead Man's Walk). The order that I think you should read them in is Dead Man's Walk, Comanche Moon, Lonseome Dove, and Streets of Laredo. The only reason I say that is the books were not written in chronological order. It makes more sense to read them that way.
Rating:  Summary: One of the Greatest American Novels of the Late 20th Century Review: After reading the entertaining books Mr. McMurtry had written before and after Lonesome Dove, I was stunned by the masterpiece he had created. This was an epic poem, leading toward the Holy Grail of Montana. He deserved the Pulitzer and I would venture to say he deserves a Nobel Prize for this alone. If you like the literary writing of early 20th century masters, you will enjoy this truly literate epic novel.
Rating:  Summary: Lonesome Dove... American masterpiece Review: Like may I suppose, I was drawn into Larry McMurtry's western world after watching the riveting television mini-series based on his pulitzer prize winning novel. I actually read the sequel, THE STREETS OF LAREDO, before reading Lonesome Dove. After reading the follow-up, I was so engrossed with the characters and the setting that I decided to check out the original. I was so glad I made that choice. Lonesome Dove is quite simply the greatest book I have ever read. It has well rounded fascinating characters, an involving plot, and an almost mythological back-drop that is the final piece to the puzzle. The dialogue between the varying types of characters is sparkling and never dull and while the story is sad and tragic, it's never dull. I have read this book several times and still enjoy looking over particular passages
Rating:  Summary: Very readable Review: McMurtry's dialogue replicates the way that west Texans speak. The book reads with amazing smoothness. This is probably the best western that there is. As great fiction, it's a flop. The plot of the book follows closely the main elements of Dobie's historical masterwork, The Longhorns. No one who has read the latter will be very impressed with Lonesome Dove, and McMurtry's borrowing is only slightly embellished and not at all concealed. As fiction, there's very little "truth" in this book. It's an entertaining read at times, but excessively sentimental, and it ultimately degenerates into blubbering, maudlin scenes that are plainly ridiculous. The part of the story where the cowboys round up several thousand longhorns in a day or two is such an obvious stupidity that it's hard to believe a writer as familiar with his subject as McMurtry actually wrote it. But then again it's not history, and the book has so many enjoyable, pithy lines that such misfires are willingly forgiven. The ending is predictable, and the quality of the writing falls off drastically three quarters through. That's hardly surprising given the length of the book, but it doesn't make it any more palatable. The other reviews (see above and below) make it clear that if you buy this book you'll probably love it. I didn't.
Rating:  Summary: Simply the Best Review: All I can say is this is the most wonderful book you could ever read. The characters are unforgettable and they will bring out every emotion in you. A wonderful wonderful book.
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