Rating: 
Summary: Not Lonesome Dove...but An Excellent Sequel
Review: "Streets of Laredo" is the much-anticipated sequel to Larry McMurtry's finest and most memorable novel, "Lonesome Dove." Because of the quality of the first novel, which ranks among this reader's favorites, almost any follow-up would be disappointing as "Lonesome Dove" is a book that few readers will forget. "Streets of Laredo" suffers from the fact that Gus McCrae, one of the two cantankerous and aging cowboys from "Lonesome Dove", is not present in this book. The repartee and interaction between the voluble McCrae and the taciturn, curmudgeonly Call was one of the great strengths of the first novel and now, in "Streets of Laredo", Call, the less colorful of the duo is at the center of the story. He is hired to track down a Mexican bandit, Joey Garza and along with an Eastern "tenderfoot", a hapless deputy sheriff and "Pea Eye" Parker, one of the secondary characters from "Lonesome Dove", he pursues the bandit across the windswept panhandle, through the hardscrabble Pecos country and into Mexico. McMurtry populates the Streets of Laredo with real life characters drawn from western history including the prolific killer John Wesley Hardin, the cattleman and trailblazer, Charles Goodnight and the colorful Judge Roy Bean who set himself up as "The Law West of the Pecos." In "Streets of Laredo" Woodrow Call is an aging man, not destined for more adventures and so the awkward "Pea Eye" Parker, who is now a husband and a father, married to the beautiful and good hearted whore Lorena, is elevated to a major character, torn between the pull of home and hearth and duty to his comrades. Like most of McMurtry's books about the historic west, this novel is brutal, full of violent deaths. However, it also features strong and beautifully written female characters as the author understands that the plains were not settled by the feint of heart, that it took bold men and resourceful, strong women to tame a wild country. "Streets of Laredo" does not measure up to the preceding "Lonesome Dove" but it is a fine book nonetheless, with a straightforward narrative drive that provides the reader with a compelling and haunting tale of love, loss, duty, pain, and ultimately, redemption.
We beat the drum lowly and shook the spurs slowly,
And bitterly wept as we bore him along;
For we all loved our comrade, so brave and so handsome,
We all loved our comrade, although he's done wrong...
From "Streets of Laredo"
Perhaps the saddest old cowboy song, written about 1860
Rating: 
Summary: Good story, but not great writing---there is a difference
Review: Call is old. Only a few characters remain from the past. Life has taken it toll, but Call continues to persevere, alone, without Gus. Life is not what we want it to be. But we continue on, doing the best we can. Excellent book. Teaches the aging process, the endurance and plotting forward movement to the end. Many exciting moments, touching, heart-warming, brutal and grim. Life before our eyes as it is. At the end, it's time to begin reading the series of books all over again!
Evelyn Horan - teacher/counselor/author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Book One - Four
Rating: 
Summary: 547 pages and two audible gasps later, I'm satisfied
Review: I first read the original, Lonesome Dove, and followed those up with the immensely disappointing Dead Man's Walk and the better but still not entirely worthy Comanche Moon, so by the time I began to prepare to approach Streets of Laredo, I was cautious (well obviously, I dragged out the approach pretty good there). I wondered if McMurtry was up to the task of revisiting the characters that have become so dear to me, or if he'd falter like he had in the prequels. And now, barely post-reading, I can say that I think he did a fine job, though I did have a few problems. Throughout the story I grew more and more suspicious that McMurtry took his story in wild directions, either killing or maiming central characters without a second thought, simply to spite Return to Lonesome Dove, the miniseries sequel that was written and produced without his involvement (and aired prior to the release of this "official" sequel). Certainly, he may have done the unheard of with his characters just to be unpredictable, but I felt a little cheated of closure with characters who I began to consider friends, and the thought that it may have been for no other reason that to set the story apart from the black sheep miniseries, well, it kinda hurt. But whenever I'd begin to feel angry with McMurtry and his murderous ways (he was killing off my friends, man!), I'd get caught up in the story again and endeared with new or expanded characters and begrudgingly forgive him. So while Streets of Laredo may not do with the Lonesome Dove characters what you hope it will, just trust Larry McMurtry. He knows his characters, he knows what he's doing, and wouldn't we be just as angry with him, or more, if he gave us a pacifying, milquetoast resolution that we'd have seen coming anyway?
Rating:
Summary: Stands Well On Its Own
Review: I was fortunate enough to read STREETS OF LAREDO before I read LD. I didn't have that built-in "bias" of hoping beyond hope that McMurtry would offer a sequel as mesmerizing as his Pulitizer-prize winning masterpiece--a bias that seems to have disappointed so many of the reviewers on this site who can't help but compare the two books. Fact is, this is a gripping, brutal Western. STREETS OF LAREDO gives the reader a vast array of complex, interesting characters: Woodrow F. Call, the aging former lawman turned bounty hunter, who realizes he is well past his prime...Pea Eye Parker, torn between his devotion to his family and his undying loyalty to Call...Lorena Parker, once a prostitute, now a wife, mother, and schoolteacher, who sets out in the face of overwhelming danger to find her husband...Mr. Brookshire, a railroad accountant from New York and traveling companion of Call, who is appalled at the brutality of the West...Maria, whose hatred of Call and concern for her killer son cannot overcome a true heart of gold. Throw in two chilling, ruthless killers--Joey Garza and Mox Mox, the "manburner"--and you've got a story that keeps the reader busily turning pages. This is a hardhitting, well-written account of the Old West in the last gasp of the 19th century. The book stands alone on its own merits.
Rating:
Summary: Call's still got it in the worthy sequel to Lonesome Dove.
Review: McMurtry shows us that not all sequels leave you unsatisfied. "Streets of Laredo" is an excellent book that shows a hero in his old age. It is both bittersweet and thrilling at the same time. We see Woodrow Call in his post-Gus McCrae days, taking on a bandit many years his junior. We see Pea Eye Parker, an unexpected choice for the last great Hat Creek member to follow Call, fighting his impulse to go on one last job with the captain. We see fear and hatred and loneliness and loss, and each emotion is conveyed in McMurtry's masterful way. McMurtry adds a special note of realism by using actual historical figures--John Wesley Hardin, often called the West's most prolific killer, Charlie Goodnight, one of the great cowboys, and Judge Roy Bean, the hanging judge, the Law West of the Pecos. He weaves these people with his fictional characters like Pea, the Captain, and Ned Brookshire to make a very effective and entrancing novel. "Streets of Laredo" is at times violent, amusing, depressing, and at all times interesting. A fine novel, and worthy of its predecessor, "Lonesome Dove." You can't go wrong with this one.
Rating:
Summary: A fine piece of storytelling.
Review: Reading and hearing the criticism of this book, it seems obvious that the naysayers read Lonesome Dove with a romantic's eye. Don't. As other well-written works repeatedly demonstrate -- contemporary novels, such as The Last Picture Show, and historical ones such as Buffalo Girls and Anything for Billy -- McMurtry is anything but rosy-eyed about his characters. Like George Bernard Shaw, McMurtry creates stories that are interesting and valuable, but also realistic. People seem to disappointed with the content of Streets of Laredo, but the reality of the West is that it was a brutal, violent place. Viewed through the eyes of an aging denizen like Woodrow F. Call, it would naturally seem even more so, particularly viewed against the rather cold backdrop of encroaching modern civilization. The actions and reactions of a Call, Lorena, even PeaEye Parker, all make perfect sense in this book. Would you expect the practical Woodrow to suddenly become a dashing hero with a sunset in the background? Of course not. Thus, an old Call finds himself bedeviled by a young, clever, ruthless killer. It wouldn't happen any other way. Would a mature Lorena do anything that wasn't practical, or at least deeply personal? Not in the least. So she's married to someone who is predictable, but also extremely reliable. And so on. The new characters introduced in the Streets of Laredo are as well developed and interesting as we've come to expect from McMurtry. He even manages to make a Brooklyn accountant seem intriguing -- no mean feat, if you think about it. And for all of the complaints about the graphic nature of some of the action in Laredo, no one can reasonably argue that McMurtry has lost his facility with words. As always with McMurtry, the prose flows lyrically; he remains one of the most underrated craftsmen of the novel.
Rating:
Summary: A good book that I wish I hadn't read
Review: Streets of Laredo, set in Texas and Mexico in more or less the 1890's, is the sequel to Lonesome Dove. Anyone who's read the author's other work will know that his novels are a progression of character deaths, often pointless and cruel. This one was even more depressing than that. Use of language in this book is generally evocative, but occasionally, particularly in the section from Doobie's perspective, becomes downright simple-minded and annoying. There are a lot of repeated phrases. Characterization is excellent, sort of. The reader gets to know the characters. The reader gets to care about the characters. Then the characters mostly die, or worse. It's a bummer. The plot involves a manhunt for various different brutal outlaws. It's about the end of Captain Call's career, and the ongoing story of Pea Eye and Lorena, now married with a large family. Secondary characters include the return of Mox Mox, the various men involved in Call's manhunt, the outlaw Garza's downtrodden yet plucky mother Maria, and fictionalized versions of John Wesley Hardin and Charles Goodnight. Mostly it's exciting and fast-moving, but there are some annoying tangents -- Maria running off to deliver a baby right at a climactic moment especially frustrated me. One unbelievable element of the plot was the amateur amputations and terrible wounds suffered by the characters -- without cauterization, ligature, tourniquets, or anything else. Realistically, the amputee in particular should have bled to death in minutes. The end, however, I did not enjoy. The whole thing with the little blind girl was sentimental and frankly creepy. The main character's downfall seemed like an act of pointless cruelty on the author's fault -- I wondered if it was meant to be fate, some kind of karmic punishment for deeds done (or more, not done) in earlier volumes. I still didn't enjoy reading it. The title, taken from a sad traditional ballad about a dying cowboy, seems appropriate here. In many ways this is a well-written book, but there are things in it I wish I hadn't read. Take your chances.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Story, Just Don't Confuse it with Lonesome Dove.
Review: The first book of Larry McMurtry's I ever read was Lonesome Dove. That book enthralled me, making me wish he would re-visit the characters with a sequel. Eventually he did and "Streets of Laredo" is the result. The problem here is that you really can't read Streets as a sequel to Lonesome Dove, because if you do you will be extremely disappointed. The characters have changed so completely that they don't seem like the same people. If you can get over that hurdle then this becomes an exciting (if not rather violent) story based on the old west. The book starts off on the premise that the cattle ranch in Montana failed, and Captain Woodrow Call has returned to Texas as a sort of bounty hunter. Other main characters from Lonesome Dove include Pea Eye, his loyal helper, and Lorena, the whore from Lonesome who is now a school teacher and wife of Pea Eye. (Does anyone else think this is just too much of a stretch for these characters?) Call has been hired by a railroad tycoon to stop a mexican bandit from constantly robbing his trains. Along the way we meet old friends from Lonesome, and famous historical persons (Judge Roy Bean, John Wesley Harding, etc). The action is extremely exciting, the suspense riviting, and McMurtry's style of writing keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. As with a lot of his writing McMurtry describes the violence in VERY strong detail. This seems to be done to help the reader climb into the story and experience the situations. Very well done but also very disturbing. As we draw near to the end the ending comes out of no where and surprises you. The eventual hero is not who you would expect. Overall, this epic story is a blast to read. Again do not get caught up in the "sequel" thing, you MUST read this for it's own sake. I would recommend this for anyone who enjoys epic westerns, and for anyone who loves McMurtry's writings.
Rating:
Summary: Good ending to a great series
Review: The fourth book in the series (Lonesome Dove was written first, but is actually third), Streets of Laredo is the most reflective and least adventurous story. There is still plenty of adventure, but the focus is on one character, the aging Call on a quest to find a killer. As usual, McMurtry writes a story that goes nowhere and everywhere at the same time. His stories are realistic and detailed, almost prosaic, but they are also universal and compelling. Some reviewers say that McMurtry is not a great writer. But by what standards are they judging, and what difference does it make? It's hard to beat McMurtry at sheer story-telling power.
Rating:
Summary: Caution: Read this review before you read the others!!!
Review: There are several reviews regarding this book that follow, which actually gives the plot away, not only for Streets of Loredo-but for Lonesome Dove as well!! REVIEWERS TAKE NOTE: IT IS INAPPROPRIATE TO DISCUSS THE KEY PLOTS IN A REVIEW! PERIOD!
As far as Streets is concerned it is a good book-although not up to the Lonesome Dove, in my opinion. McMurtry is still a great writer, and this book proves not to be an exception.
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