TERMS OF ENDEARMENT : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: The "Houston Trilogy" happily comes to an end.
Review: Every novelist of note has at least one work that represents the low mark in that author's career. With Larry McMurtry, I thought that novel was "Moving On", a lumbering work of uninteresting characters, rediculous plot lines and a writing style that could only be described as sophomoric. Then McMurtry decided to re-visit some of the characters of that earlier novel, throw in a few more from "All My Friends Are Going to be Strangers" and complete his so-called "Houston Trilogy". You would think that with the tepid results of the first two novels he would have given up on his idea and returned to the area that he can really write about: the vanishing frontier. But no, he had to finish his trilogy. In his preface to the book (an act of unmitigated audaciousness, by the way; as if the novel deserved a preface and as if the women characters created here could somehow be in the same league as Emma Bovary or Anna Karenina), McMurtry remarked that the novel was about the dilemma in which many women find themselves: stuck with a boring husband who happens to be a pretty good father. He questions, "Emma might with luck find a better husband than Flap, but can she realistically expect to better him as a father? Is anyone apt to love the kids as much as he does?" Only if he had written about that dilemma. On second thought, that dilemma never existed in the first place because Flap is not a good father and spends as much time away from home as he does with the family.

Instead the reader is "treated" to the story of an aging widow, Aurora Greenway, and her equally aging suitors and the activities that surround her vapid existence in 1960s Houston. Her daughter, Emma, occupies a secondary role in this portion of the novel and the action moves from dinner party to forays into the Houston suburbs, from one uninteresting character to the next, from the improbability of a millionaire who lives on the top level of a parking structure to a hastily concocted murder attempt - all I guess to try to maintain the reader's, as well as the author's, interest. But all this meaningless writing in search of a plot finally forces McMurtry to make a decision: either change course or follow Aurora's story until the author, himself, drops dead. So after 360 pages of a 410 page book, the story suddenly shifts to Emma and her pathetic life: infidelity, neurotic children, and finally cancer - all this, by the way, in fifty pages.

What amazes me is that James L. Brooks, the director and screenwriter of the movie, could have read this book and even considered making a film based on it. What he created, which is a testament to what good screen writing is all about, not only elevates McMurtry's novel from the humdrum but centers on the dilemma that the novel's author chose not to pursue. The scenes between the principal characters are often electric, capturing the anger, frustration, and love between wife, mother and husband, something that McMurtry only managed to duplicate only once or twice in the novel. One more point of irritation: the seduction scene between Danny Deck and Emma is taken almost word for word from "All My Friends Are Going to be Strangers", something akin to a college freshman composition student quoting himself in a term paper.

Rating:
Summary: The "Houston Trilogy" happily comes to an end.
Review: Every novelist of note has at least one work that represents the low mark in that author's career. With Larry McMurtry, I thought that novel was "Moving On", a lumbering work of uninteresting characters, rediculous plot lines and a writing style that could only be described as sophomoric. Then McMurtry decided to re-visit some of the characters of that earlier novel, throw in a few more from "All My Friends Are Going to be Strangers" and complete his so-called "Houston Trilogy". You would think that with the tepid results of the first two novels he would have given up on his idea and returned to the area that he can really write about: the vanishing frontier. But no, he had to finish his trilogy. In his preface to the book (an act of unmitigated audaciousness, by the way; as if the novel deserved a preface and as if the women characters created here could somehow be in the same league as Emma Bovary or Anna Karenina), McMurtry remarked that the novel was about the dilemma in which many women find themselves: stuck with a boring husband who happens to be a pretty good father. He questions, "Emma might with luck find a better husband than Flap, but can she realistically expect to better him as a father? Is anyone apt to love the kids as much as he does?" Only if he had written about that dilemma. On second thought, that dilemma never existed in the first place because Flap is not a good father and spends as much time away from home as he does with the family.

Instead the reader is "treated" to the story of an aging widow, Aurora Greenway, and her equally aging suitors and the activities that surround her vapid existence in 1960s Houston. Her daughter, Emma, occupies a secondary role in this portion of the novel and the action moves from dinner party to forays into the Houston suburbs, from one uninteresting character to the next, from the improbability of a millionaire who lives on the top level of a parking structure to a hastily concocted murder attempt - all I guess to try to maintain the reader's, as well as the author's, interest. But all this meaningless writing in search of a plot finally forces McMurtry to make a decision: either change course or follow Aurora's story until the author, himself, drops dead. So after 360 pages of a 410 page book, the story suddenly shifts to Emma and her pathetic life: infidelity, neurotic children, and finally cancer - all this, by the way, in fifty pages.

What amazes me is that James L. Brooks, the director and screenwriter of the movie, could have read this book and even considered making a film based on it. What he created, which is a testament to what good screen writing is all about, not only elevates McMurtry's novel from the humdrum but centers on the dilemma that the novel's author chose not to pursue. The scenes between the principal characters are often electric, capturing the anger, frustration, and love between wife, mother and husband, something that McMurtry only managed to duplicate only once or twice in the novel. One more point of irritation: the seduction scene between Danny Deck and Emma is taken almost word for word from "All My Friends Are Going to be Strangers", something akin to a college freshman composition student quoting himself in a term paper.

Rating:
Summary: one of McMurtry's best
Review: Funny, heartbreaking, and entirely memorable. Aurora Greenaway is without a doubt one of the best characters McMurtry ever wrote, which makes her one of the best characters written by anybody during the last half century.

Rating:
Summary: Oh the melodrama!
Review: How can a man write so well about women and their day to day experiences, attitudes and emotions with such humor and understanding? It's almost uncanny. Wonderful story, much better than the movie. A great read!
Evelyn Horan - children's author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Books One-Three

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and enchanting!
Review: I simply fell in love with this book. It is my all time favorite book. It is full of rich characters including Aurora Greenway, an eccentric, overbearing and somewhat annoying woman that you just have to love. Aurora's scenes with her suitors are so humorous that you are compeled to laugh out loud. This is a must read for those who enjoy books written from the heart.

Rating:
Summary: pretend you never saw the movie and...
Review: I'm a big fan of Larry McMurtry, and am amazed at the amount of quality material he has cranked out over the years. Be it with his "Lonesome Dove" series, or his more contemporary novels such as this one, there always seems to be parts of the story that make one despair about life in general. There is usually death of some kind. While many authors will write something 'redeeming' about a death, McMurtry will tend to show the stark fact that life goes on, and often a death is indeed a big waste. Cruel as it sounds, it is probably more real than we'd like to admit, and for that, I like his work.

While this novel doesn't contain the wholesale slaughter of his westerns, there is enough pain to carry the story in his manner described above. What makes the book great is how he takes a pair of characters who are not that pleasant a couple, and makes us really care for them. Aurora, the widowed mother, is an overweight, overbearing woman who constantly cajoles those close to her. Her daughter Emma, also overweight and seemingly without focus in life, is not exactly someone you're gonna turn the TV on to see. One is tempted to close the book early on and look for more uplifting characters, but McMurtry hooks you, first with comedy, then tragedy.

I was surprised to see how much I grew to like Aurora by the end of the book, and have sympathy for Emma. There is a method to Aurora's rudeness. For example, being a widow, she has a handful of male suitors. At first I was wondering what all these older guys saw in her, as elderly guys, by sheer numbers, would have the pick of much more numerous older ladies. We see how she keeps them at arm's length, and as the book goes on, we see how they fit into their lives. When several of the suitors often wind up in the same room without too much bloodshed, we see that the method does work. Aurora has a role for each of them, and understands that most of them would not be able to keep up with her.

Same with Emma. If I were to meet this person at just about any part of her life, I probably would have little interest. But we do see the needs of this person. Yes, she probably made a big mistake with her choice of husband. But we see how she does want affection from a man who doesn't seem to have much to give, and thus turns back to her mother. While they both keep each other at arm's length, we can see the bond that holds them together until the end.

Terrific book, and and excellent translation to the screen.

Rating:
Summary: Vapid and uninteresting
Review: Larry McMurtry is one of my favorite authors, a true literary genius; however, I must admit some of his work is trash, like this one. It is hard to care about the a soap opera of self inflicted woes by such unlikable people. I forced myself to finish it, but don't find it memorable at all.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book
Review: Terms of Endearment is a standout from a special author. The book has it all: unforgetable characters (I can't imagine where McMurtry comes up with these people), laugh out loud comedy and heart wrenching drama. The book is not just a story; it's a wonderful experience. Anyone avoiding this book as a result of seeing the Acadamy award winning movie is making a HUGE mistake. I actually read the book first, and found the crticially acclaimed movie to be a major let down. The movie covers about one tenth of what appears in the book, pratically ignoring some of the most memorable characters and story lines ever. Don't miss Terms of Endearment; I think it's great.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book
Review: Terms of Endearment is a standout from a special author. The book has it all: unforgetable characters (I can't imagine where McMurtry comes up with these people), laugh out loud comedy and heart wrenching drama. The book is not just a story; it's a wonderful experience. Anyone avoiding this book as a result of seeing the Acadamy award winning movie is making a HUGE mistake. I actually read the book first, and found the crticially acclaimed movie to be a major let down. The movie covers about one tenth of what appears in the book, pratically ignoring some of the most memorable characters and story lines ever. Don't miss Terms of Endearment; I think it's great.