Larry McMurtry
Horseman, Pass By (1961)
Author: Larry McMurtry
Genre (and Subgenre): Western (literary fiction)
Plot Summary:
This is a coming-of-age story about Lonnie, a teenager living on his grandfather’s ranch. He admires his grandfather, Homer, lusts after the ranch’s black cook, Halmea, and tries to understand his step-Grandmother, uncle Hud, and two ranch hands, while thinking about moving away from the isolated ranch. When a healthy cow unexpectedly dies, a vet is called in to investigate. He brings in government officials who test the animals and discover the herd is infected with hoof-and-mouth disease. The entire herd must be killed to prevent an outbreak. This trouble brings to a head the conflict between Homer and Hud (who represent tradition and modernity, respectively). Hud wants to take over the ranch but Lonnie’s grandfather won’t give it up till he’s dead. After the herd is killed, the ranch is put under a year long quarantine. Things are dismal at the ranch but Lonnie looks forward to the yearly rodeo. Soon, Lonnie sees a darker side of humanity, both at the rodeo and at home: Hud rapes Halmea and shoots the ill Homer dead, Lonnie finds that the ranch hands aren’t heroes, his friend is seriously injured bull-riding, and he struggles with his own emotions and failures. In the end, Hud and his stepmother are left on the ranch but Lonnie leaves in search of his own destiny.
Geographical Setting: small ranch near Thalia, TX
Time Period: 1960s
Appeal Characteristics:
A fairly blunt look at a young man’s growing pains, this story is more about the idea of change and the struggle between old and new; it can be read and valued on multiple levels. The characters are written with clarity and finesse. Balance is achieved between dialogue, Lonnie’s personal thoughts, and descriptions of the landscape. The story is rather slow-paced, serious, and sad. Details about cattle ranching and life on a Texas ranch are frequent.
Red Flags: gun violence (murder); brief depiction of rape; extramarital affair; brief description of large-scale animal extermination
Sin Killer (2002)
Author: Larry McMurtry
Genre (and subgenre): Western
Plot Summary:
English aristocrat Lord Berrybender wants to hunt in the American West, so he sets out on an expedition up the Missouri with his wife, mistress, children, a translator, two painters and a slew of servants. His eldest daughter, a headstrong woman named Tasmin, is left behind accidentally one day and meets Jim Snow, the Sin Killer. Tasmin is drawn to him because he is so different from the aristocrats in England. He is rough, rugged, harsh, quiet and unyielding when it comes to matters of religion. She wishes to escape her family’s crazy antics, but he returns her to them. Drawn to her though, Snow follows the boat and the two meet again on a day when the group suffers many hardships: two women are taken captive, a servant is killed and Lord Berrybender shoots off some of his toes. Snow takes Tasmin; they marry and wander the prairie for a time. A pregnant Tasmin returns to the boat though when she discovers Snow also has two Indian wives. More hardship befalls the expedition when Lord Berrybender insists on hunting in the bitter cold and is caught in a blizzard. Snow rescues him and he is reunited with Tasmin when he returns Berrybender to the boat. The novel ends as Lord Berrybender discovers that his leg must be amputated due to frostbite.
Geographical Setting: The characters travel up the Missouri River on a paddle boat.
Time Period: 1832
Series: This title is the first novel in the tetralogy named The Berrybender Narratives.
Appeal Characteristics:
Literary; fast paced (short chapters alternate between action on the boat and on land); action packed (the group faces one calamity after another); good balance between dialog and narration; setting comes alive through description; romantic subplot; stereotypical character types (eccentric/selfish/wealthy aristocrats; dependable/sensible Americans); historical figures used for characters; for readers that want a humorous yet unsentimental portrayal of the West
Similar Authors: Ivan Doig, Conrad Richter
Red Flags: Adultery; polygamy; some mild sexual content; profanity; violence (several characters are hacked to pieces; Indian captives are beaten and raped)
|top|
|
