| First Written | 1985 |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Origin | US |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| My Copy | gigantic fucking paperback |
| First Read | March 23, 2026 |
Lonesome Dove
Notes
OK, fine, it's a great book, I admit it. I admire what McMurtry has done here even though I still don't enjoy the western tale. I was really rooting for an ending around page 700, but cowboys will be cowboys and go get themselves into trouble for another 150 pages.
Noted on April 12, 2026
Now at the end of Book 2. Is it just going to be all these different traveling parties bumping into each other for the rest of the book? It feels like they're all at the same party, but they're covering a huge expanse of unpopulated west. Like four states so far?
Noted on April 6, 2026
OK, midway through Part 2 now, 3-400 pages in. It's obviously GOOD. But it's still about Cowboys and Indians. But I'm not bored!
Some misc Part 1 thoughts:
- there is a lot of prostitution and rape here, much more than I anticipated.
- there is apparently only one woman in this book and at least five characters have paid to have sex with her
- we're going to make a lot of carrot jokes, I can tell.
- I learned the word 'remuda'
Some misc Part 2 thoughts:
- the moccasin attack! Shocking, I didn't see this coming. After 300 pages of casual murder and rape, this accident felt violent.
- I met Po Campo and immediately love this guy. I hope he's around to stay.
- The July Johnson storyline isn't grabbing me yet
- Roscoe's foundling? This feels like a whole lot of western tropes all at once.
Some misc Part 1 thoughts:
- there is a lot of prostitution and rape here, much more than I anticipated.
- there is apparently only one woman in this book and at least five characters have paid to have sex with her
- we're going to make a lot of carrot jokes, I can tell.
- I learned the word 'remuda'
Some misc Part 2 thoughts:
- the moccasin attack! Shocking, I didn't see this coming. After 300 pages of casual murder and rape, this accident felt violent.
- I met Po Campo and immediately love this guy. I hope he's around to stay.
- The July Johnson storyline isn't grabbing me yet
- Roscoe's foundling? This feels like a whole lot of western tropes all at once.
Noted on April 3, 2026
My book club is reading this, and thus far I'm split. I love a good giant novel (look at Trollope!) and so an epic social tale that takes 800+ pages doesn't bother me one bit. On the other hand, Westerns and cowboys in general always have me rolling my eyes. We'll see.
Noted on March 23, 2026
Quotes
"That's right," Augustus said. "There's an art to biscuit making, and I learned it."
"My wife was good at it too," Po Campo remarked. "I liked her biscuits. She never burned them on the bottom."
"Where's she live, Mexico?" Augustus asked, curious as to where the short old man had come from.
"No, she lives in hell, where I sent her," Po Campo said quietly, startling everyone within hearing. "Her behavior was terrible, but she made good biscuits."Quoted on April 3, 2026
"Son, this is a sad thing," Augustus said. "Loss of life always is. But the life is lost for good. Don't you go attempting vengeance. You've got more urgent business. If I ever run into Blue Duck I'll kill him. But if I don't, somebody else will. He's big and mean, but sooner or later he'll meet somebody bigger and meaner. Or a snake will bite him or a horse will fall on him, or he'll get hung, or one of his renegades will shoot him in the back. Or he'll just get old and die."
He went over and tightened the girth on his saddle.
"Don't be trying to give back pain for pain," he said. "You can't get even measures in business like this. You best go find your wife."Quoted on April 4, 2026
"Oh, dern," Pea Eye said, feeling so sorrowful that he wanted to die himself.
No one had to ask him what he was derning about.Quoted on April 12, 2026