My newsletter role model Austin Kleon likes to read a big book every summer—in the past he has tackled hefty tomes such as DON QUIXOTE and MOBY-DICK. This year I decided to give it a try, and I knew which book I wanted—Larry McMurtry’s LONESOME DOVE.
There are so many holes in my literary game, so many books and movies and records that I’ve never read or seen or heard. (Confession: I have never watched THE GODFATHER all the way through, even though I know the whole movie through clips and osmosis.) For some reason, LONESOME DOVE stands out. Not only had I never read the book, I’ve never seen the beloved miniseries with Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall. I’ll watch the miniseries later. Books come first.
It actually took a while to track down a copy … I didn’t want to give Amazon my money, didn’t really want to order one at all. I wanted to find it in a bookstore, like it was waiting for me. I had no luck for a couple of months. But then while we were on vacation* last week, we stopped by a charming little place called Bay Books in Suttons Bay, Michigan. They had a rack of classics right next to the cash register, and there sat a copy of LONESOME DOVE, right in the middle.
*More on the vacation in an upcoming post!
I hadn’t quite realized what a thick-ass book it is—my copy is 864 pages, including a foreword by Taylor Sheridan (creator of the YELLOWSTONE universe) and a short intro by McMurtry himself. (Warning for anybody with this edition: DO NOT READ McMurtry’s intro before you read the book. He gives away a key plot point. Larry! What were you thinking?)
The other day I posted a note on Instagram saying I was about to read the book, and the prevailing theme in the comments was: I wish I could read it again for the first time. That’s the kind of endorsement you want to hear.
So far I’m about five chapters in—I’m trying to savor, not binge—and I’m already sucked into the world of Woodrow Call and Gus McCrae and the other characters in the dusty Texas town of Lonesome Dove. I don’t know where they’re headed, except that a cattle drive seems to be in the works. I can’t wait to find out.
Hop into the comments if you have a moment and share any Big Summer Book the rest of us ought to read … I’d also love to hear about your LONESOME DOVE experiences, as long as they’re spoiler-free.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a book to read.
—TT
My books DOGLAND and THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM are available in all formats pretty much everywhere books are sold.
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