Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
Spring 2011
Citation
Great Plains Quarterly 31:2 (Spring 2011).
Abstract
Literary Life is the second entry of Larry McMurtry's projected trilogy of memoirs. The first, Books (2008), recalls his lifelong avocation as book scout, dealer, and eventually bookstore owner. The yet-to-be-published third, Hollywood, will relate his experiences as a screenwriter. Literary Life takes as its subject McMurtry's career as prolific writer and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lonesome Dove (1985).
Let it be said right off the bat that this slim volume is a mess, a lazy, sloppy collection of random memories that lacks anything resembling a coherent structure. Though it begins at the beginning-with the young McMurtry reading boys' adventure stories in his dusty West Texas hometown of Archer City-chronology as the book's organizing principle is only loosely adhered to. At one point, for example, recounting his years at Rice University in Houston as a student and later teacher, he suddenly mentions the death of John Updike (which occurred in 2009) and recalls meeting Updike and carrying on a brief correspondence with him. Such jarring leaps are not uncommon throughout.
Comments
Copyright © 2011 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska.