Wow, what a novel. I’ve had this on my list of books to read for years, and I decided it was time to finally conquer it. This was quite the adventure, and my main regrets are a) that I didn’t read it sooner and b) that I didn’t read it faster. I consistently enjoyed the book and had fun reading it, but it took around 70 chapters in for me to be unable to put it down. Then, I read 30 chapters in a day, which helped me get immersed the universe.
The moment I realized this was an amazing book was a few chapters in when Gus is recounting his history with the Lonesome Dove sign. Some new people had just rolled into town (one of the first actual things to happen in the book), and the book takes a detour to explain the backstory of how Gus had started adding names to the sign, helping to flesh out the characters and their rich histories. Once I realized that I was sucked into what should have been such a boring backstory without realizing it, I knew I was reading the work of a master.
The character I keep coming back to most is Jake Spoon. The guy who was seen as a drifter, who went along with whatever circumstances he ended up in, was the guy who is really the catalyst for everything in this book. He shoots a dentist in Arkansas, causing July Johnson to chase after him, thereby triggering a sequence of events that results in Elmira leaving and eventually dying, as well as the deaths Roscoe, Joe, and Janey. And of course, his arrival in Lonesome Dove triggers the main plotline. He also woos Lorie and subsequently abandons her, leading to the Blue Duck subplot. I feel that the reader is given the same view of Jake that Lorie gets: he starts out nice and charming, and we progressively see his lack of moral fiber and his character flaws become more clear.
Despite how much he sucked, his death had the biggest impact on me. I was really rooting for him to stand up to the Suggs brothers, and seeing him end up with his old friends bringing him to justice because he wouldn’t take a stand just made me sad. His death was excellently done, and it’s interesting that his final and most intentional act is to spur his horse and bring about his own death. Seeing that he and Lorie didn’t even remember each other by the end of it also hit me kind of hard.
I can’t say I was super satisfied with the ending, but I enjoyed the journey a lot.
I read the synposis of the sequel Streets of Laredo, and I kind of regret it because I hate the plot, so I’m going to pretend this is a standalone book. I know this book is discussed pretty often, but I’d love to hear more thoughts on it.
by August_30th