This book touched my heart, made me laugh so many times, made me mad and made me cry. Update: Finally able to talk about the book. It's something to try to constantly keep in mind for sure, but not something to keep you from reading this fantastic book. Except for one character's brief mention of 'well, they didn't invite us on this land,' the issues surrounding white settlers effectively stealing the land of another people is not addressed.

My only criticism of the book is the way in which it plays into classic Western stereotypes, particularly its portrayal of nearly every Native American character as a brutal savage. I was so engrossed in this book that I had no problem regularly making a fool of myself in public places - on the subway, in coffee shops - gasping, weeping, and shouting 'Nuh-uh!' I feel that the depth of the characters allowed me to do something I can rarely do with the real people I encounter on a daily basis in my life - to truly know each and every one of them so fully and so deeply so as to be able to wholly sympathize with them and genuinely understand the motivations behind their actions, no matter how much I might disapprove. I came to absolutely love characters I was so thoroughly annoyed with earlier in the book. The characters in this story are more real than in any other book I've read. I don't think I made it past the 60th page before I knew I had 'lost' the bet. If at page 101 I had warmed up to it, I had to finish. When I was thirty pages into it and complaining to him about being unable to handle any more discussion about horses and beans, he made me a bet: If I got to page 101 (out of 900, mind you) and I still didn't enjoy it, he'd take me out to dinner at any restaurant I wanted in New York City. I was only willing to read this book because a friend told me I had to.

Larry mcmurtry lonesome dove series