Horseman, Pass By : A Novel (edition 2002)

I started this on the train back from Portland, and was immediately drawn in by the characters. I'll have to watch "Hud" after finishing the novel. ( )

I've seen the movie Hud so many times that it probably colored my perception of this book too much while I was reading it, and I'm sure I would have enjoyed Horseman, Pass By more if I had never seen the movie which was adapted from it; that said, I still enjoyed it a great deal. McMurtry's a terrific writer and his concise yet often aridly poetic prose captures the feel of coming of age in a small western town in the mid-20th century perfectly.Those who come to the book after having seen the movie will probably be shocked by the book's portrayal of the Hud character. In the movie, the titular character of Hud is a charming, likable (no doubt the benefit of being portrayed by the charismatic Paul Newman), although entirely self-interested rapscallion. In Horseman, Hud is something closer to a sociopath--a charming cad, still, but colder, more vicious, and even more indifferent to the feelings of other human beings. It makes the character as portrayed in the book a lot harder to take, but like the movie, the book isn't really about Hud so much as it is about Lonnie, and his Granddad, and their relationship to each other and to the changing West.I highly recommend both the book and the movie, but I have to admit that as fine as Horseman, Pass By is, the images from Hud are what is going to stick with me. ( )

This was the first McMurtry book that I read and I believe that it was quite good, despite my reluctance to read westerns. McMurtry's style was much more down to earth than say Lamour or Hillerman. His writing portrayed the prairie in a desolate way but also showed that it was full of life. He also did a great job of showing how frustrating and confusing it would be as a teenager, an pseudo orphan even, growing up on the outskirts of middle of nowhere town. The narration of Lonnie was very similar to what I remember as a teenager at that age. The most moving passages to me in the book had to deal with the Grandfather and his feelings about the ranch. Also, the slaughter of the infected cattle. There were very few overdone stereotypes or exaggerations of cliche scenes. I think I will be reading more of his work. ( )

This one is not necessarily my cup of tea, but I could see how Larry McMurtry is loved by many. That said, I kept expecting it to turn into Shane. And I'm wondering how the movie based on this book is named after its least likable character. ( )

An impressive short novel. I would be surprised if this is over 60k words. In that short span McMurtry tells a powerful story of the 1955 era Texas cattle country. Seventeen-year-old Lonnie tries to make sense of his relatives and friends as catastrophe grips his grandfather’s farm.

This is the novel that the movie “Hud” was based on, although the novel and the movie are very different. There are more characters in the novel, and the figure of Hud is different. In the novel, Hud has no redeeming characteristics; he never tries to befriend Lonnie. The cinema Hud seems to be an amalgam of several of the characters from the novel. In addition, the cook in the novel is a black woman, and Hud accomplishes the rape that is only threatened in the movie. That’s Hollywood.

Which is better? I think the movie gets the edge. In the novel Lonnie is coming to terms with everyone around him, in the movie the conflict is more clear, as is the contrast between Hud and the grandfather.

But they are both great - read the novel first, then see the movie.

www.samfsmith.com ( )