Boone's Lick

Though there seems to be no greater purpose to the story, if you're looking for a fun, easy yarn there's probably no better storyteller than Larry McMurtry, and no better setting than the American West. Boone's Lick touches on many Western tropes – bandits, a wagon trail breaking into new country, riled-up Indians – without ever transcending any of them, and the story ends abruptly. That this does not dissatisfy is largely down to McMurtry's abilities: the characterisation and vernacular are on point, as ever, and the prose is so effortless to read that you almost feel guilty, as a reader, for burning through hundreds of pages without once having to work for it.

Boone's Lick, unremarkable as it appears, is just plain fun, though in show more its brevity, its more overt comic tone and its first-person narrative, it reminds me more of Charles Portis' True Grit than McMurtry's own Lonesome Dove. It doesn't approach the calibre of either, and you won't remember this one for long afterwards, but you'll be happy to roll with every minute of it. show less

Westerns just really are not my genre, so if you enjoy them, your reaction may be entirely different than mine. Ma suspects Pa has an Indian wife out in Wyoming and decides to leave Boone's Lick, Missouri in search of Pa. Before they leave, Uncle Seth and Wild Bill Hickok join the sheriff in a posse. The sheriff is injured and resigns. Another sheriff takes his place and beats up Aunt Rosie who is a prostitute. The entire family sets out for the West, encountering hardships and Indians along the way. In order to prevent spoilers, I'll stop with the plot summary. There's definitely some of the typical action one expects in Westerns. Since I don't really enjoy the genre, I didn't really enjoy the book that much. It was, however, tolerable show more and fairly well-written from the perspective of one of the older sons in the family. show less

Not as epic as Lonesome Dove, this novel follows one family from Missouri to Wyoming, into the Fetterman Masacre. POV character is Sherman and his observations of his mother, his uncle, his brother G.T. and baby sister Marcy enliven the account of long slow travel up river and across the plains.

You either seem to really like McMurtry's stuff, or you really hate it. I liked this book.. a lot. A YA novel really, since the story is told from a 16 year old's perspective, but realistic, inventive and humorous. A nice novel of the tumultous years after the civil war, McMurtry pulls few punches when it comes to the morality of society during those times.

A fictional account of a Missouri family, led by the long suffering matriarch, who sets off in search of the wandering patriarch. Entertaining western, though quite brief, as has become the modus operandi of many financially successful authors.

15-year old Shay narrates an engaging tale from just after the Civil War, when his mother, Mary Margaret, becomes fed up with her husband Dick's regular year-long absences from their home in Boone's Lick, Missouri. She gathers up her children, father, brother-in-law and heads west to confront him. What ensues is an engaging and quirky tale of humor and adventure, pushed forward by the strength of Mary Margaret. A bit of an abrupt conclusion that moves forward several years, and it doesn't compare in depth and profundity with "Cold Mountain", a novel with a similar setting and theme, but this was quite a nice introduction to McMurtry's fiction, and I plan to read some more of it.

This book is funny and entertaining.