Leaving Cheyenne: Amazon.ca: Larry Mcmurtry: Books

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Review

The New York Times Book Review A rarity...funny, wonderful, heartbreaking, exhilarating.

San Francisco Chronicle A compelling story...consummate skill.

The New York Times Book Review [Larry McMurtry is] a poet, a resonant scene-setter, and a master of voice.

The Houston Post What an imagination he has! When it comes to spinning a good yarn, few writers do it better than McMurtry. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Book Description

From the author of STREETS OF LAREDO, DEAD MAN'S WALK and COMANCHE MOON, a western which focuses on the lives of three Texan characters who follow the sundown trail. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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First Sentence
When I woke up Dad was standing by the bed shaking my foot. Read the first page

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Concordance

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Just another favorite from Larry McMurtry, Jun 21 2004

By

CamelCamelCamel - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaving Cheyenne (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't intend to write a full-on review; I figure there are enough here already. I just wanted to add my five-star rating to the overall, and summarize how I feel about this book.

It took a while to get started, but it subtly endeared its characters to me so much that I finished it off in a three-hour sitting. Before I knew it I loved the characters, I loved the book, and I was sad that it was over. And I guess that's that, huh?

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5.0 out of 5 stars Growing old together. . ., May 17 2004

By

Ronald Scheer "rockysquirrel" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Leaving Cheyenne (Mass Market Paperback)

Larry McMurtry grew up among ranchers and cowboys, and his familiarity with this rural world makes his early novels set in and around Thalia, Texas, genuinely alive with rich detail and believable characters. He knows this world as it's seen and understood by the people who live there, both young and old. Most revealingly (and colorfully) he knows how they really talk to each other and to themselves -- not in the stereotypical ways often ascribed to country people.

You read "Leaving Cheyenne" slowly (the reference is to an old cowboy ballad, not the town in Wyoming), savoring the re-creation of real times and places, even when the story itself may move with no great urgency. The insights into characters and the observance of their behavior make them come alive on the page, and you simply enjoy the portrayals of them, their values, beliefs, and experiences.

Part I of this novel is told from the point of view of Gideon, a rancher's son, about 20 years old, around the year 1920. There is his friend Johnny, from a neighboring ranch, and the two of them compete for the affection of Molly, a barefoot, independent-minded girl who willfully and unwisely marries another boy, an oilfield roustabout.

In Part II, it is 20 years later, during WWII, and Molly, now widowed, remains friends with the middle-aged Gideon and Johnny, each of whom happens to have fathered one of her two sons. This part is told from her point of view. Gideon has married another woman (also unwisely) and has become a prosperous rancher, while Johnny works for him, content to be a happy-go-lucky cowboy. Molly lives alone, her sons off to war, and yearns for the company of each of her two old friends and lovers.

In Part III, it is again 20 years later, about 1960 (the novel was published in 1962), and the three characters are now much older. Told from the point of view of Johnny, this section is farcically comical. Meanwhile, Gideon is haunted with guilt for his infidelities with Molly, and Johnny, as he says, has never lost a night's sleep feeling shame for anything he's ever done.

Written in 20-year jumps, the novel gives a sense of how quickly life passes and how people remain the adolescents they once were even as they age. We see that choices made in haste cannot be undone and can leave a life-long legacy of regret. Yet there is also solace in affection, loyalty, and tenderness of heart. The novel celebrates the special quality of friendship among friends who have lived their whole lives together in the same small rural community. And over the years, there is the land -- and working the land -- to ground their rural lives with purpose.

I recommend this novel, along with the author's "Horseman, Pass By," to anyone with an interest in cowboys and ranching. McMurtry captures rural western life and character in rich detail.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Book!, May 24 2003

By

Evelyn Horan (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaving Cheyenne (Mass Market Paperback)

Perhaps there is more to life, other than sex, especially as one grows older. What about enduring friendship? Three different characters, three different viewpoints. Thought-provoking narrative for the reader to ponder and consider as the country western song tells us: "time changes everything". Worthwhile read!
Evelyn Horan - teacher/counselor/children's author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Books One - Three

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars a unique concept well done
I read this book some years ago and I was very impressed. I enjoyed just about all of Larry McMurtry's early (pre-Lonesome Dove) works. Read more

Published on Mar 14 2002 by Randy Keehn

2.0 out of 5 stars A struggle to read.
It took quite a while for me to get into this book. I just finished reading Texasville prior to starting Leaving Cheyenne. I was expecting more after reading Texasville. Read more

Published on Mar 6 2002 by Todd