I finish the book this morning, and thereby finish with the character of Duane Moore. Larry McMurtry first introduced Duane in his 1966 novel THE LAST PICTURE SHOW. Though I saw the movie in 1969, I did not read the book until 2007. Then I proceeded to read the rest of the series---TEXASVILLE & DUANE'S DEPRESSED---before concluding with last year's WHEN THE LIGHT GOES and now RHINO RANCH.
Has there ever been another writer who sustained a character over 43 years? I do not know of one.
I grew fond of Duane, a good old boy from a small town in Texas. He blunders along through life though he does do well financially with oil, and he's able to retire comfortably. He is very provincial, and I laughed when his shrink, Honor Carmichael, gets him to read Proust to broaden his horizons. The family is crazy, and I laugh when one of his grandsons, Willy, becomes a Rhodes Scholar. Willy seems to be the only Moore who escapes Texas.
Everything in the series seems to happen by accident----for these people, life is accidental for no one ever seems to plan anything to fruition. Sometimes I think I'm reading Thomas Hardy.
The novel builds on the previous 4 in the series. If you haven't read the preceeding volumes, don't bother with this one.
You can say this book is shallow and superficial, and it is, but it's enjoyable if you've read and like the previous books in the series and if you wish to know what happens to Duane Moore, and I qualifiy on both counts.
McMurtry races through the final years. I laugh when Duane goes to Europe. Aren't we all supposed to cross the Atlantic before we die? Someone told me about flying to England. From Atlanta you fly up the East Coast then up over Nova Scotia and across the pond. It seems funny but it makes sense when you look at the globe.
Goodbye, Duane. I will miss you.
No comments:
Post a Comment