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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | PRZS3000001922 | PS3563.A319 E94 1992 | Open Access Book | Creative Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
Larry McMurtry's "Terms of Endearment" touched readers in a way no other story has in recent years. The earthy humor and the powerful emotional impact that set this novel apart rise to brilliant new heights with "The Evening Star." McMurtry takes us deep into the heart of Texas, and deep into the heart of one of the most memorable characters of our time, Aurora Greenway -- along with her family, friends, and lovers -- in a tale of affectionate wit, bittersweet tenderness, and the unexpected turns that life can take. This is Larry McMurtry at his very best: warm, compassionate, full of comic invention, an author so attuned to the feelings, needs, and desires of his characters that they possess a reality unique in American fiction.
Author Notes
Larry McMurtry, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, among other awards, is the author of twenty-four novels, two collections of essays, two memoirs, more than thirty screenplays, & an anthology of modern Western fiction. He lives in Archer City, Texas.
(Publisher Provided)
Reviews 3
Publisher's Weekly Review
Here old age and death catch up with some beloved McMurtry characters familiar to readers since Terms of Endearment . Willful, tart-tongued Aurora Greenway and her outspoken maid and confidante, Rose Dunlup, sp ok? yes are in their 70s when this book begins; Aurora's lover, Gen. Hector Scott, is nearing 90. Their eccentricities have been exacerbated by the passing of years. Still greedy for life and sexual fulfillment, Aurora convinces Hector that they need psychoanalysis to ensure his better performance; then she begins an affair with the therapist, who is 30 years her junior. Aurora's grandchildren, the legacy of her dead daughter, Emma, are painfully neurotic: former dope dealer Tommy is in prison for manslaughter; though trying maintain mental stability with Jane and their adorable baby, Teddy again comes close to breakdown; pregnant Melissa's feckless boyfriend abandons her for a woman with a Ferrari. The vicissitudes of all these lives occupy the overlong narrative, which blends humor and bathos, snappy dialogue and tedious conversations. When McMurtry is at his best, as in capturing the wise and witty exchanges between Aurora and Rosie, the novel is irresistible. Often, however, the meandering `meanders' in next review. I have restored because the word is important here. Let's move the reviews around. Please lift this one and place it 3rd or 4th in the drop. thanks sss plot seems interminable. Readers who quit in frustration will miss the poignant last third of the novel, in which several lives come to a close. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club featured alternate. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
McMurtry's latest offering is a continuation of Terms of Endearment featuring many of the characters that appeared in that novel--notably the irascible and indomitable Aurora Greenway, one of the great female characters in recent fiction. Here Aurora displays the same tough-and-tender character traits that helped get her through the death of her daughter, Emma, at the close of Terms; but, being older, the vagaries of life and fate are nevertheless beginning to wear her down. The story picks up several years after Emma's death, when Aurora's three grandchildren (the children of Emma) have all grown up into troubled adulthood. Tommy, the oldest, is in prison for killing his girlfriend; brother Teddy is a depressive genius prone to nervous breakdowns; sister Melanie is fat, pregnant, and demonstrably incapable of finding a decent man. It is testimony to McMurtry's consummate skills as a writer that he can wring a great deal of humor out of the trials and tribulations of this ill-starred family--which he does, most often and most memorably, by recounting Aurora's complicated romantic entanglements with a series of aged, and generally eccentric, suitors. But, as always in a McMurtry novel, the humor is offset by a lot of tragedy, sorrow, and death--especially death. All of this is McMurtry's way of telling us that life is sometimes joyous, frequently painful, and usually unpredictable. Fortunately, it can also be downright hilarious, as readers of this book are certain to discover. (Reviewed Apr. 15, 1992)0671685198Steve Weingartner
Library Journal Review
McMurtry's latest novel picks up Aurora Greenway's life 17 years after her exploits in Terms of Endearment . Now in her mid-60s, Aurora still manages to both enchant and infuriate with her queenly world view and unswerving tastes, including a perpetual quest for new beaux. The capricious, generally directionless characters lead lives fraught with whimsy but also with sorrow, a sense of time escaping before life's real purpose is revealed. The cast includes General Scott, Aurora's increasingly senile ``old boyfriend''; her maid and best friend, Rosie; her three grown grandchildren, all slightly damaged in some central way; as well as a variety of suitors. The connections between people in this novel, characterized by humor and serenity, run deep and sympathetic. Yet, as in life, there is a fair quotient of the unexpected and the tragic. McMurtry speaks from the heart with the gentle voice of acceptance. Don't miss this rare and wonderful book. Highly recommended for all audiences. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/92.--Marilyn Jordan, Keiser Coll. Lib., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
