I just finished Texasville this week and have mixed feelings about it. This is Larry McMurtry's sequel to The Last Picture Show, and it takes place in the oil-glut 80s, with many of the characters from the 1950s story. Duane has become an oil millionaire but is going bankrupt, his wife Karla is a compulsive spender and their 4 good-looking children are hellions. Jacy comes back to Thalia from Italy, where she was a minor movie actress. Sonny is losing his marbles. It's a strange shift in tone from the earlier book. The first novel was very spare and this one is more broadly comic and meanders all over the place. There's a lot of screwing around and midlife discontent; the action builds around the town's centennial pageant. As a description of its time and place (the 80s post-boom Texas oil years) it hits the mark, but it probably could have been about 200 pages shorter. I think I'll Netflix the movie version to see what they made of it. But I don't think I'll bother to check out the third book in the trilogy, Duane's Depressed. I feel like I've spent enough time with this confused bunch. And yet, as someone in the same age bracket, the moral dissolution and confusion seems somehow identifiable, when viewed through the filter of that era (remember the over-the-top Nieman Marcus catalogs of the pre-bust 80s)? Perhaps when McMurtry wrote The Last Picture Show, he was looking further back into his past and could keep the story simpler. The spare prose matched the sere landscape. Now the marital meandering and farcical plot turns seem to echo Monty Python's "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life": Life's a piece of shit, When you look at it./ Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true./ You'll see it's all a show, Keep 'em laughing as you go./Just remember that the last laugh is on you." I ultimately didn't know what to feel towards these broadly-drawn characters -- the lampooning almost reduces the peripheral characters to buffoons, with Duane as the straight man reacting to their foolishness. Karla and Jacy largely remain enigmas. Maybe the confusion and depression is an accurate reflection of midlife angst, but I doubt it.
I enjoyed following the perils of Duane's life. Since I read this series completely out of order, I had many questins as to how Duane had ended up with Karla and why his relationship with Sonny had more or less fizzled out. Duane, as a middle-aged man, felt more sorry for himself than for those around him. The characters in the book treated him mainly with disdain. I suppose I understand why they would but I still felt sorry for him. Additionally, his children were so wild! He never seemed to take responsibility for it and just let them be. It makes it much more comprehensible as to how he ends up depressed in later books. Truthfully, I never liked Karla. I liked her even less in this book than in "Duane's Depressed." Duane's disconnect from those around him is merely touched on in later books where he reflects on what has happened to Jacy. Maybe men are just less out of touch with the power of friendship, loyalty and the reasons we stay in touch with others. All over, I did not put this book down. I read it in 1 day. Maybe it was because I wanted to finish the story to understand the whole picture (as I said I read the series out of order) or maybe it was because I was attached to Duance. I do know one thing. I have to go back and reread the Danny Deck books that I read 10 years ago as I don't really remember them and Danny is brought back in this book, only mentioned, but nonetheless brought back. Yet again, another Larry McMurtry book that doesn't fail to capture my interest. He is truly the best American writer regardless of the genre or time period.
What do You think about Texasville (1999)?
This book will not make the world a better place. It will not cure cancer or give one a glimpse at the true meaning of life. The characters are vibrant, sincere, and interesting, but also, not tremendously realistic. However, that said, it is an absolutely fantastic read. The story, while mostly just being about the day to day life in a small Texas town, was extremely engaging. There are moments of true depth, and yet there is also plenty of light hearted humor. I guess the main reason I felt it warranted a five star rating was that this is one of those books that you find yourself furiously reading to find out what happens (or doesn't happen) next, while dreading the moment when the last page has been read.
—Roy Pierce III
If I could give this book 6 or even 10 stars, I would."Texasville" takes us back to Thalia, Texas, thirty-some years after the events of "The Last Picture Show." (McMurtry has taken a few liberties with the timelines of the series, which bothers me a little but not much; anyway, "Texasville" takes place in 1986) and we once again meet up with Duane, Sonny, Jacy, Ruth Popper and Genevieve.Whereas LPS focused most on Sonny, T-ville is Duane's story. Duane has made his fortune in oil and is living
—Aimee
I didn't either. As soon as I read the first sequel I realized that it was going to ruin the memory of a very good book so I quit immediately and tried to repress the memory. (Of course your review just revived it!)
—Kurt Reichenbaugh
