101 Books, Number 22

Favorite Books Throughout My Life

23: Texasville, 1987, by Larry McMurtry (1936–)

I had not heard of him until

I saw the film Last Picture Show.

And it became just like a pill—

An addict, I just had to know

McMurtry’s other books, and so

I’ve read them all—from first to last.

Along the way I came to know

In many ways he’s unsurpassed—

At least in “getting” Texas folk.

He writes of rural—urban, too—

And never settles for a joke

But sinks his spade and digs right through.

And Texasville? From Sentence One,*

I loved it—did much more than smile!

And I was sorry it was done—

Some books are just an easy trial.

The film, I fear, was not so good,*

But that’s beyond the author’s pale:

A golden novel turned to wood—

A train diminished—monorail.

*“Duane was in the hot tub, shooting at his new doghouse with a .44 Magnum.”

**1990, also directed by Bogdanovich (as was The Last Picture Show, 1971); starring Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Cloris Leachman, Timothy Bottoms, Randy Quaid, et al.