Rating: 
Summary: Beautifully Written!
Review: If I could possess any talent on earth, it would be to write as author McMurtry. His previous Lonesome Dove series ranks as my all time favorite books and I looked forward to reading Boone's Lick based on my experience with his earlier works. I was not disappointed. While much shorter than his previous novels, it nevertheless contained a beautifully written story about love and family. Set against the American West after the Civil War, it is the simple story of a woman taking her family westward to find her wayward husband. The characters of Mary Margaret Cecil and her brother in law Seth were wonderfully drawn in the sparse but evocative prose of the author.I read the other reviews posted and most seem to comment solely on the brevity of the book. Size should not matter if the content is good, and once again I found McMurtry delivers a story better than anyone. While the price is steep for such a short novel, the story is worth it. I only hope that this is the beginning of a new series for the author.
Rating: 
Summary: The word for it is "disappointed"
Review: Immediately before I began reading Boone's Lick I finished Leaving Cheyenne, which I enjoyed greatly, as I did all but one (Dead Man's Walk) of Larry McMurtry's books I'd read prior. I have no doubt that, while I've not been a voracious reader for very long, McMurtry is my favorite author. And this undoubtedly is why I was so disappointed in Boone's Lick. The first thing I noticed was how thin it is in comparison to his other novels. My fears for its length were definitely confirmed when I was halfway through before the Cecil family's journey, which I was led to believe was the plot, began. Other worries followed, such as my absolute hate for most of the characters. The adults of the book all strike me as selfish, obnoxious, pig-headed and cruel. The children, who I could sympathize with much more than the annoying adults, were just background fixtures. Besides Shay, our narrator, I got the feeling they were only mentioned occasionally when the author remembered they existed, and then only to make a token appearance. I assume he got tired of keeping track of one of the characters, so he arbitrarily had them disappear. What's especially disappointing is how appealing I found the synopsis; a tacit love of a man for his sister-in-law slowly made evident on the plains. Unfortunately this reveal is very clumsy, not to mention after the two characters in question spend two-thirds of the novel (and the rest after) arguing and really just not seeming to even like each other's company very much. Then it seemed Mr. McMurtry simply got bored with the book and ended it hastily and sloppily. For closure on these characters we never got a chance to get attached to anyway, we're given a sort of Dragnet "post-story summary:" so-and-so did this, so-and-so did that, so-and-so died a horrible death. Excuse me for presuming to know good writing, but I've heard your story's only worth telling if it's the most important story in your character's fictional "life." With the Cecil family it seems all the excitement happened years after the book ended. Now, hours after finishing it, I look back on it in disbelief. Disbelief that I could be expected to sympathize with such unlikable characters, disbelief at how under-developed the characters were from this author who's a master of characterization, and disbelief that, there I had been with just a quarter of the book left, and nothing had happened yet. I had kept waiting for the obnoxious characters to either be given dimension so that I could understand their odd ways, or at least be redeemed for their behavior, but it never came. I was hoping for another McMurtry classic but instead got a fast and slipshod story about wholly unlikable characters, and most disappointing of all, a wasted premise that was filled with potential excitement and poignancy.
Rating:
Summary: The word for it is "disappointed"
Review: Immediately before I began reading Boone's Lick I finished Leaving Cheyenne, which I enjoyed greatly, as I did all but one (Dead Man's Walk) of Larry McMurtry's books I'd read prior. I have no doubt that, while I've not been a voracious reader for very long, McMurtry is my favorite author. And this undoubtedly is why I was so disappointed in Boone's Lick. The first thing I noticed was how thin it is in comparison to his other novels. My fears for its length were definitely confirmed when I was halfway through before the Cecil family's journey, which I was led to believe was the plot, began. Other worries followed, such as my absolute hate for most of the characters. The adults of the book all strike me as selfish, obnoxious, pig-headed and cruel. The children, who I could sympathize with much more than the annoying adults, were just background fixtures. Besides Shay, our narrator, I got the feeling they were only mentioned occasionally when the author remembered they existed, and then only to make a token appearance. I assume he got tired of keeping track of one of the characters, so he arbitrarily had them disappear. What's especially disappointing is how appealing I found the synopsis; a tacit love of a man for his sister-in-law slowly made evident on the plains. Unfortunately this reveal is very clumsy, not to mention after the two characters in question spend two-thirds of the novel (and the rest after) arguing and really just not seeming to even like each other's company very much. Then it seemed Mr. McMurtry simply got bored with the book and ended it hastily and sloppily. For closure on these characters we never got a chance to get attached to anyway, we're given a sort of Dragnet "post-story summary:" so-and-so did this, so-and-so did that, so-and-so died a horrible death. Excuse me for presuming to know good writing, but I've heard your story's only worth telling if it's the most important story in your character's fictional "life." With the Cecil family it seems all the excitement happened years after the book ended. Now, hours after finishing it, I look back on it in disbelief. Disbelief that I could be expected to sympathize with such unlikable characters, disbelief at how under-developed the characters were from this author who's a master of characterization, and disbelief that, there I had been with just a quarter of the book left, and nothing had happened yet. I had kept waiting for the obnoxious characters to either be given dimension so that I could understand their odd ways, or at least be redeemed for their behavior, but it never came. I was hoping for another McMurtry classic but instead got a fast and slipshod story about wholly unlikable characters, and most disappointing of all, a wasted premise that was filled with potential excitement and poignancy.
Rating:
Summary: McMurtry tells another GREAT story ...
Review: Is it Lonesome Dove? No. Is it Pulitzer Prize material? No. Is it vintage McMurtry? Yes. I have a 2.5 hour automobile commute daily to work -- I listen to audio books regularly. Larry McMurtry can captivate my attention BETTER than most authors writing today. The characters are probably just like people you have in your extended family AND some of them are probably like no one you have ever known. This is a fun book to read. I believe you will enjoy it, if you like McMurtry's style.
Rating: 
Summary: Could be better, but it's McMurtry!
Review: It can't compare with the Lonesome Dove series, but it's pleasant enough reading and carries the reader along on the journey. A bit more effort on character development would have made reader identification stronger. But the story and the writing are much better than most run-of-the-mill westerns.
Evelyn Horan - children's author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Books One-Three
Rating:
Summary: A good read, but thin.
Review: June 25, 2002 'Boone's Lick' is typically entertaining McMurtry, but
it's short--mighty short, as one of the author's own
creations might say. 'Boone's Lick' isn'y worth full
hardcover price, but it is a pleasant afternoon's read. In certain recent novels--like this effort and like
'Commanche Moon'--it seems to me that McMurtry has
become interested in parodying himself. In that way
he's begun to remind me of David Mamet; an artist
with a unique mode of expressing character delving
deeper and deeper into his own trademark style. I
dunno, maybe it's just me. Hopefully McMurtry pull back on the stick before he
hits the ground (as Mamet seems to have done in his
films). About two thirds of the way through 'Boone's
Lick' I knew intuitively that the story was not
building towards any specific climax. Character, it
seems, has become all. Maybe, but a touch more plot wouldn't hurt.
Rating:
Summary: A good read, but thin.
Review: June 25, 2002 'Boone's Lick' is typically entertaining McMurtry, but
it's short--mighty short, as one of the author's own
creations might say. 'Boone's Lick' isn'y worth full
hardcover price, but it is a pleasant afternoon's read. In certain recent novels--like this effort and like
'Commanche Moon'--it seems to me that McMurtry has
become interested in parodying himself. In that way
he's begun to remind me of David Mamet; an artist
with a unique mode of expressing character delving
deeper and deeper into his own trademark style. I
dunno, maybe it's just me. Hopefully McMurtry pull back on the stick before he
hits the ground (as Mamet seems to have done in his
films). About two thirds of the way through 'Boone's
Lick' I knew intuitively that the story was not
building towards any specific climax. Character, it
seems, has become all. Maybe, but a touch more plot wouldn't hurt.
Rating: 
Summary: A novella of the Old West
Review: Just as the tiny town of Lonesome Dove was the starting point for a journey in Larry McMurtry's book of the same name, so also is Boone's Lick in this yarn by the same author. In LONESOME DOVE, we followed the adventures of two Texas Rangers turned cattle ranchers driving a herd from the banks of the Rio Grande to Montana. In BOONE'S LICK, we have a family of sodbusters, the Cecils, traversing the plains between Missouri and Wyoming shortly after the Civil War. The family is led by the mother, Mary Margaret, whose intent is to find her husband, gone these past 14 months and presumably living at one of the Army's frontier forts, possibly with an Indian woman. Along for the ride are Mary's children (G.T., Shay, Neva, and Marcy), her brother-in-law Seth, her half-sister Rosie, and her aged Pa. Also attaching themselves to the group are an old French priest, Fr.Villy, and a native guide, Charlie Seven Days. Whereas LONESOME DOVE was a truly epic tale, both as a book and as one of the best TV miniseries ever broadcast, BOONE'S LICK is less ambitious, but enjoyable nonetheless. The character of Seth was sufficiently similar to that of Gus McCrae in the LONESOME DOVE screenplay that I could easily imagine McRae's Robert Duvall playing the part if BOONE'S LICK is ever brought to the screen. (Picturing Duvall as Seth added considerably to my enjoyment.) Author McMurtry's style is very similar in both stories. He doesn't downplay the hardships and dangers of cross-country travel at that time and place in American history. But he doesn't ignore rustic Western humor either. When, while traveling by riverboat, Seth remarks to Mary Margaret that one of the crew, Joel, is thinking about marrying Rosie, MM retorts, "I don't think he's aiming that high. But he's aiming." Indeed, the verbal interplay between the crusty, independent Seth and the determined, strong-willed Mary Margaret is one of the storyline's major joys. This is not a great book by any stretch, mainly because it's a novella masquerading as a full-length novel (with a full-length novel's price tag). However, the characters are well drawn, the dialog seemingly authentic for the period, and the action believable. You can read it in a two to three hours, and it's time well spent.
Rating: 
Summary: Lonesome Dove Lite
Review: Larry McMurtry is a very uneven writer...his "Lonesome Dove" series was excellent, as was "Buffalo Girls". The more modern stories, such as "Texasville" did not hold my interest at all. So, when I saw Boone's Lick I was thrilled. I bought it and anticipated great enjoyment in it. Well....the POTENTIAL for a good story is there...the good story, however never gets fleshed out. It's like the difference between intricate tapestry and big clumsy stitches...Boone's Lick being the second. This book really belongs in a magazine as a short story...one that does not tax you with details, rather than as a full-priced book.
Rating:
Summary: funny and bright
Review: Larry McMurtry never gets old. This book is funny and bright, a very light read after Lonesome Dove and Streets of Loredo have taken it all out of you. I love the characters, how they flow together, how they work so well off of one another. It has all the elements of delightful humor without being dumb. When your reading this book, your there, you can see it happening in all the ways the Mr. McMurtry describes. You want to be part of it all, and in a way you really are.
| 
