Declare Of Books Terms of Endearment (Houston Series #3)
| Title | : | Terms of Endearment (Houston Series #3) |
| Author | : | Larry McMurtry |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 416 pages |
| Published | : | June 1st 2000 by Orion Publishing Group (first published 1975) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Classics |
Larry McMurtry
Paperback | Pages: 416 pages Rating: 4.15 | 23714 Users | 377 Reviews
Chronicle In Pursuance Of Books Terms of Endearment (Houston Series #3)
I just finished off this novel with a session of sobbing that could easily rival a graveside funeral of a beloved friend.I'm not kidding. What I just went through was the total opposite of a good cry.
It was fitting, though. This has been an incredible journey, one that I started with Larry McMurtry in July of this year.
You see. . . Terms of Endearment and The Evening Star are two of McMurtry's best known novels, but many readers don't realize that they are actually books #3 and #6 of his Houston series. I was one of these readers, originally, and I read this novel alone, and liked it, but I spent more time comparing it to the famous movie then I did focusing on the writing or character development.
It's okay. Each one of the stories in this series can stand on its own and survive any confused chronology, especially given their own circuitous overlaps. But now that I started properly this year with Moving On and then All My Friends are Going to Be Strangers, two wonderful and awful things happened. . . I became more deeply invested in the characters and. . . I became more deeply invested in the characters!
And what a character we have here, in Aurora Greenway, made famous, of course, by Shirley MacLaine's portrayal of her in the movie. . . but let's forget about all of that for now.
For now, let me tell you, I loved every page. I never wanted the book to end. I read it as slowly as I could, in the hopes that I could prolong my relationship with Aurora. She is one of the most ridiculous fictional women ever to appear in print, and I can NOT BELIEVE my delicious good fortune, that I will meet her again in book #6, The Evening Star.
Do not confuse Larry's Houston series with his Westerns, please, these here are city folks. But, when it comes to Larry, it doesn't matter who you are or where you live; as a writer, he is only concerned with matters of the heart.
And, it's here. It's all here: love, sex, marriage, monogamy, infidelity, insecurity, life and mortality. The man can not help but pick up every stone and stare at it and then tell you what it says.
The times depicted here are the early 1960s and 70s in Texas and we encounter wives being beaten by bad husbands, double standards everywhere for women, and too many disappointments to share, but Aurora and her daughter, Emma, also represent, at different times, the maiden, the mother, the queen and the crone. Through them, we are able to see both the limitations and the potential for all women, at all times.
I hold this one so close to my heart, I almost can't stand the bittersweet joy of it.
Larry's been “accused” of writing women better than most female writers and damn it if I don't agree with that assessment.
I tip my hat to you again, Cowboy.
List Books Concering Terms of Endearment (Houston Series #3)
| Original Title: | Terms of Endearment |
| ISBN: | 075283455X (ISBN13: 9780752834559) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Houston |
| Series: | #3 |
| Setting: | Houston, Texas(United States) |
Rating Of Books Terms of Endearment (Houston Series #3)
Ratings: 4.15 From 23714 Users | 377 ReviewsAssessment Of Books Terms of Endearment (Houston Series #3)
I am sorry to say I have DNF'd this one. I resolve to give any book 100 pages to engage with me, and if it doesn't, I move on. Perhaps if I had not just pushed myself through Lolita, I might have pushed myself to finish this one because it was a group read, but alas I did not. I have read McMurtry books that were wonderful, but this one left me not only flat, but thoroughly aggravated. I did not care for Aurora, I felt rather inclined to strangle her just to shut her up. Then it occurred to meIn terms of the relationships between men and women, this book feels quite dated. In terms of the relationship between mother (Aurora Greenaway) and daughter (Emma Horton), I suspect that many readers will either identify with, or certainly acknowledge the truthfulness, of the portrayal. Aurora is one of McMurtry's finest characters - in a large stable of fine and memorable characters. She is a monster of selfishness in many ways: vain, idle, narcissistic, mercurial and self-indulgent. In the
McMurtry reminds me a little of John Irving in that he will take a character, usually a secondary one and give this whole rambling back story that can be really boring but works for them. Terms of Endearment was marketed as a mother-daughter story but I think it was more about Aurora. She is CLASSIC! she comes across as confident and witty and whip-smart (which she is) but really the overconfidence is covering major insecurity. She needs men to make her feel powerful and sexy. She needs to be
Having recently read "Lonesome Dove" I realized it had been many years since I'd first read this book. A film buff the Oscar winning movie is memorable, especially Shirley McClain's characterization of Aurora Greenwood, one of the most unique characters every created by any author. I'd forgotten the character Jack Nicholson plays in the film isn't originally in the book, though the trio of Aurora's suitors are just as quirky and would love to have seen them in the film. Regardless Larry shows
I saw the movie when it first came out. It was a tear-jerker at the end. Same thing with the book--the last section is mostly in Emma's perspective and just as heartbreaking as I remember the movie was.The most surprising thing about the book was how little it actually followed the movie. Spoiler alert--there is no Garrett Breedlove character in the book. The paperback edition I read must have come out after the movie. It had a middle section of photos of Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger and Jeff
About the only thing I remember about this one is a wealthy oilman who lives in a Lincoln Continental thats parked on the twenty-fourth floor of a parking garage he owns in downtown Houston. He spends a lot of time on his car phone, a rare & expensive luxury in those days. Here's TX Monthly again, https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-cult... "The New York Times critic Janet Maslin was so impressed at his ability to capture the inner lives of women in Terms of Endearment that she would later seek
Newsday says that Larry McMurtry can write convincingly from a woman's viewpoint and its so true. He must have known some woman who confided endless details. Very few men can do this. I liked the movie better than the book. There are details about many thing I would prefer not to know but he goes into them. I heard the story about the man who drove onto the dance floor at a honky tonk but this was a different story. I wonder if it happened more than once.This story is much too sad. Its one of
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