Tag: literature

The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry

My book club previously read Lonesome Dove by the same author. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. So when one of our members suggested this book for December, it won our vote. I finished reading it a couple weeks ago.

It is the story of three teenagers in rural Texas: Sonny, his best friend Duane, and Duane’s girlfriend Jacy, who Sonny has a crush on. They are all graduating high school and trying to figure out what to do with their lives. As the book opens, Sonny breaks up with his girlfriend. Without giving any spoilers, the three teens spend the rest of the book struggling to figure out relationships in general and their own with each other and the rest of the town.

This is not a cheery book with what anyone would call a happy ending. Some may call the harsh glimpse it gives “real”. For me, I think it is a little over the top, even soap opera-like. At least one of the characters is downright stupid and unlikable, at least for me. However, the writing is excellent and the emotions are spot on. It is a well structured, well written novel. I am just not sure it was meant for me. I prefer my novels to address whatever issues they bring up and show some ways to deal with them. There was a little of that. Don’t get me wrong. I like a cautionary tale, but this one somehow left me wondering what all the fuss was about this book.

My rating: 3/5

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

My book club reads classics in September. We unanimously selected this one this year. One of our members had already read it and really enjoyed. It was just okay for me.

Rebecca is the dead wife of Maxim DeWinter. The narrator meets him in Monte Carlo and they are soon married. They return to Max’s home in England. This home is almost a character in the house. The home revolved around the previous Mrs. DeWinter and her presence is still felt. The narrator feels smothered by her until a revelation halfway through the book changes the entire perspective of the novel.

There is a really creepy, closed in feeling in this book. It almost feels like a haunted house book but it isn’t. The writing is excellent but I quickly found the narrator naive and irritating. Still, the story is unique and well-told.

My rating: 3/5