The Bookworm Sez: McMurtry novel moseys through the Old West

The Bookworm Sez: McMurtry novel moseys through the Old West

Every good thing must come to an end.

In some cases, that’s a surprising relief: you can only have just so much fun.

In other cases, though, the end comes quietly, slowly, so that few actually realize it until it’s already crept away. That includes friendships and ways of life, and in “The Last Kind Words Saloon” by Larry McMurtry (c.2014, Liveright, $24.95, 199 pages), it’s almost closin’ time.

Every cowboy in Texas knew that Charlie Goodnight possessed exceptional hearing and vision: Charlie could see and hear anything on the plains, but that didn’t stop him from going into a partnership with a showy Englishman who had no sense.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

It was odd, but it wasn’t all bad. When Lord Ernle had a little accident, Charlie ended up with land, cattle, and a half-done mansion on the ridge near Long Grass — which was “nearly in Kansas, but not quite… nearly in New Mexico, too, but not quite… might be in Texas.”

Finally, Charlie’s wife, Mary, got the house she wanted. And when the exotic beauty everybody thought was Ernle’s concubine moved in, Mary got the woman-friend she wanted, too.

The mansion — and the man who planned it — had been the talk of Long Grass. Doc Holliday hoped he might perform dental surgery on the staff who’d arrived on the Englishman’s behalf, and make a little money. Wyatt Earp didn’t say much about the bagpipers, the Englishman’s butcher, or his chef — but then again, Wyatt was a man of few words anyhow.

Maybe he was thinking about his wife, Jessie. Sometimes, she seemed to hate him. And sometimes, it was the other way around.

With nothing to do in Long Grass but drink, the commotion the Englishman brought was welcome — for a time. So was the job that Doc and Wyatt took in Denver, but that didn’t work out, either. They’d heard that Tombstone, Arizona was looking for lawmen and, since Wyatt’s brothers were looking for jobs, it seemed right to head southwest …

Here’s why I always like novels by author Larry McMurtry: they’re told so casually. The story is easy; it moseys in little slices of humor and relaxed discomfort, and the characters are even-tempered. The horrifying blood-and-torture violence — and there’s always plenty of that — is written lovingly but offhanded, as though McMurtry is reciting a menu and, by the way, would you shut the door, please?

“The Last Kind Words Saloon” follows this storytelling method, but this novel seemed almost like a one-off. It’s short, first of all: at just under 200 pages, it’s almost a novelette. It meanders a little more than most McMurtry books and there are interesting plotlines that die all too soon.

And yet — who could resist a tale of friendship that’s so Lonesome-Dove-like? Who could turn away a novel that seems to quietly close the Old West by bringing its biggest characters together with some of McMurtry’s?

I know I couldn’t, and if you like good storytelling, then you’ll want to read it, too. “The Last Kind Words Saloon” is a book you won’t want to end.

The Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer. Email her at bookwormsez@yahoo.com.

More in Life

This sweet and tangy roasted spaghetti squash dish includes blended tomato and goat cheese sauce. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
A list for life’s challenges

Roasted spaghetti squash is blended with tomato and goat cheese sauce for a sweet and tangy meal.

Carey Restino of Homer Hilltop Farm rearranges flowers at her booth during the first market of 2025 on Saturday, May 24. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
Farmers Market kicks off season

The local market has been operating seasonally since 2000.

Boats gather offshore the Homer Spit in honor of the 2025 Blessing of the Fleet on Tuesday, May 20 at the Seafarer’s Memorial on the Homer Spit. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
‘Blessing of the Fleet’ remembers, honors sacrifices of local mariners

Community members quietly gathered in somber reflection of lives lost to the sea over the past year.

tease
‘Share our gifts with the world’

Local artist creates vibrant body of work and renews her artistic journey.

Author Ruth Ozeki gives her keynote presentation at the 23rd annual Kachemak Bay Writers Conference on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at Kachemak Bay Campus in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Literary citizenship and communities of one

Author Ruth Ozeki was the keynote presenter for the 23rd annual Kachemak Bay Writer’s Conference last weekend.

File
Minster’s Message: The high value of faithfulness

The quality of faithfulness in your life to God and Christian teachings has a quiet, steady reward that sooner or later.

This decadent pie is made with rich coconut milk and a pile of sweetened whipped cream. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
A send-off rich with love and coconut

Decadent coconut cream pie is made with rich coconut milk, a pile of sweetened whipped cream, and a whole lot of love.

U.S. Army Captain Edwin F. Glenn led an 1898 military exploration of Cook Inlet. Glenn and his crew, who were departing the inlet at about the same time that the Kings County Mining Company was arriving, left behind a journal of the expedition. That journal, archived in the Alaska Digital Archives, included daily notations about the weather.
Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska adventure — Part 6

They cruised around a bit and then returned to Homer on Oct. 10 after “a most tranquil and pleasant passage.”

Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)
Life in the Pedestrian Lane: Time flies

In years past, we would be hearing from friends Outside that they are on their way to Alaska.

Most Read