Will I love The Last Picture Show?

In contrast to his books about the Old West, McMurtry’s contemporary Westerns tell a more unvarnished truth. I read this book for the umpteenth time just prior to beginning my first novel, Where the Hurt Is. My book was a crime novel. McMurtry’s was a coming-of-age story. Nevertheless, his depiction of his book’s quasi-fictional Thalia, Texas rang so many bells and reminded me so much of the small Oklahoma towns where I grew up, I can’t deny being influenced by it.

At times, I would grow short of breath as I was reminded of parallel characters and events from… show more.

I love this story! It’s a wonderful romp through the lives of the characters, characters who are like everyday people that we could know.

It’s at once bizarre yet relatable, imaginative yet real, and just all-around fantastic. This is a story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading the first time and one that I would read again.

I’ve read this book twice. I read it first as a teenager anxious to escape my rural upbringing, seeing more of the ugly in the written words, the dying town, and the bitterness and hopelessness exhibited by some of the characters.
But reading it as an adult some years removed from my country roots, I saw it in a different light. Then it pulled me into the kindness and sense of community that is almost unique to rural areas, such as the way Sam keeps a kind eye on the young folks of the town, especially those he fears may… show more.