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Houston #4
Somebody's Darling
The personal and professional struggles of McMurtry’s lively protagonist Jill Peel, a director in 1970s Hollywood, takes on new resonance in the twenty-first century.
Forty years ago, Larry McMurtry journeyed from the sprawling ranches of his early work to the provocative Sunset Strip, creating a Hollywood fable that is both immediate and relevant in today’s dynamic cultural climate. One would never guess that Jill Peel is still on the verge of stardom. Jill won an Oscar shortly after her fresh-faced arrival in 1950s Hollywood, then for the next twenty years batted away every Tinseltown producer who tried to hire her and get her into bed. Now middle-aged, she’s determined to create more movie magic by directing a cast of raunchy eccentrics, including Joe Percy, an aging womanizing screenwriter, and ex-football player Owen Oarson, eager to sleep his way to leading-man stardom. Teeming with biting humor and intriguing characters that mirror the scandals of modern-day Hollywood, Somebody’s Darling is a timeless story about a fiercely capable woman who dares to challenge the realities of a deceptively seductive Babel.
372 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
Larry McMurtry
167 books4,635 followersLarry Jeff McMurtry was an American novelist, essayist, and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas. His novels included Horseman, Pass By (1962), The Last Picture Show (1966), and Terms of Endearment (1975), which were adapted into films. Films adapted from McMurtry's works earned 34 Oscar nominations (13 wins). He was also a prominent book collector and bookseller.
His 1985 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Lonesome Dove was adapted into a television miniseries that earned 18 Emmy Award nominations (seven wins). The subsequent three novels in his Lonesome Dove series were adapted as three more miniseries, earning eight more Emmy nominations. McMurtry and co-writer Diana Ossana adapted the screenplay for Brokeback Mountain (2005), which earned eight Academy Award nominations with three wins, including McMurtry and Ossana for Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2014, McMurtry received the National Humanities Medal.
In Tracy Daugherty's 2023 biography of McMurtry, the biographer quotes critic Dave Hickey as saying about McMurtry: "Larry is a writer, and it's kind of like being a critter. If you leave a cow alone, he'll eat grass. If you leave Larry alone, he'll write books. When he's in public, he may say hello and goodbye, but otherwise he is just resting, getting ready to go write."
His 1985 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Lonesome Dove was adapted into a television miniseries that earned 18 Emmy Award nominations (seven wins). The subsequent three novels in his Lonesome Dove series were adapted as three more miniseries, earning eight more Emmy nominations. McMurtry and co-writer Diana Ossana adapted the screenplay for Brokeback Mountain (2005), which earned eight Academy Award nominations with three wins, including McMurtry and Ossana for Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2014, McMurtry received the National Humanities Medal.
In Tracy Daugherty's 2023 biography of McMurtry, the biographer quotes critic Dave Hickey as saying about McMurtry: "Larry is a writer, and it's kind of like being a critter. If you leave a cow alone, he'll eat grass. If you leave Larry alone, he'll write books. When he's in public, he may say hello and goodbye, but otherwise he is just resting, getting ready to go write."
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January 29, 2019
Do you remember that old Michael Jackson song, It's the Falling in Love?
It's the fallin' in love that's makin' me high
It's the being in love that makes me cry cry cry
Well, that's the theme song for this novel, baby, and I could not get it off my mind for 347 pages. (Good thing I always liked Michael).
So, we're back with Joe Percy again, who some of you've met in book #1 of McMurtry's Houston series, Moving On. For those of you that haven't, Joe was an “old” confirmed bachelor who seemed like he would never marry, but went ahead and took the plunge during books 2 & 3 of the series, when his character wasn't on stage. We start this installment with the knowledge that Joe married a woman named Claudia, had a lovely but flawed 20 year marriage and then buried his beautiful wife, who died from cancer. Bottom line. . . we never meet Claudia.
But we do meet back again with Joe, who's 63 now and has ended up in a long-term friendship with a woman named Jill Peel (from book #2, All My Friends Are Going to be Strangers).
Joe's in a bit of a pickle. He's 63, a widower, and semi-retired. And, he's more than a little in love with Jill Peel, who's 37, at the height of her career, and interested in being in a committed relationship with Joe. She's the woman he's always really wanted, but Joe has discovered that now that he's a widower and has spare time, he's become good at listening to young women talk on and on, without interrupting them, and committing himself to herculean acts of cunnilingus.
The ladies just can't get enough of him.
And, since I rarely get the opportunity to discover great acts of literary cunnilingus, I would like to take a moment here to point out that page 119 of this book is the official, current winner of the written act of human cunnilingus in a book. If you have contributions to share, I'll start a shelf (promise), but for now, I'm declaring this the NUMERO UNO scene. (As an aside, I'm disturbed to admit that one greater act of non-human cunnilingus exists in the book Bear).
In conclusion, what's a grown boy to do? Do you just keep your head down (pun intended) with the young ladies, buried in pleasure, then spend your evenings having drinks with the boys, or do you stare down the rest of the sunset years and fight to prevent a lady like Jill from slipping away?
I'll let you find out Joe's fate for yourself, but I want to leave you with one of the best damn passages I've ever encountered in a book. So succinct, so accurate, so perfect, too:
“There's something I want to ask you,” Jill said as we turned onto the San Diego Freeway. “How come you're always fucking other men's wives?”
I was surprised. “Are you planning on coming to the defense of the nuclear family?” I asked.
“No, I just want to understand that one thing about you,” she said.
“I wasn't that way my whole life, you know. I came to it late.”
“That doesn't tell me why,” she said.
“Because I don't want all of anybody, any more,” I said. “I only want the parts that nobody else is using. Most married women are half unused—maybe more than half, I don't know. The unused parts usually turn out to be the most interesting parts, for some reason.”
We rode for a while.
“Anyway, part of somebody is really more interesting than all of somebody,” I said. “Certainly part of me is enough for anyone. I'm fun for two hours but a week of me is damn boring.”
Damn you, Larry.
It's the fallin' in love that's makin' me high
It's the being in love that makes me cry cry cry
Well, that's the theme song for this novel, baby, and I could not get it off my mind for 347 pages. (Good thing I always liked Michael).
So, we're back with Joe Percy again, who some of you've met in book #1 of McMurtry's Houston series, Moving On. For those of you that haven't, Joe was an “old” confirmed bachelor who seemed like he would never marry, but went ahead and took the plunge during books 2 & 3 of the series, when his character wasn't on stage. We start this installment with the knowledge that Joe married a woman named Claudia, had a lovely but flawed 20 year marriage and then buried his beautiful wife, who died from cancer. Bottom line. . . we never meet Claudia.
But we do meet back again with Joe, who's 63 now and has ended up in a long-term friendship with a woman named Jill Peel (from book #2, All My Friends Are Going to be Strangers).
Joe's in a bit of a pickle. He's 63, a widower, and semi-retired. And, he's more than a little in love with Jill Peel, who's 37, at the height of her career, and interested in being in a committed relationship with Joe. She's the woman he's always really wanted, but Joe has discovered that now that he's a widower and has spare time, he's become good at listening to young women talk on and on, without interrupting them, and committing himself to herculean acts of cunnilingus.
The ladies just can't get enough of him.
And, since I rarely get the opportunity to discover great acts of literary cunnilingus, I would like to take a moment here to point out that page 119 of this book is the official, current winner of the written act of human cunnilingus in a book. If you have contributions to share, I'll start a shelf (promise), but for now, I'm declaring this the NUMERO UNO scene. (As an aside, I'm disturbed to admit that one greater act of non-human cunnilingus exists in the book Bear).
In conclusion, what's a grown boy to do? Do you just keep your head down (pun intended) with the young ladies, buried in pleasure, then spend your evenings having drinks with the boys, or do you stare down the rest of the sunset years and fight to prevent a lady like Jill from slipping away?
I'll let you find out Joe's fate for yourself, but I want to leave you with one of the best damn passages I've ever encountered in a book. So succinct, so accurate, so perfect, too:
“There's something I want to ask you,” Jill said as we turned onto the San Diego Freeway. “How come you're always fucking other men's wives?”
I was surprised. “Are you planning on coming to the defense of the nuclear family?” I asked.
“No, I just want to understand that one thing about you,” she said.
“I wasn't that way my whole life, you know. I came to it late.”
“That doesn't tell me why,” she said.
“Because I don't want all of anybody, any more,” I said. “I only want the parts that nobody else is using. Most married women are half unused—maybe more than half, I don't know. The unused parts usually turn out to be the most interesting parts, for some reason.”
We rode for a while.
“Anyway, part of somebody is really more interesting than all of somebody,” I said. “Certainly part of me is enough for anyone. I'm fun for two hours but a week of me is damn boring.”
Damn you, Larry.
January 12, 2012
This is never adequately wedded to any single theme or emotion, making its long departures from the story to describe love, reality and the absurdity of both maddening. The characters are inconsistent and unsympathetic; its main three - Joe Percy, Owen Oarson and Jill Peel - are mostly unlikeable (Owen is flat-out disgusting), their adventures are uninteresting, and it's hard to care for any of them.
McMurtry prefaced this edition saying he allowed too much time to pass between the original appearances of Jill (in "All My Friends") and Joe (in "Moving On") to give them the story they deserved. Clearly he's distancing himself from the book's inadequacies. He's never on a stride that lasts more than a few pages, with the narration often slipping into what feels like third person. The fuzziness of this all gets tiresome, and several passages simply do not make sense (e.g, references to babies, even though the narrator has given no indication he's ever been around one in his life to make such an observance).
This is as unengaging as McMurtry has ever been - a real disappointment.
McMurtry prefaced this edition saying he allowed too much time to pass between the original appearances of Jill (in "All My Friends") and Joe (in "Moving On") to give them the story they deserved. Clearly he's distancing himself from the book's inadequacies. He's never on a stride that lasts more than a few pages, with the narration often slipping into what feels like third person. The fuzziness of this all gets tiresome, and several passages simply do not make sense (e.g, references to babies, even though the narrator has given no indication he's ever been around one in his life to make such an observance).
This is as unengaging as McMurtry has ever been - a real disappointment.
July 12, 2023
A Novel Written 'without the High Enthusiasm'
One reason I have loved Larry McMurtry for so many decades is his honesty. His novels often take sudden turns simply because he is honest about the dangers his characters face in whatever setting or historical period they find themselves. That trademark honesty is true of Somebody's Darling and was true of McMurtry in real life. When he wrote fresh introductions for newer editions of his novels, he transparently laid out all his doubts and flaws for us.
His introduction to Somebody's Darling is remarkable for a couple of reasons. First, he explains how deeply his characters became real friends to him as he worked on novels, and sometimes entire series of novels, through the years. Then, he explains how the seeming reality of those characters also left him burdened with obligations as a writer. So, in this case, he felt he had promised the character Jill Peel her own novel. Even though he did not much feel like fulfilling that promise, he nevertheless found time to bat out this more-than-370-page novel that is essentially a love letter to her as a muse.
But he admits in his introduction that he did not give Jill her due. The problem, he explains, is that he thought about this novel too long before actually writing it. By the time he found time in his busy schedule to write the novel, he had lost his enthusiasm for the project. So, he concludes that, upon rereading Somebody's Darling, "I liked much of it then, and I like much of it now, but when I was finished writing, I left it with the weary sense that it was a book I had essentially finished several years before I got around to writing it down." As he finally was working on this novel, he admits to us, he was writing "without the high enthusiasm" he should have brought to the project.
McMurtry's introduction mirrors my own reaction. Having written a lot about film myself, as a journalist from the early 1970s until today, I understand that this novel was meant to be a snapshot and a satire of a changing Hollywood in the mid '70s. I lived through that era myself and I wrote about it as a film critic at that time.
To explore this world with us, McMurtry selects three narrators and divides the plot into three parts. First, he brings back Joe Percy, an earlier character in his "Houston Series." In my mind's eye, I envision Joe as a morally flawed version of a Robert Osborne—a kind of beloved Hollywood insider who enjoys sharing his personal memories of the studios' glory days. Joe is Jill's best friend in a truly "odd couple" relationship. The second narrator is Owen Oarson, a sexy brute of a Hollywood climber who worms his way into Jill's life, because Jill suddenly finds herself on a fast track as a successful director. The third narrator is Jill herself.
In his admissions, McMurtry says he wasn't entirely happy with his choice of narration and I agree. Owen, in particular, is an ill-conceived lout with no redeeming value. McMurtry's best villains throughout his novels have at least some winning ways, enough that we care to read about their adventures. But Owen? Well, he's so vain, cruel and downright dumb that it's just not fun slogging through his section of the book.
Even Joe is almost too pitiful to compel us to read his portion of the book. So, if you're doing the math, that's two-thirds of the book that I found challenging to complete.
In the end, Jill saves the day. Despite all of McMurtry's admissions, Jill serves as a noble muse and she is the saving grace that keeps us going to find out what happens to her. She must have been a composite of a number of strong, talented women McMurtry had encountered in Hollywood in those years. But, remember that he was writing this novel when his Hollywood experience was limited to what happened with his novel, The Last Picture Show. Terms of Endearment had not yet been made into a movie, nor had Texasville. Most importantly, when this novel was published, he was still the better part of a decade away from reinventing himself with the global success of Lonesome Dove.
As a result, the Hollywood references in this novel may seem oddly dated to most readers today. Think of Robert Osborne in his glory days hosting a TCM series of great movies from the '50s, perhaps. But the '50s are now a well-known era in Hollywood history. This novel feels a bit like falling through a strange "time warp" into an era when the studio system had begun to crumble, but had not yet evolved through the '80s and '90s. That may make it difficult for readers to grasp the references McMurtry is making as Jill and Joe try to successfully navigate Hollywood's labyrinth in this specific little time capsule of the mid 1970s.
One of the more annoying techniques is McMurtry's attempt to render specific accents of a couple of Hollywood moguls in their dialogue. Those scenes are a burden for readers who, today, aren't going to appreciate the references, anyway.
Although I found this to be a challenging "read," this is now my 12th novel in my personal goal of re-reading all of McMurtry's body of work. I made that little pledge to honor him when he died two years ago. And, by this 12th novel, it is clear that McMurtry already had established not only an overall style, but also a range of distinctive techniques.
For example—and I want to make sure I don't spoil the plot here—but McMurtry readers are familiar with his technique of suddenly upending the entire card table around which his characters have been gathered. There's a single paragraph more than two-thirds of the way through this novel in which the characters' world turns upside down—the kind of shocking out-of-nowhere plot twist that McMurtry sprinkled through other novels. In this case, I think it was a sign of his own boredom that caused him to write that paragraph and shake up the entire plot.
But rest assured: The despicable Owen comes and goes. Jill and Joe are there from page 1 to the very last page of this novel as loyal, mismatched friends who make this ride worth the effort.
One reason I have loved Larry McMurtry for so many decades is his honesty. His novels often take sudden turns simply because he is honest about the dangers his characters face in whatever setting or historical period they find themselves. That trademark honesty is true of Somebody's Darling and was true of McMurtry in real life. When he wrote fresh introductions for newer editions of his novels, he transparently laid out all his doubts and flaws for us.
His introduction to Somebody's Darling is remarkable for a couple of reasons. First, he explains how deeply his characters became real friends to him as he worked on novels, and sometimes entire series of novels, through the years. Then, he explains how the seeming reality of those characters also left him burdened with obligations as a writer. So, in this case, he felt he had promised the character Jill Peel her own novel. Even though he did not much feel like fulfilling that promise, he nevertheless found time to bat out this more-than-370-page novel that is essentially a love letter to her as a muse.
But he admits in his introduction that he did not give Jill her due. The problem, he explains, is that he thought about this novel too long before actually writing it. By the time he found time in his busy schedule to write the novel, he had lost his enthusiasm for the project. So, he concludes that, upon rereading Somebody's Darling, "I liked much of it then, and I like much of it now, but when I was finished writing, I left it with the weary sense that it was a book I had essentially finished several years before I got around to writing it down." As he finally was working on this novel, he admits to us, he was writing "without the high enthusiasm" he should have brought to the project.
McMurtry's introduction mirrors my own reaction. Having written a lot about film myself, as a journalist from the early 1970s until today, I understand that this novel was meant to be a snapshot and a satire of a changing Hollywood in the mid '70s. I lived through that era myself and I wrote about it as a film critic at that time.
To explore this world with us, McMurtry selects three narrators and divides the plot into three parts. First, he brings back Joe Percy, an earlier character in his "Houston Series." In my mind's eye, I envision Joe as a morally flawed version of a Robert Osborne—a kind of beloved Hollywood insider who enjoys sharing his personal memories of the studios' glory days. Joe is Jill's best friend in a truly "odd couple" relationship. The second narrator is Owen Oarson, a sexy brute of a Hollywood climber who worms his way into Jill's life, because Jill suddenly finds herself on a fast track as a successful director. The third narrator is Jill herself.
In his admissions, McMurtry says he wasn't entirely happy with his choice of narration and I agree. Owen, in particular, is an ill-conceived lout with no redeeming value. McMurtry's best villains throughout his novels have at least some winning ways, enough that we care to read about their adventures. But Owen? Well, he's so vain, cruel and downright dumb that it's just not fun slogging through his section of the book.
Even Joe is almost too pitiful to compel us to read his portion of the book. So, if you're doing the math, that's two-thirds of the book that I found challenging to complete.
In the end, Jill saves the day. Despite all of McMurtry's admissions, Jill serves as a noble muse and she is the saving grace that keeps us going to find out what happens to her. She must have been a composite of a number of strong, talented women McMurtry had encountered in Hollywood in those years. But, remember that he was writing this novel when his Hollywood experience was limited to what happened with his novel, The Last Picture Show. Terms of Endearment had not yet been made into a movie, nor had Texasville. Most importantly, when this novel was published, he was still the better part of a decade away from reinventing himself with the global success of Lonesome Dove.
As a result, the Hollywood references in this novel may seem oddly dated to most readers today. Think of Robert Osborne in his glory days hosting a TCM series of great movies from the '50s, perhaps. But the '50s are now a well-known era in Hollywood history. This novel feels a bit like falling through a strange "time warp" into an era when the studio system had begun to crumble, but had not yet evolved through the '80s and '90s. That may make it difficult for readers to grasp the references McMurtry is making as Jill and Joe try to successfully navigate Hollywood's labyrinth in this specific little time capsule of the mid 1970s.
One of the more annoying techniques is McMurtry's attempt to render specific accents of a couple of Hollywood moguls in their dialogue. Those scenes are a burden for readers who, today, aren't going to appreciate the references, anyway.
Although I found this to be a challenging "read," this is now my 12th novel in my personal goal of re-reading all of McMurtry's body of work. I made that little pledge to honor him when he died two years ago. And, by this 12th novel, it is clear that McMurtry already had established not only an overall style, but also a range of distinctive techniques.
For example—and I want to make sure I don't spoil the plot here—but McMurtry readers are familiar with his technique of suddenly upending the entire card table around which his characters have been gathered. There's a single paragraph more than two-thirds of the way through this novel in which the characters' world turns upside down—the kind of shocking out-of-nowhere plot twist that McMurtry sprinkled through other novels. In this case, I think it was a sign of his own boredom that caused him to write that paragraph and shake up the entire plot.
But rest assured: The despicable Owen comes and goes. Jill and Joe are there from page 1 to the very last page of this novel as loyal, mismatched friends who make this ride worth the effort.
February 23, 2016
The only McMurtry book I have truly disliked. Didn't like the characters. Didn't like the story. Finished it because it's right in the middle of a long series of books that I've enjoyed. The rest of the series is set (more or less) in Texas, mostly Houston. This one is in Hollywood, including a couple of character from (or with ties to) Houston. It certainly seems like this was McMurtry's way of railing against what he didn't like about his experiences with Hollywood and the making of The Last Picture Show
April 28, 2012
Written in 1978, this is McMurtry's follow-up to Terms of Endearment. Through it, the reader experiences the seemy underbelly of Hollywood as the author must have been experiencing at the time. Told in first person through the eyes of two different Hollywood characters (interesting), the tale wanders through the pointlessness of lives spent looking in the mirror, searching unsuccessfully for relationship happiness. Not an uplifting read, nor was it meant to be.
August 8, 2011
Three and a half. Good, but a little dated. I'm a sucker for Hollywood tales and had never read McMurtry before. I'm not sure if this was the best introduction to his work, but it certainly peaked my interest. I think I'll try Lonesome Dove next.
March 21, 2026
So last year I became more and more of a Larry McMurtry fan; I'd enjoyed a lot of his non-fiction prior to 2025, but I hadn't done much of his fiction until then. I was hooked, fair to say, and the most recent examples of his work that I'd read ("Terms of Endearment" and "All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers") really enchanted me. This novel, a part of the saga as those previous reads, isn't quite up to those in terms of quality, but I still found some good stuff to savor.
"Somebody's Darling" continues the story of Jill Peel (first encountered in "All My Friends") as she ascends to the heights of Hollywood and becomes a rarity in the Seventies: a female film director. Her life and career take a turn when she meets Owen Oarson, a wannabe producer with all the charm of Tom Buchanan. But she also has Joe Percy, an older screenwriter, in her life as a sort of mentor and shoulder to cry on, should Jill ever feel the need to cry. It's a "behind the scenes" novel about the dream factory and how superficial such things are. It's been done to death, really, and better in other books (I cited a Fitzgerald character earlier, and I think "The Last Tycoon" would've been his masterpiece if he'd lived to finish it).
That being said, there are aspects of this novel that exceed the sort of standard "ain't Hollywood full of shit?" narrative on display. McMurtry was a born writer, and even if this is the first novel of his to leave me cold, it still has some lovely passages, even from some odious sources; Owen is a bully and a cad, but I did find his section interesting in places. The novel is broken up into thirds, where we get the point-of-view of three different characters: Joe, Owen, and Jill. It makes for an uneven reading experience, as I would say Joe's section is easily the most compelling, but I didn't hate the idea.
The plot, such as it is, involves the everyday lives of these people and their work in the entertainment industry; territory that's been mined by everything from "The Day of the Locust" to "Play It As It Lays" and all points in-between (and this is not to mention films like "Day for Night," "Tropic Thunder," and "The Player." If Hollywood loves anything, it's a story about how hard it is to make a movie). It's not easy to say something new about film-making, and McMurtry doesn't do much with it, honestly. I felt bad that, when I read the Wikipedia entry on the novel, it was listed as the one McMurtry considered his worst; it's not stellar by any means, but I think it has saving graces. The narration in all three sections works; you believe these characters even as you wonder what the hell is wrong with them. And did I mention that it's by Larry Freaking McMurtry?
"Somebody's Darling" may not have the same kind of juice that "Lonesome Dove" has, but it's not a waste of time or paper. It would be inconceivable to me if this were anyone's favorite Larry McMurtry novel, but I don't hate it. With just enough good to outweigh the bad, "Somebody's Darling" is perfectly cromulent in many ways.
"Somebody's Darling" continues the story of Jill Peel (first encountered in "All My Friends") as she ascends to the heights of Hollywood and becomes a rarity in the Seventies: a female film director. Her life and career take a turn when she meets Owen Oarson, a wannabe producer with all the charm of Tom Buchanan. But she also has Joe Percy, an older screenwriter, in her life as a sort of mentor and shoulder to cry on, should Jill ever feel the need to cry. It's a "behind the scenes" novel about the dream factory and how superficial such things are. It's been done to death, really, and better in other books (I cited a Fitzgerald character earlier, and I think "The Last Tycoon" would've been his masterpiece if he'd lived to finish it).
That being said, there are aspects of this novel that exceed the sort of standard "ain't Hollywood full of shit?" narrative on display. McMurtry was a born writer, and even if this is the first novel of his to leave me cold, it still has some lovely passages, even from some odious sources; Owen is a bully and a cad, but I did find his section interesting in places. The novel is broken up into thirds, where we get the point-of-view of three different characters: Joe, Owen, and Jill. It makes for an uneven reading experience, as I would say Joe's section is easily the most compelling, but I didn't hate the idea.
The plot, such as it is, involves the everyday lives of these people and their work in the entertainment industry; territory that's been mined by everything from "The Day of the Locust" to "Play It As It Lays" and all points in-between (and this is not to mention films like "Day for Night," "Tropic Thunder," and "The Player." If Hollywood loves anything, it's a story about how hard it is to make a movie). It's not easy to say something new about film-making, and McMurtry doesn't do much with it, honestly. I felt bad that, when I read the Wikipedia entry on the novel, it was listed as the one McMurtry considered his worst; it's not stellar by any means, but I think it has saving graces. The narration in all three sections works; you believe these characters even as you wonder what the hell is wrong with them. And did I mention that it's by Larry Freaking McMurtry?
"Somebody's Darling" may not have the same kind of juice that "Lonesome Dove" has, but it's not a waste of time or paper. It would be inconceivable to me if this were anyone's favorite Larry McMurtry novel, but I don't hate it. With just enough good to outweigh the bad, "Somebody's Darling" is perfectly cromulent in many ways.
October 18, 2025
well written but nothing special
August 20, 2017
So this is another one I had to quit and abandon. I need a book to really grab me.. So this is another one I had to throw to the wayside. I do like this author. I guess I just wasn't in the mood for the fake hollywood screen writer crap.
June 6, 2020
The “darling” in Larry McMurtry’s novel Somebody’s Darling is a young and talented movie director named Jill Peel. She is one of the three main characters in a story about the people who make and star in movies. Though it’s primarily a Hollywood story, McMurtry takes his readers out of Hollywood to New York and Rome for large chunks of the action.
The other two main characters in the book are Joe Percy and Owen Oarson. Joe has known Jill Peel many years, from the time she was barely out of college with modest aspirations for directing movies. Joe is an aging, worldly, womanizing, wisecracking screenwriter who has been around long enough and knows what’s what in Hollywood. Stealthily suffused in all his wisecracking, he imparts his wisdom mostly to those who are clever enough to discern it. Joe’s sustaining nourishment comes from his womanizing, which he embarked upon after the death of his wife and love-of-his-life. But he’s realistic enough to know that his sexual antics and casual romances are not because he’s on some desperate, life-saving to replace his lost wife, because she is irreplaceable.
Oarson is a young, former football player who believes the vital ingredients to make it big are good looks and a beautiful body, of which he undeniably has an abundance. As a result, his relationships are opportunistic, devoid of emotional depth, and involve frequent changes of the off-with-the-old-on-with-the-new variety.
How the relationships between Jill, Joe, and Owen resolve themselves is the story in Somebody’s Darling against the backdrop of all the shenanigans that generally characterize the world of movies and movie makers. With a high degree of self-awareness, Jill is conflicted with her life, to say the least. Joe is the steadfast, dependable friend to whom Jill reaches out frequently; Owen is her new adventure. She is strangely drawn to him, knowing his intellectual shallowness and tendency towards infidelity.
Readers get to hear the voice of each of these three characters, since McMurtry has them narrating one of three sections that make up the book. Joe’s perspective is that he is in the twilight years of his career, making his living by writing mediocre television scripts. Jill career is in its ascendancy: she has won one award, and is destined to win others; producers actively seek her directing talents. And Owen is struggling with career launch: he knows what he wants, but does not have an ounce of the wherewithal to acquire it.
Somebody’s Darling is a fast read for the usual reasons with McMurtry’s books: his effortless, crisp prose; his story’s entertainment value with perfect balances of touching drama and laugh-out-loud humor; and his credible, memorable characters. Readers who have encountered Jill and Joe in previous novels are in for a treat of a reunion; those who haven’t will find themselves scurrying to backfill those gaps by also reading Moving On and All My Friends Are Going to be Strangers.
The other two main characters in the book are Joe Percy and Owen Oarson. Joe has known Jill Peel many years, from the time she was barely out of college with modest aspirations for directing movies. Joe is an aging, worldly, womanizing, wisecracking screenwriter who has been around long enough and knows what’s what in Hollywood. Stealthily suffused in all his wisecracking, he imparts his wisdom mostly to those who are clever enough to discern it. Joe’s sustaining nourishment comes from his womanizing, which he embarked upon after the death of his wife and love-of-his-life. But he’s realistic enough to know that his sexual antics and casual romances are not because he’s on some desperate, life-saving to replace his lost wife, because she is irreplaceable.
Oarson is a young, former football player who believes the vital ingredients to make it big are good looks and a beautiful body, of which he undeniably has an abundance. As a result, his relationships are opportunistic, devoid of emotional depth, and involve frequent changes of the off-with-the-old-on-with-the-new variety.
How the relationships between Jill, Joe, and Owen resolve themselves is the story in Somebody’s Darling against the backdrop of all the shenanigans that generally characterize the world of movies and movie makers. With a high degree of self-awareness, Jill is conflicted with her life, to say the least. Joe is the steadfast, dependable friend to whom Jill reaches out frequently; Owen is her new adventure. She is strangely drawn to him, knowing his intellectual shallowness and tendency towards infidelity.
Readers get to hear the voice of each of these three characters, since McMurtry has them narrating one of three sections that make up the book. Joe’s perspective is that he is in the twilight years of his career, making his living by writing mediocre television scripts. Jill career is in its ascendancy: she has won one award, and is destined to win others; producers actively seek her directing talents. And Owen is struggling with career launch: he knows what he wants, but does not have an ounce of the wherewithal to acquire it.
Somebody’s Darling is a fast read for the usual reasons with McMurtry’s books: his effortless, crisp prose; his story’s entertainment value with perfect balances of touching drama and laugh-out-loud humor; and his credible, memorable characters. Readers who have encountered Jill and Joe in previous novels are in for a treat of a reunion; those who haven’t will find themselves scurrying to backfill those gaps by also reading Moving On and All My Friends Are Going to be Strangers.
February 13, 2023
Somewhat a sequel to All My Friends Are Going to be Strangers, Somebody’s Darling is a decent read. Although I much prefer it’s predecessor. It’s mostly a Hollywood story where everyone one is having sex with everyone else. (Except for the very few who don’t.) And reading about sex exploits gets tiresome.
The central character is Jill Peel, who is also a character in All My Friends Are Going to be Strangers. Her narration doesn’t come until the third part of this novel. But in this section is a wonderful scene inside a used bookstore. Probably my favorite moment in the book.
The central character is Jill Peel, who is also a character in All My Friends Are Going to be Strangers. Her narration doesn’t come until the third part of this novel. But in this section is a wonderful scene inside a used bookstore. Probably my favorite moment in the book.
June 25, 2019
I can handle an idiot or 2 in a book, but a book FULL of idiots??? Good lord what a waste of time read. One star for Wynkyn.
June 8, 2024
This is the weakest link in the McMurtry canon so far for me. Although it got better in the final section with Jill’s point of view. From reading the introduction, I don’t think he liked it that much either. Still, the writing is wonderful. Hence the 3 stars.
April 9, 2012
Larry McMurtry has been my favorite contemporary author for several years now. My friend Chuck gave me "All My Friends are Going to Be Strangers" about three years ago, and since then, I have read many, many of his books. My favorites are not the westerns, but the flight of books around "All My Friends....". "Someboy's Darling" is one of these, centering around some characters that were solely supporting characters in some of his other books.
This book takes place in Los Angeles, for the most part, and can be hard to get into. After the story begins to flow, after its fits and starts, back into McMurtry's world you are again with its poignancy, cynicism and sad beauty. Read it! You will probably love it, too.
This book takes place in Los Angeles, for the most part, and can be hard to get into. After the story begins to flow, after its fits and starts, back into McMurtry's world you are again with its poignancy, cynicism and sad beauty. Read it! You will probably love it, too.
January 4, 2013
As a fan of Larry McMurtry's books, this one disappointed. I had a hard time getting into it or even caring about the characters.
May 21, 2013
Gah! this is just dreck
September 12, 2022
The fourth of McMurtry’s loosely connected Houston novels (though none of this one takes place in Houston) picks up two of its main characters from the books that came before it: Jill Peel from All My Friends are Going to Be Strangers and Joe Percy from Moving On. It’s a Hollywood novel but, like Strangers, it covers a lot of geography. The book is split into three first person narratives (Joe, Owen Oarson, and Jill), and is about their lives, art, and liaisons. Though Jill is ostensibly the main character, Joe is its heart, and Owen is a sort of antagonist (a slimy opportunist of the type you see a lot of in Hollywood narratives). While it’s less plot-focused than Terms of Endearment, I also liked it more. McMurtry does great work when he writes about restless people, searching for something beyond what they can see. I came into this book already feeing fondness for Joe and curiosity about Jill, and it did both characters justice. McMurtry hasn’t disappointed me yet, and, if you liked Moving On or All My Friends are Going to Be Strangers, you’ll like Somebody’s Darling too.
February 3, 2022
This is billed as a novel about an up-and-coming female director in a time when that was a huge rarity, but 2/3 of the book are from the perspectives of what seem like blatantly misogynist screenwriter men in her life. When we finally get to her perspective, all she talks about is having sex with them and she seems to have much more interest in that than in her career, which she essentially decides to give up by the end. This is a ridiculous male fantasy and not at all a "timeless story about a fiercely capable woman who dares to challenge the realities of an insidious, seductive Babel," as the back of the book promised me. The end of the book is literally a policeman asking the female director how she was connected to one of those misogynist men in her life. That really tells you all you need to know—this is a book that's most interested in its ancillary male characters above all. Read if you want to hear about fucking and dicks every few sentences, I guess.
June 2, 2024
I found some of this book to be delightful. I liked the writing, there's tons of great quotes and memorable moments. I liked the story enough, I would have liked more movie set drama and less bedroom drama. There's a lot of good s**t talking (I guess McMurtry wasn't a fan of Peter O'Toole) and even Columbo shows up to sit at the cool kids table for half a page.
I wish it was narrated through one singular voice though, the ex-football player turned Hollywood producer wannabe narrating Book Two didn't really work for me because he was not as funny or clever as Joe the screenwriter (Book One) or as sympathetic as our heroine Jill Peel (Book Three).
I can see why the McMurtry heads went DNF on this one.
I wish it was narrated through one singular voice though, the ex-football player turned Hollywood producer wannabe narrating Book Two didn't really work for me because he was not as funny or clever as Joe the screenwriter (Book One) or as sympathetic as our heroine Jill Peel (Book Three).
I can see why the McMurtry heads went DNF on this one.
February 18, 2025
Absolutely the most disappointing McMurtry book I've read so far. Part of that is due to a mismatch in the content and what I care for. I found the topics, settings, dialogue, and most of the characters very uninteresting. I've been less favorable towards the Houston books because they shift away from the rural magic that McMurtry showcases in the Thalia and Lonesome Dove books. But Ive enjoyed the former 3 Houston books still a great deal. This just was not it for me. I've read that it was in writing this book that McMurtry temporarily lost his love for writing and I feel like that might also be a part of why I genuinely did not enjoy reading this book.
There's still redeeming elements. In particular, the trademark complicated pseudo-platonic relationship between Jill and Joe. Unfortunately, that interesting dynamic is really only explored at the beginning and end of the book.
There's still redeeming elements. In particular, the trademark complicated pseudo-platonic relationship between Jill and Joe. Unfortunately, that interesting dynamic is really only explored at the beginning and end of the book.
September 1, 2019
I read this because I was blown away by McMurty's Lonesome Dove and the fact that he has adapted books for screenplays for many major movies - Hud, The Last Picture Show, Terms of Endearment, Brokeback Mountain, to name a few. This last fact made me curious about his non-western writing and so I picked up Somebody's Darling.
I was disappointed with this book and I take part of the responsibility. I was expecting our esteemed author to once again draw fascinating characters living out their interesting lives. This book was set in 1970's Hollywood and tells the tales of filmmakers, writers and actors, all of whom struck me as shallow, self-obsessed, and morally lost. Flawed characters, all, with no redeeming values.
I read it out of curiosity and will not hold it against him.
I was disappointed with this book and I take part of the responsibility. I was expecting our esteemed author to once again draw fascinating characters living out their interesting lives. This book was set in 1970's Hollywood and tells the tales of filmmakers, writers and actors, all of whom struck me as shallow, self-obsessed, and morally lost. Flawed characters, all, with no redeeming values.
I read it out of curiosity and will not hold it against him.
December 27, 2019
It's interesting that when Somebody's Darling was published in 1978 it was billed as a novel of "new Hollywood" which translates now, roughly 40 years later, for better or worse, as a tale of "old Hollywood." Some of the sexism and toxic culture doesn't exactly hold up in an age where the Weinsteins and Bryan Singers of the world are having their reckoning, but there are still a lot of fantastic scenes that provide a glimpse into a bygone era of studio filmmaking, and McMurtry's dialogue is always sharp, funny, and enjoyable. If you're like me and are fascinated with LA stories and Hollywood history, this is a great one to pick up, even if the sexual politics feel outdated and it's likely minor-McMurtry in the grander scheme of his works.
January 4, 2021
Jill Peck is potentially McMurtry's most sympathetic protagonist, while Owen may be his easiest to loathe. It serves as nice conclusion to Joe Percy's story, but Jill shines more in All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers than she does here. According to the introduction McMurtry feels that the time had come and gone for Jill's tale by the time he wrote this novel, and while I do agree that it doesn't have the cutting emotional edge of any of the previous books in the Houston series, it is nice to see Joe and Jill, two of the kinder souls created by McMurtry, find less tragic conclusions than those of the previous books.
May 26, 2024
I ended up DNFing this book. I wanted to love it. As a long time fan of McMurtry, I wanted to sink into this world and love it as much as I loved his other books. I am a very big fan of his westerns, and I always enjoyed the others, though I didn't care for them as much as the westerns. I'm assuming, now, that tastes with books change as much as those related to food. I found that I simply couldn't (and didn't want to) get into this world. I do still love McMurtry's westerns, but I don't think that I'll be returning to his non-western worlds. At any rate, the book is not bad at all, it's just no longer a good book for me.
July 27, 2021
I only gave this one three stars because I usually rate McMurtry books as five stars, and I liked this book significantly less than all his others, but I did still enjoy it. It was difficult to get into. I had trouble keeping the many supporting characters straight. I started to like the book more when the story shifted to being told by Jill Peel's perspective. Obviously, one of McMurtry's greatest gifts is that he can write female characters exquisitely (see: Terms of Endearment, The Evening Star).
February 22, 2022
A dreary failure.
An emotionally vapid mess, this book lacks McMurtry’s usual perfect pitch for dialogue, his charm, his wisdom, and his storytelling. I only hunkered down to finish Somebody’s Darling because I have committed to reading the entire 6-book Houston series (sigh).
None of the characters are at all likable, and their motivations never resonate with the reader. Ultimately it’s pointless and even unpleasant.
Recommended only if you are into endless mentioning of effing and drinking; otherwise stay away.
An emotionally vapid mess, this book lacks McMurtry’s usual perfect pitch for dialogue, his charm, his wisdom, and his storytelling. I only hunkered down to finish Somebody’s Darling because I have committed to reading the entire 6-book Houston series (sigh).
None of the characters are at all likable, and their motivations never resonate with the reader. Ultimately it’s pointless and even unpleasant.
Recommended only if you are into endless mentioning of effing and drinking; otherwise stay away.
December 28, 2022
Very different to his Lonesome Dove writings, this is a raunchy tale set in Hollywood. It was interesting at first but then got a bit repetitive and boring being mostly about rich folk with too much time on their hands spending most of it on sex, food, drugs and booze and being horrid to each other but then there was a shocking event I didn't see coming and I found it quite upsetting and had to put the book aside for a while but I finished it in the end. The main character did have some integrity but sadly she was seriously outnumbered.
April 4, 2024
Larry McMurtry’s Somebody’s Darling, set in the movie industry during the 1970s, is littered with drinking, joyless sex, and a meandering plot. The story is told in first person by three different narrators: Joe is an alcoholic washed up hack screenwriter, Owen is an alcoholic, abusive asshole wanna-be producer, and Jill is a talented director whose personal life with men is a constant mess. None of them are too likable. Jill was a minor character in the McMurtry novel, All My Friends Are Going to be Strangers, which is a much more fun read.
August 15, 2017
I barely recognize the author of Lonesome Dove when reading Somebody's Darling. The style is so detached and disengaged that I couldn't care much about any of the characters. The author is as lost in Hollywood as those characters. When in doubt, drive to a motel in the desert and screw for a weekend or for a week. I thought of abandoning the book in the early stages but occasional glimmers of talent held me in place.
November 21, 2021
I'm a Larry McMurtry fan, but this book -- no doubt inspired by his stint as a Hollywood screenwriter -- just didn't make the cut. It started off strong, with plenty of McMurtry's wit and whacky characters, but then it took a long, slow glide into boredom. I finally stopped reading it about three-quarters of the way through. I could no longer swim against the tide of the nowhere storyline and inane dialog.
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