By Sorrow's River

The Berrybender Narratives #3

by Larry McMurtry

In this tale of high-spirited and terrifying adventure, set against the background of the West that Larry McMurtry has made his own, By Sorrow's River is an epic in its own right, with an extraordinary young woman as its leading figure.

At the heart of this third volume of his Western saga remains the beautiful and determined Tasmin Berrybender, now married to the "Sin Killer" and mother to their young son, Monty. By Sorrow's River continues the Berrybender party's trail across the endless Great Plains of the West toward Santa Fe, where they intend, those who are lucky enough to survive the journey, to spend the winter. They meet up with a vast array of characters from the history of the West: Kit Carson, the famous scout; Le Partezon, the fearsome Sioux war chief; two aristocratic Frenchmen whose eccentric aim is to cross the Great Plains by hot air balloon; a party of slavers; a band of raiding Pawnee; and many other astonishing characters who prove, once again, that the rolling, grassy plains are not, in fact, nearly as empty of life as they look. Most of what is there is dangerous and hostile, even when faced with Tasmin's remarkable, frosty sangfroid. She is one of the strongest and most interesting of Larry McMurtry's women characters, and is at the center of this powerful and ambitious novel of the West.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Humor, Adventure, Audiobook, American

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Larry 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."

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful, as with the previous two in the series, but an awfully sad ending to this one.

[Brian Fagan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do you prefer Larry McMurtry's modern stories ("The Last Picture Show", "Terms of Endearment", "Duane's Depressed") or his historical ones ("Lonesome Dove", Comanche Moon", "Anything For Billy")? Recently I've decided that I really enjoy his modern novels more. Be that as it may, in June I started his four book Berrybender Narratives series. "By Sorrow's River", which he wrote in 2003, is Book 3.

The Berrybender family of England is making a grand tour of the American West. Lord Berrybender, an outright idiot, actually believed the excursion would be just that - a grand and jolly hunting frolic, giving him the opportunity to shoot game unknown in England: bison, elk, antelope, grizzly bears. He gave no thought to the obvious dangers such a trip exposed him and his family to: Indian attacks, extreme weather, injury, etc. In Book 3, the company wrap up their time at the encampment near the source of the Missouri, and begin southward toward Santa Fe. Where is Santa Fe? In Mexican (Spanish-ruled) territory! Another danger!

Perhaps the biggest plot thread running through the books is the love life of Tasmin Berrybender, the Lord's eldest daughter. She has married the frontiersman Jim Snow. That union has proved challenging and full of disappointments for both of them. Although they are physically very compatible, they have different ideas about how they should behave as husband and wife. Jim is used to solitude. He frequently rides off for days or weeks at a time, scouting routes and hunting opportunities. Even in encampments, he cringes at the prospect of sleeping inside a tent or, God forbid, a building. He does seem to be bonding nicely with their toddler Monty. He quickly tires of Tasmin's conversations. He has struck her when she curses. Tasmin loves Jim but is unfulfilled. She needs a husband who shows her his love by listening to her and being at her side.

Pomp Charbonneau is a trapper and guide traveling with the group. During an Indian attack near the end of book 2 he is shot in the chest with an arrow. Tasmin stays by his side after the arrowhead is removed, and becomes deeply attached to him. But after he recovers, her passion for him is only mildly reciprocated, and she feels compelled to become more aggressive. As Book 3 approaches its end, Pomp falls into grave danger...

Some new characters enter the story in this book. Two European journalists and their assistant are on the march across the prairie trying to track down the company. They know their readers will be mesmerized by juicy stories of daring exploits in a country teeming with savages and wild animals. And enter The Ear Taker. A mysterious predator who has never been seen who sneaks into camps by night and slices off the ears of sleeping human prey.

McMurtry is known to be an expert on the actual history of the American West, and has written nonfiction on the subject as well. There were a couple of developments in this novel that sounded plausible as actual fact, but I can't be sure. The Sioux make war on the Mandans and the Rees because they trade with white men and thus attract more white men to the area. Mexican forces (under Spanish rule) sent (before the time of this story) a company of cavalry to attempt to stop the Lewis and Clark expedition from entering into former Spanish territory. Maybe someone can help me out - fact or fiction?

"By Sorrow's River" has its share of classic McMurtry wit, on classic McMurtry themes. Women getting into men's heads:

"Prickly Pear Woman ... liked to stir people up, getting them all worried about disasters that never happened. She told one old man, who had been her lover once, that he had offended the Toad people and would turn black as a result. The old man didn't turn black, but he worried so much about the Toad people that he stumbled into a gully and broke his neck."

The inscrutablilty of women:

"In my experience women tend to favor rascals."

[aPriL does feral sometimes · Rating 4 out of 5]

'By Sorrows River' continues the story of the Berrybender safari into the dark plains and deserts of 1833 America! The Berrybenders are a ragged group at this point in their exploration, having had many disasters by accident and Indian fights. However, nothing deters the alcoholic Lord Berrybender from his desire to shoot every animal which crosses his path, not the deaths of kith and kin, not the unsuitable marriage of his daughter, Lady Tasmin, to an uncouth mountain man, Jim 'Sin Killer' Snow, not the births of babies to his daughter and his mistress.

Tasmin is a force of nature - strong, willful, tempestuous. As the book opens, she is very angry with her husband. He once again has disappeared into the Wild scouting with Kit Carson, unable to tolerate the claustrophobia of living within a trading post or camp. Their baby is healthy, but Monty already is having accidents exploring around the horses.

Emotions are high among the women. Tasmin's sisters, traumatized Bess, teenager Mary, and even 4-year-old Kate (formerly Ten), are falling in love with the tough hunters, handsome Indians, and adventure-seeking aristocratic men they see every day. Tasmin has needs she cannot control, so one of the more attractive men about her, Pomp Charbonneau (Sacagawea's son), has more than caught her eye - she has fallen in love with him. Everyone in camp knows, but since almost all of the women who have been traveling with the family have been playing musical chairs in their love lives, no one cares. Only Snow is clueless. The other women are paired up with various men - at least, as long as the gentlemen haven't yet been killed in an Indian fight - so the dramas of Tasmin are only larger than life because of her beauty and spirit..

Despite the deaths of most of the people who the Berrybenders had hired to accompany them on their journey from the Missouri, where they had abandoned their rented boat, to the Yellowstone River, where they had met a variety of fascinating mountain men, and to where they were now currently camped in the Valley of Chickens where a fur-trading meeting had taken place, none of the family had been homesick to date. But now, even though they were on the last leg of their trip - to visit Santa Fe - inexplicably homesickness has suddenly struck many of the characters. However, the call of the Wild West, the daily challenges and excitements of their trek, and the fascinating characters who continually rotate in and out of their journey are still drawing the family onward to see more. But perhaps the fact that to get to Santa Fe means crossing a desert without water would have caused them to stop if they had only known it. The 'Sin Killer', never a very talkative man, neglects to inform them they will have to ration water until only after they have entered the desert...

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

We pause in our heedless wanderings to think and ponder and wrestle with relationships. Well not a pause in the journeying, but during the journeyings, between actually getting anywhere and anything else happening, we get our interlude of romantic complications. Or anti-romantic complications. Poor Tasmin, falling out of love with her fierce, taciturn, wandering husband, and into love with a gentle, passive, guide without a lustful bone in his body. It's a typicially McMurtrian triangle, where desire and personality and timing and opportunity and geography all fail spectacularly to harmonise, leaving everyone confused, miserable and tortured. And then Indians come along and torture them. Well, no. Maybe. Not for lack of trying.

With more babies on the way and balloons in the air and smallpox on the river and a long dry walk, we must brace ourselves for the death to come, and come it does, and if we've had horror and brutality and senseless violence, McMurtry, like a literary conductor who has expertly woven individual themes out of familiar motifs, builds to a new and novel crescendo of actual heartbreak that leaves the reader sitting, fuming, knowing that you shoulda seen that coming, or something like it. God dammit. Now I've got to read the last book and I know he's got to top the ending of this one and I'M VERY WORRIED ABOUT THE BABIES.

[Hock Tjoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the lyricism of McMurtry's description of West Texas. Quite apart from his people and the development of their lives and character, he writes about the desert, the dust, the heat - all - with evident reverence and heart.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

You must read this book. It is one of the best examples of the skillful writing of Larry McMurtry. This book will redefine your impressions of the modern western.

[Anne Duggan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third of the four Berrybender narratives, this one is unrelenting in its grim depiction of exploring the West. There are no solutions, it seems, to the whites taking over the land, to the violence and to the loss of habitat to Native Americans. There's also a love/lust story happening, inbetween having babies. Ugh. Now I have to find and read the fourth one to see how it all ends.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

McMurtry places this story in Western Texas of British travelers enroute to Sante Fe. We meet Kit Carson and "Pomp" Charboneau as the guides to this group making their way across the Great Plains. It's a hard trek and makes one pause to consider how and why anyone would want to venture out on such a journey.

[Matthew Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75- this one had a bit more plot and interesting events than the previous book, but a couple of the characters became less likable as it went on

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so excited to find this in the bargain bin outside Brookline Booksmith...you know those bargain racks? Where all the books are a buck or two and you always look through them and there are never, ever any good books? Well hope springs eternal and there was Berrybender book three, the very book I needed to continue my trend of one Berrybender saga per summer! How exciting.
It was really nice to return to the crazy Berrybenders and their servants and the local mountain men and Indians as they wander the American west in the year of our Lord eighteen thirty-three. It's not like these books are astoundingly good or anything, but they are well-written and comfy and pretty funny, and the story picks right up and carries me along. My complaint last time around was that nothing much seemed to happen in book two, and the weird thing is that there seemed to be more to book three, even though when I really stop and think about it I don't think it was more action packed or anything. Maybe I liked it better because McMurtry gets a little love triangle going here, as opposed to just having his leads obsess about their relationship in interior monologues. Also I sort of predicted who was going to die in the last book, and this time it caught me off guard.
The gimmick here of including several real people from history, but fictionalizing their lives to the point that major events happen to them that never happened...I don't know what to make of this. On the one hand, as a historian it bugs me. When you make things this close to real history and then occasionally kill people at different times from when they really died...I don't like it. But then again, the comic and tragic elements of the book are absolutely more effective if the setting and characters have that authenticity. So...I dunno.
Looking forward to book four next summer!

[Mike Futcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

By Sorrow's River, the third in Larry McMurtry's folly-laden four-volume 'Berrybender Narratives', finds itself treading water. Our eccentric English aristocrats and their varying entourage of mountain men, servants and fools continue to tool around the American West with no sense or reason, and the story is only maintained in the reader's heart by its author's ever-present ear for dialogue.

The characters also remain palatable, though the most endearing of the previous book, young Kate, is almost entirely absent here. Pomp, who emerged as a point of interest in the previous book, takes on a larger role here, though the ultimate purpose of the narrative remains obscure. A solid final act, in which a random act of chaos intrudes, pulls at the heartstrings with surprising effectiveness, and that is enough to redeem the previous 300 pages of irrelevance. But this is the least of the three Berrybender books so far, and it will require a rousing finish in the fourth and final volume (or at least some indication that there was a point to the story) for the whole thing not to have felt like merely a way to pass the time.

[Peter Corrigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't really say 4-stars though I give a nod to his achievement in this series. The encounter occurring along the Missouri River and westward in the 1830s. Not really the 'Wild West' as that is portrayed but something much more complex and nuanced. The characterizations are still sorta weak and yet again the Indians are again a bit more compelling, the Partezon and Greasy Lake especially. Almost a Greek chorus in seeing the writing on the wall for their way of life. Again, the inevitability of it seems obvious but played out in 'real time' on these pages it is less so. I enjoy the mix of fiction and reality on the historical canvas but the deviations with respect to particular characters is slightly irritating. Anyway, will have to finish the series and see how it all 'ends'!

[Kevin Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story and the continuation of the Berrybender epic. On the whole the book is good, I only give this one three stars because I found much of the inner dialogue of Tasmin Berrybender too repetitive.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

much better than the second one, rip pomp :(

[Jon Knepp · Rating 5 out of 5]

brutal

[Jason Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Richard Schaefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

By Sorrow’s River, the third of four volumes of the Berrybender Narratives, is my favorite. The epic scope of the series comes to fruition here, telling a story about the westward expansion of America, and the destruction of its land and indigenous people. The Berrybenders are there for all of it. McMurtry masterfully flexes his writing style to suit the tone of a scene; a chapter about a cholera-stricken tribe reads like a post-apocalyptic horror novel, while elsewhere he writes action, or tragedy, or comedy, with the nuance you expect from him. Seen through the lens of its third volume, it becomes fully clear why this story focuses on the Berrybenders’ pointless journey west: because they’re representative of the European expansion as a whole. But it’s never heavy-handed and not for a moment does McMurtry lose sight of the character work that’s his greatest strength. By now, the reader feels like they know these characters intimately, and, while most of them are hard to exactly root for, it’s impossible not to want to see where they go next on their sorrowful, absurd journey.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series has become my guilty pleasure! I have tried to make it last longer by reading other books in between installments. Now I'm squirming nervously because I realized the next book is the final one! I must say it is unusual to be this many books into a series and still have the author surprise you, but that's exactly what happened in "By Sorrow's River." Then again, it isn't just any author its Larry McMurtry.

[Neal Reinhardt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waiting on volume 4. Time to wrap up this series.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tasmin Berrybender, the daughter of Lord Berrybender, wife of Jim Snow aka Sin Killer, feisty, independent, sharp-tongued, and emotional, takes the forefront of this, the third of four Berrybender tales. As in many of McMurtry’s westerns and the previous two Berrybenders (Sin Killer and The Wandering Hill), the cast of characters is wildly and frequently amusingly creative. Joining Tasmin, her father, and Jim Snow are quirky folks across the spectrum, Indians (Greasy Lake, High Shoulders, The Partezan, Little Onion, and Ear Taker among others), frontiersmen drawn from history (Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, Jean (Pomp) Charbonneau), Tasmin’s sisters, and those who serve the Berrybenders or are in their traveling party. That sounds like many, but keeping them straight is no problem since they are all written so uniquely. The story continues the saga of the Berrybender family’s journey into the American west when it was unpopulated and untamed. The travelers have many adventures, some harrowing in terms of weather or adversaries, some frequently comical and heartening, such as the relationships of various couples, including more than a few references to intimacy using a variety of proper and idiomatic references to it, and more than one relationship which crosses class or ethnic lines. There is the oddball appearance of two famed European journalists traveling by hot-air balloon. Altogether, this makes for a most enjoyable trip, with setting-appropriate violence to balance all the funny characters, interchanges, and events. I look forward to book four, Folly and Glory, soon.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this perplexing and unique tragicomedy saga, which is the third of a four part series of the journey of an aristocratic British family traveling through the West in the early 1830's on a hunting party. At this critical time, the Indians have yet to be conquered, buffalo still roam, white settlements are sparse, and the Southwest has yet to be wrested from the Spanish. The attractions of this vast wilderness are contrasted with the many dangers and sources of death. The focus of the tale continues to be on one of the four daughters accompanying the bufoon Lord Berrybender, Tasmin, who, like many of McMurtry's female characters, is embued with a combination of self-centered determination and compassionate wisdom. Here she throws herself into a love triangle between her rustic man-of-action husband, Jim Snow (the "Sin Killer"), and Pomp Charbonneau, the European-raised son of the famous French guide for Lewis and Clark and Native American emissary Sacajewea. Along the way, many iconic figures of the West play a role, including guide Kit Carson, mountain-man Jim Bridger, and trader Charles Bent. Despite the aspects of soap-opera and absurdist humor, I was impressed with the apparent parable about the human condition, with noble aspirations of embracing the West through exploration and human bonding foiled so often by random death and weaknesses of greed and lust. �

[~☆~Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am thinking about taking this down a star as on page 401 he writes: "On the great plains east of Taos!" Oh, this made me angry. I have been to Taos at least 30 times and it is surrounded by mountains. The only road out of Taos that doesn't go into the mountains is Highway 64 which takes you to that amazing bridge that The Leanin' Tree did a card for. I like to go on Highway 64 EAST which takes you right up into the mountains. It is a canyon road which is super beautiful and many artists live there.

I wish writers would check these things out. I got even more angry at the writer who said that a Monarch butterfly is yellow and black. I will never get over that one. Our most popular butterfly and she couldn't even get the colors right. Probably Larry McMurtry has never been to Taos. Maybe he has been to Red River as that is where Texans like to go as it is very western. People from Wichita Falls just seem to sit in Wichita Falls and never go anyway.

I almost cried at the end and might have except for being so annoyed. Overall this is an exciting book and I have read it twice. The first time I somehow did not catch this glaring error. I was probably wondering who was going to save Pomp. Tasmin is a very wicked woman but at least she is interesting. I guess Larry knew someone like her.

[James Clinton Slusher · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's still not "Blood Meridian," but this series has proved as engaging and intriguing as I could ever hope for. I marvel at the artistry of McMurtry's writing, the depth of his description and narration and the intensity of his thinking. I keep comparing this series to McCarthy's masterwork, and that may not be fair. A more appropriate comparison would be to the "All the Pretty Horses," series. Here, the comparison becomes purely a distinction of taste. Which is the better song, Springsteen's "Jungleland" or Roxy Music's "A Song for Europe"? Which is the better Italian beef, Portillo's or Johnny's? There are still times when I find myself thinking, "Well, these characters have become a bit predictable and one-dimensional," but most of them do grow throughout the course of the story, and I constantly also find myself wondering what will happen to them, hoping for certain outcomes, having my heart literally pounding with worry about some particular drama or experiencing a real sense of loss and sorrow when things go wrong. No question I'll be jumping into Book Four, "Folly and Glory." And I am immensely pleased that I followed my instincts and gave the second book a try after my disappointment with "Sin Killer."

[Mikey B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much like volume II I felt this should have been condensed. A merge of volumes II and III would have been far more effective. It is puzzling in that some interesting characters are introduced and just as summarily killed off as if the author didn’t know how to weave them into his story – this happens with the two journalists in the balloon . We are basically left with the psychological vicissitudes of Tasmin and the story suffers from this singular fixation. Tasmin is the central and main character throughout – all the other characters seem so secondary compared to her.

I will read reviews of the last and final volume (volume IV) and spare myself from reading more of the Berrybender’s. It has become like a TV serial long past its’ prime. It peaked in volume I with a letdown in the follow-up books.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

The journey continues on toward Santa Fe, in spite of many obstacles, the harshness of the territory being traveled, and the growing body count. The Berrybenders and their party find themselves in so many preposterously funny situations, I was always laughing aloud or reading with a smile. Torn between two loves, that of her husband Jim and her friend Pomp, Tasmin is still her own woman and the focus of this novel. She knows her own mind and takes orders from none. The West has not broken her, but instead has hardened her spirit and made her stronger. Though at times she yearns for the stability of good old England, she realizes that she would no longer fit in that world or life anymore. I look forward to the conclusion of this saga.

[Tom Haynes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy McMurtry characters, especially in his western, suedo-historic titles. Pomp, Father Jeff and the French crew, Tas and the Berrybender English clan, plus high shoulders and the other indians are just some of the crew irritating the Mexicans with their intrusion into New Mexico territory. This is the first in this series for me. Now I have to read "Sin Killer". The dialog and chatter is colorful and amusing. Good reading.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

I also loved this book very much. I was so bummed at the end though. Pomp was my absolute favorite character. I was really hoping he'd pull out of that predicament, even though I knew he wouldn't.

I never thought I'd like a Western writer so much. Larry McMurtry rocks. His writing is so matter of fact, but so good.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt rushed, not as rich or interesting as the first two books. Felt like he's just pushing the narrative, achieving a third book. Still, will read fourth. I do like McMurtry's writing. I'm also reading a book from which I'll learn. When I'm tired, in bed, I read the easier book. Reading McMurtry's fourth Berrybender book then.

[Paul Parsons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book III of the Berrybender family's trek across the plains in 1833. Life was cheap in the American west with threats of severe weather, smallpox, Indians, slavers and warring Mexicans. Many of our party succumb.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copulation and corpses abound in the third installment of the four-part Berrybender narratives. Luckily, both elements are nicely handled with a steady dose of black humor and sharp dialog. The end is terrific. The best book in the series so far.