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Desert Rose #2
The Late Child
An unforgettable addition to his widely acclaimed body of work, The Late Child is Larry McMurtry's tender, funny, and poignant sequel to The Desert Rose— McMurtry delivers another rich cast of characters and a heartfelt, bittersweet story that unfolds on the open road, in one woman's search for strength, understanding, and hope.
Harmony is the optimistic, resilient Las Vegas ex-showgirl who returns home one day to the news that her beloved daughter, Pepper, has died of AIDS. In an effort to come to grips with her loss, she decides she must travel to New York City, where her daughter had been living, to understand Pepper's life leading up to her death. She manages to stay afloat, buoyed by her precocious five-year-old son, Eddie, and her two outspoken sisters as they set forth on a journey across the country, seeking answers about her daughter's death.
From Nevada to New York to Oklahoma, the eccentrics Harmony and her entourage meet nudge them closer to an inner peace with life, and a way to find hope in the future. Alive with inventive storytelling and honest emotion, The Late Child is a warm, enriching experience that celebrates the unique relationship between mother and child.
Harmony is the optimistic, resilient Las Vegas ex-showgirl who returns home one day to the news that her beloved daughter, Pepper, has died of AIDS. In an effort to come to grips with her loss, she decides she must travel to New York City, where her daughter had been living, to understand Pepper's life leading up to her death. She manages to stay afloat, buoyed by her precocious five-year-old son, Eddie, and her two outspoken sisters as they set forth on a journey across the country, seeking answers about her daughter's death.
From Nevada to New York to Oklahoma, the eccentrics Harmony and her entourage meet nudge them closer to an inner peace with life, and a way to find hope in the future. Alive with inventive storytelling and honest emotion, The Late Child is a warm, enriching experience that celebrates the unique relationship between mother and child.
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
19 people are currently reading
365 people want to read
About the author
Larry McMurtry
150 books4,085 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
July 5, 2018
I love Larry McMurtry's books and this one delivered right on target. Of course I read it too fast and now I miss Harmony and her little son and crazy, wild family but I'm content in knowing that they got through some of life's biggest, meanest challenges and have begun a new life with the prospect of a happy future, together, home at last. No one can create characters, lifelike settings, and lively dialogue like McMurtry and I'm so glad I never read this one before. Can't wait to peruse my home library for another one as I have a whole shelf of his books in the attic. I periodically reread Lonesome Dove but having new ones is even better right now!
March 16, 2018
I'm really glad to have read this novel by Larry McMurtry, it's been on my book shelf for quite some time.....a fast read with a lots of dialogue. Harmony, an ex-showgirl in Las Vegas, Nevada learns her actress daughter Pepper has died of aids in New York City by letter from her lover Laurie. In her grief she travels with her two sisters and Eddie, her five year old son back to her family's home in Oklahoma with a detour to NYC and Washington D.C., then on to Oklahoma. The characters she meets and places they visit are just too off the wall, although heartwarming. If not for Eddie and Laurie, Harmony may not have held it together....It's a story that must be read, there are too many funny stories and sad ones to tell in this review.....if you enjoy dysfunctional families, this one's for you.
May 17, 2010
About halfway through The Late Child, there's a paragraph summarizing everything that's happened up to that point:
Oddly enough, it's all perfectly believable, but that there are broadly comic aspects is not the novel's failing. Harmony is a likable character, but she's about the only one. Almost everyone else ranges from mildly to seriously irritating, in particular five-year-old Eddie, whose precociousness falls short of obnoxiousness, but only barely. The biggest problem for me was that I couldn't feel sympathy for Harmony and Laurie in their mourning of Pepper because Pepper was a horrible human being. She was an amoral opportunist in The Desert Rose and although The Late Child opens with the news of her death, what we later learn of her years in New York indicate that she continued to be pretty awful. Her awfulness makes all the grieving seem not suspect exactly, but also not all that compelling.
"Harmony thought how strange life was. Her son, who was only five, had just talked to the President and now was talking to the First Lady. Her sister Neddie had just refused to eat any food whose name started with a k. She herself had just told her oldest friend, who was gay, that she wished he wasn't, so they could marry. Four men with turbans were there, and two black teenagers who lived in a Dumpster in New Jersey. She herself had no job and no prospects and her brother was in jail in Tarwater for making obscene phone calls. Pepper, her daughter, was dead of AIDS.
It was a lot to adjust to, if adjust was the right word."
Oddly enough, it's all perfectly believable, but that there are broadly comic aspects is not the novel's failing. Harmony is a likable character, but she's about the only one. Almost everyone else ranges from mildly to seriously irritating, in particular five-year-old Eddie, whose precociousness falls short of obnoxiousness, but only barely. The biggest problem for me was that I couldn't feel sympathy for Harmony and Laurie in their mourning of Pepper because Pepper was a horrible human being. She was an amoral opportunist in The Desert Rose and although The Late Child opens with the news of her death, what we later learn of her years in New York indicate that she continued to be pretty awful. Her awfulness makes all the grieving seem not suspect exactly, but also not all that compelling.
July 4, 2015
For a decade between the publication of LONESOME DOVE and this book (1985-1995) Larry McMurtry was absolutely my favorite writer - I devoured his backlist and looked forward to each new book with great anticipation and impatience. Sad to say, all that ended with the publication of THE LATE CHILD in 1995 - what an absolutely wretched book! His books had already started to become noticeably bleak and depressing, which I basically could deal with (turned out it was a side-effect of his post-coronary bypass depression), but this one wasn't funny, or believable, and I found it both offensive and, what's worse, badly-written, as though he'd dashed it off to pay some bills - what a come-down for McMurtry! Although I've continued to add to the McMurtry collection on and off since then (mostly via the remainder tables) I've never read more than a few pages of a novel he's written since this one, though for some reason I've still been able to read and enjoy his non-fiction.
February 22, 2021
I envy McMurtry’s characters their ability to live so relentlessly in the present.
September 16, 2024
How do Mr. McMutry’s books keep getting better and better??? I am crying 🥲
May 15, 2025
don't waste your time
December 13, 2023
I have this habit of reading everything a favorite author has written, and it’s caused me to waste a lot of my reading time.
If I had it to do over, I’d have read McMurtry’s Old West and contemporary western books and skipped the Houston/Hollywood/Vegas works - especially this one.
Ridiculous plot points, epitomized by (spoiler alert) a dog surviving a fall from the Statue of Liberty and no point beyond the obvious - life is messy, and families are dysfunctional, some more than others.
From a true Texan referring to blackeyed peas that were “unsnapped” to a dustcover writer who thinks Tulsa is in the Oklahoma panhandle, there’s little in this whole book that isn’t annoying.
Come to think of it, a 2 rating is generous. But after all, this man did give us Lonesome Dove.
If I had it to do over, I’d have read McMurtry’s Old West and contemporary western books and skipped the Houston/Hollywood/Vegas works - especially this one.
Ridiculous plot points, epitomized by (spoiler alert) a dog surviving a fall from the Statue of Liberty and no point beyond the obvious - life is messy, and families are dysfunctional, some more than others.
From a true Texan referring to blackeyed peas that were “unsnapped” to a dustcover writer who thinks Tulsa is in the Oklahoma panhandle, there’s little in this whole book that isn’t annoying.
Come to think of it, a 2 rating is generous. But after all, this man did give us Lonesome Dove.
February 8, 2012
This was not nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be, based on some other comments and reviews. I had problems with it, it's definitely flawed, yes - Eddie is a wee too precocious, some moments are hokey, and yes, parts are quite dark - but there's also a good blend of humor, and some of the descriptions of Harmony's loss are beautifully haunting.
March 5, 2018
I should have listened to all those bad reviews. It's just hard to believe, that the author of the highest calibre is capable of writing such ramblings.
December 23, 2019
I wasn't as good as any of the Lonesome Dove books. Had to push myself to finish reading it!
June 2, 2025
I really liked Desert Rose. It was well-drawn, witty and touching.
This though?
Well it started well. Harmony is no longer employed as a showgirl and is struggling financially as single parent of a young child, when she hears that her grown-up daughter has passed away. With encouragement (or strong-armed persuasion) from her two sisters, she suddenly sets off to start a new life.
So far so good...
It then becomes increasingly ridiculous. Her young child becomes more and more obnoxious without too many people seeming to notice. We discover that her family are more dysfunctional that Harmony believed and then there's a random cast of characters that she collects along the way. There's a young prostitute and her glue-sniffing husband who lives in a dumpster. Some immigrants who find her a place to stay and then tag along for no apparent reason. A dog who falls off the Statue of Liberty. A trip to the White House. It's as if McMurtry just wrote whatever sprung into his head, regardless of whether it was of any merit whatsoever. How a publisher accepted this...I don't know. Did they not employ editors?
Most of this is written in a comedic style and then every now and again, McMurtry seems to remember that the lead character's daughter has died so we go back to a bit of sorrow and grieving.
I could go on, but I'm going to end like McMurtry in this novel. Going on and on.
So I'll just say this. Any good bits are seriously outnumbered by nonsense and lazy writing.
I wish I had never bothered starting this.
I wish he had never written it!
Absolute rubbish x
This though?
Well it started well. Harmony is no longer employed as a showgirl and is struggling financially as single parent of a young child, when she hears that her grown-up daughter has passed away. With encouragement (or strong-armed persuasion) from her two sisters, she suddenly sets off to start a new life.
So far so good...
It then becomes increasingly ridiculous. Her young child becomes more and more obnoxious without too many people seeming to notice. We discover that her family are more dysfunctional that Harmony believed and then there's a random cast of characters that she collects along the way. There's a young prostitute and her glue-sniffing husband who lives in a dumpster. Some immigrants who find her a place to stay and then tag along for no apparent reason. A dog who falls off the Statue of Liberty. A trip to the White House. It's as if McMurtry just wrote whatever sprung into his head, regardless of whether it was of any merit whatsoever. How a publisher accepted this...I don't know. Did they not employ editors?
Most of this is written in a comedic style and then every now and again, McMurtry seems to remember that the lead character's daughter has died so we go back to a bit of sorrow and grieving.
I could go on, but I'm going to end like McMurtry in this novel. Going on and on.
So I'll just say this. Any good bits are seriously outnumbered by nonsense and lazy writing.
I wish I had never bothered starting this.
I wish he had never written it!
Absolute rubbish x
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2025
a flawed almost classic
I was genuinely loving this book, I adored how it explored Harmonys grief and how it was very realistic in the way it handled deep close familial death. Even if I do wish somewhat Pepper had lived a little before, I understand that’s the crux of the book. Interesting that McMurtry set his other very popular women led novels Terms of Endearment in the context of a daughter dying. I was loving it alright, but then… The reached New York. Instead of focusing on Harmony and Pepper grieving together which was far more interesting, it switched gears and started focusing on random side characters, all of which were outdated racial stereotypes. This lasted for a long time too, this is not a short book, and about 170 or so pages were all about these characters that this book did not need in the slightest. I wasn’t huge on Neddie or Pat either, but they at least had a story reason to be there and it fit the narrative. But dogs jumping out of the Statue of Liberty?? The president showing up, it felt like a totally different book out of nowhere and it’s a damn shame. It does eventually get back to being pretty good again, but the damage is done at that point. It’s a great first half, a borderline miss of a second half, and it sticks the landing for the most part. It almost was better than Desert Rose, if it wasn’t for that pesky middle. I recommend it for McMurtry fans though. Also for somebody who was a father, did Larry actually ever listen to how a 5 year old speaks?
I was genuinely loving this book, I adored how it explored Harmonys grief and how it was very realistic in the way it handled deep close familial death. Even if I do wish somewhat Pepper had lived a little before, I understand that’s the crux of the book. Interesting that McMurtry set his other very popular women led novels Terms of Endearment in the context of a daughter dying. I was loving it alright, but then… The reached New York. Instead of focusing on Harmony and Pepper grieving together which was far more interesting, it switched gears and started focusing on random side characters, all of which were outdated racial stereotypes. This lasted for a long time too, this is not a short book, and about 170 or so pages were all about these characters that this book did not need in the slightest. I wasn’t huge on Neddie or Pat either, but they at least had a story reason to be there and it fit the narrative. But dogs jumping out of the Statue of Liberty?? The president showing up, it felt like a totally different book out of nowhere and it’s a damn shame. It does eventually get back to being pretty good again, but the damage is done at that point. It’s a great first half, a borderline miss of a second half, and it sticks the landing for the most part. It almost was better than Desert Rose, if it wasn’t for that pesky middle. I recommend it for McMurtry fans though. Also for somebody who was a father, did Larry actually ever listen to how a 5 year old speaks?
October 8, 2022
The Late Child, McMurtry’s sequel to the Las Vegas set The Desert Rose, is a bittersweet, sometimes goofy journey through grief (as well as a literal cross country journey). Harmony’s daughter Pepper is dead, roughly 5 years after she left Vegas for New York. Harmony was never going to win mother of the year, but she’s understandably heartbroken by the loss. So she travels across America with her two sisters, her five year old son, and a whole entourage they meet along the way. Despite the premise, this isn’t one of McMurtry’s tearjerkers, though there are a few incredibly sweet and heartwarming moments. This is a story about grief and hope, about the connections we can make with the people who become family to us. Harmony is still an airhead, but she’s grown from The Desert Rose (see, for example, her punching one of her dozens of scumbag ex-boyfriends in his needy chipmunk face), and she descends to moments of true hopelessness, despite being surrounded by the lovely group of friends her effervescent son attracts. Plus, McMurtry manages to write a 5 year old kid who is precocious without being annoying, which is apparently a hard thing for some writers to do. He’s also great at writing dimensional gay/bi characters. A better book than The Desert Rose, The Late Child is another example of how good even McMutry’s lesser books are.
July 17, 2019
Harmony was a Las Vegas showgirl...one of the most beautiful ever...no she works in a recycling plant. Her daughter, Pepper, left home at 16 and moved to NYC to become a dancer. As the book begins, Harmony receives a letter from Pepper's roommate saying that Pepper has died of AIDS. Harmony is lost in grief and hysteria...her best friends insist Pepper call her sister's for family support.
Her sister's come to get her and they leave Las Vegas, initially to travel to Oklahoma where the rest of Pepper's family live, with some stops along the way to sho Pepper's 5-year-old son, Eddy, some sites (like the Grand Canyon). When the Pepper, et al, lose the trailer carrying Pepper and Eddy's belongings, the sisters decide instead to fly to NYC.
This book is sad but humorous: from the folks that the sisters meet in NYC to the family back in Oklahoma.
Her sister's come to get her and they leave Las Vegas, initially to travel to Oklahoma where the rest of Pepper's family live, with some stops along the way to sho Pepper's 5-year-old son, Eddy, some sites (like the Grand Canyon). When the Pepper, et al, lose the trailer carrying Pepper and Eddy's belongings, the sisters decide instead to fly to NYC.
This book is sad but humorous: from the folks that the sisters meet in NYC to the family back in Oklahoma.
October 28, 2019
My friend suggested and gave me this book. I fondly remember reading Lonesome Dove in the mid 80s and maybe expected some of the same style. I found this rather rambling, circuitous, and a little ridiculous with some of the plot lines. There were many interesting themes that felt lost in the overall circus of the book and the balance between the two was tilted too much to the extreme. I had not read The Desert Rose written in 1983 which is the prequel to this book. I am rather curious but not enough to discover whether 12 years earlier, he wrote his characters and story differently.
October 17, 2023
I struggled to finish this book. Lonesome Dove is one of my all time favorite books, I also enjoyed his books with the character Aurora Greenway. So when I stumbled upon this book, I thought I had found another treasure. Sadly no, I understand there is another book with this character, but given my disappointment with this one, I won't be checking it out.
All these characters & there was a cast of thousands were flat & not well drawn, The situations were silly & contrived. And in the end, loose ends were not tied up leaving me wondering what was the point of this book. It was a dud, for me.
All these characters & there was a cast of thousands were flat & not well drawn, The situations were silly & contrived. And in the end, loose ends were not tied up leaving me wondering what was the point of this book. It was a dud, for me.
August 14, 2025
My sister said what a great book and we usually like the same books but not this one. I got 2/3 of the way through it and had to read the end. The characters got to the point they were unbelievable and I couldn't understand how they could leave a wrecked trailer in Canyon de Chellis without consequences. (I've been there twice) Also I imagined most of them to be practically destitute but they were flying to NYC and staying in hotels. Plus I felt little Eddie was a precocious brat. Now... to tell my sister what I thought.
March 13, 2018
I needed a Larry McMurtry fix! Had never read this book before - it is the sequel to The Desert Rose. It was fun to catch up with Harmony again. I thought it was classic McMurtry, who is one of my favorite authors. Harmony learns that her daughter Pepper has died of AIDS in New York City. The story goes from Vegas to NYC to Oklahoma with some very interesting McMurtry characters along the way!
July 28, 2019
If you are expecting another Lonesome Dove or Comanche Moon.....pass this one on by. It's a story of a mother, Harmony that gets the worst news ever. Her daughter has died.....Oddly enough, this bad news has a lot as well as not much to do with the storyline. Weird twists and turns around every other page it seems. Every character in this book could have their own book. Strange strange strange book, but I kind of liked it.
November 19, 2023
It started with a bang, then slowly fizzled. The underlying story of unresolved family love and disputes is solid.
I took off one star for length.
Another star for chaotic evil of too many characters and random subplots.
I normally like that with McMurtry but this one seemed to miss the mark.
I took off one star for length.
Another star for chaotic evil of too many characters and random subplots.
I normally like that with McMurtry but this one seemed to miss the mark.
August 2, 2024
Pedal To The Metal!
Truly unusual story, and one must be aware that this is a two book journey. It’s a bumpy one, and like all journeys it won’t all appeal to you. You need to hang in there. Give it a chance to develop. I’m still thinking about it, and concerned about the characters!
Truly unusual story, and one must be aware that this is a two book journey. It’s a bumpy one, and like all journeys it won’t all appeal to you. You need to hang in there. Give it a chance to develop. I’m still thinking about it, and concerned about the characters!
January 1, 2020
I really like Harmony's character and wish there was another book about her. She's starting fresh and I'd love to see how things turn out. It was sad about Pepper but she wasn't a very likable character in the last one so it wasn't a huge deal.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2021
McMurtry’s ability to draw complex characters beset by mixture of emotions surprisingly allows the reader to relate in many ways. However, I find the main child in this novel an irritating brat. The plot takes unexpected turns, but grows more intriguing as the novel progresses.
August 6, 2018
Not quite sure what to make of these characters....
October 8, 2019
I really enjoy Larry McMurtry, but this book had no real point. I hope the next one will be better.
February 22, 2020
Is it REALLY the same author of Lonesome Dove? Hard for me to believe!
October 21, 2024
It was too jumbly for me.
August 27, 2025
Harmony's two sister are hilarious especially Pat the sex addict. The three plus Harmony's five year old son are sometimes very funny and argumentative but there is a lot of melancholy and commentary on middle-age from a women's prespective
Harmony potrays the Grief process very accurately
Pg.140 Pat:
" If God did make the world in only six days, then no wonder it's so fu(ked up."
50%
The main character Harmony STILL causes me to take breaks from this series. It is an accurate portrayal of growth: one step forward, two steps backward but is so infuriating to read. Even her sisters claim they never make the right decisions in their family. Harmony struggles with self-worth and boundry setting. Her optimistic attitude and kind heart makes her flaws annoying rather than a fully unlikable character
Pg.314
"The problem was, once a tragedy had happened, memories were always there, they could always open beneath you like a trapdoor. The trapdoor would open and plunge you downward, into the depth of your regrets. It was a fact that could make you fearful."
Harmony's mother, Ethel, is a horrible woman. Harmony's character makes a lot more sense now
End Recap:
I think i liked the duology, but i know for sure i did not love it. It was quiet odd and random with some very touching moments woven in. Harmony is likeable but very frusterating.
Harmony potrays the Grief process very accurately
Pg.140 Pat:
" If God did make the world in only six days, then no wonder it's so fu(ked up."
50%
The main character Harmony STILL causes me to take breaks from this series. It is an accurate portrayal of growth: one step forward, two steps backward but is so infuriating to read. Even her sisters claim they never make the right decisions in their family. Harmony struggles with self-worth and boundry setting. Her optimistic attitude and kind heart makes her flaws annoying rather than a fully unlikable character
Pg.314
"The problem was, once a tragedy had happened, memories were always there, they could always open beneath you like a trapdoor. The trapdoor would open and plunge you downward, into the depth of your regrets. It was a fact that could make you fearful."
Harmony's mother, Ethel, is a horrible woman. Harmony's character makes a lot more sense now
End Recap:
I think i liked the duology, but i know for sure i did not love it. It was quiet odd and random with some very touching moments woven in. Harmony is likeable but very frusterating.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2024
Good McMur!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews