Stewart Mitchell’s Reviews > Lonesome Dove > Status Update

This story really feels as long as it is, and I mean that as a positive. Storylines break away and meander; some characters progress while others prove to be false starts; everything seems to be pacing towards some grand finale. It is never boring.

385 pages left? Home stretch, baby.

Now that I’m halfway through, I’m really appreciating the deliberate pace of the story so far. McMurtry is taking his time and is in no rush to get to any big action; rather, he’s letting this huge cast of characters bump into each other and have small adventures that don’t pertain to the main plot (if there even is one). Lovely stuff.

Very bold of this man to start writing from even more perspectives after 250 pages spent introducing dozens of characters. And somehow it never gets confusing because they’re all so well-defined.

Not much reading today but I’m enjoying this even more than I thought I would. McMurtry has a great sense of humor and he’s great at alternating between multiple characters’ perspectives within a few sentences. We’ve reached some action, but the best moments so far have been the quiet ones.