Lonesome Dove Lecture: The Waning of the West (Chapters 1-25)
Added 2026-01-18 22:34:28 +0000 UTC‘It was an odd thing, but true, that the death of an enemy could you affect you as much, almost as much, as the death of a friend.’
Today we are discussing the first part of Larry McMurtry's sweeping saga. We are meeting his characters together, wrangling with profound themes of the human condition, and immersing ourselves in the vivid world of Lonesome Dove.
We're discussing cinematic storytelling, friendship, Epicureanism vs Stoicism, Latin mottoes, seeing the world through another's eyes, the history of the West, the hero's journey, great Western films, men and women, finding meaning in hardship, and much more.
Please feel free to listen before, during, or after your reading and enjoy the work at the pace that best suits you. You do not need to have read all of these chapters to enjoy the discussion as I am staying away from plot details revealed later in the work.
Timestamps:
0:00 welcome to Lonesome Dove
2:00 meeting the novel’s characters
4:00 the marvel of free indirect style
6:00 philosophy of Augustus McCrae
8:00 Lonesome Dove vs Blood Meridian
10:00 influence of Dante’s Inferno
12:00 Rio Bravo film appreciation
15:00 appreciating A Fistful of Dollars
18:00 influence in the Western genre
20:00 enjoying the first page together
22:00 how Augustus views his pigs
24:00 the horse of Woodrow Call
26:00 the friendship of Call & Gus
28:00 meaning of the name Augustus
30:00 prophet of sunrise & sunset
31:00 the meaning of Call’s name
33:00 Newt, Pea Eye, Deets, Bolivar
35:00 town as microcosm of America
37:00 what makes one American?
40:00 seeing through another’s eyes
42:00 Civil War as recent history
45:00 is history ever fully behind us?
47:00 US relation to the native tribes
49:00 waning of the Comanche raids
50:00 rise of transcontinental railroad
51:00 how Lonesome Dove was born
53:00 Call’s longing for meaning
56:00 existential danger of retirement
58:00 combatting depression & anxiety
1:00:00 older the violin, sweeter the music
1:03:00 driving North across the US
1:05:00 refusal of the call to adventure
1:06:00 McMurtry’s women protagonists
1:08:00 the character of Lorena Wood
1:10:00 what do men truly want?
1:11:00 the scar & silence of Lorrie
1:14:00 locales to aim at in our minds
1:16:00 the character of Jake Spoon
1:18:00 paternity as perennial story
1:20:00 where did the title come from?
1:22:00 aren’t we all lonesome doves?
1:24:00 homecoming vs setting out
1:26:00 why the allure of Montana?
1:28:00 manifesting your own destiny
1:30:00 yearning for meaning in danger
1:32:00 being possessed with an idea
1:34:00 Hat Creek Cattle Company sign
1:38:00 what does the Latin motto mean?
1:40:00 life’s about the company you keep
1:41:00 Wilbarger’s need for a remuda
1:42:00 the inflection point of the story
1:44:00 Lorena Wood falls for Jake Spoon
1:46:00 how Jake really feels for Lorrie
1:48:00 Deets’ sublime moon monologue
1:51:00 crossing the border to steal horses
1:54:00 even sinners can do Christian acts
1:57:00 does justice change at the border?
1:59:00 when the action finally kicks off
2:01:00 what does it mean to be a man?
2:03:00 mourning the death of their enemy
2:06:00 the crew leave Lonesome Dove
2:10:00 your thoughts on the novel so far?
Resources to Explore:
Film Appreciation: We previously recommended two great Westerns from Howard Hawks and Sergio Leone. If their films resonated with you, it's definitely worth exploring the rest of these directors' filmographies. For Hawks, Red River is another great Western, but he also does great film noir with The Big Sleep (screenplay by Faulkner) and screwball comedy like His Girl Friday. For Leone, the Dollars Trilogy, with For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, in particular is a sublime cinematic sweep, and Once Upon a Time in the West is an astonishing masterpiece. Going deeper into Sergio Leone, note the influence of Akira Kurosawa upon him and, coming forward in time, enjoy homage to both titans in the films of Quentin Tarantino. But my two curated Western film recommendations this week are: The Searchers (1956, dir. John Ford) and The Wild Bunch (1969, dir. Sam Peckinpah). For another movie from McMurtry's filmography, check out Terms of Endearment (1983, dir. James L. Brooks), which was adapted from another of his novels penned prior to Lonesome Dove. As you continue watching John Wayne, consider the fact that McMurtry wanted him to play Woodrow Call. Can you see him as the character?
Music Appreciation: With our good friend Augustus McCrae in my mind, I've been listening to Hank Thompson sing 'The Older the Violin, the Sweeter the Music' from 1974 on repeat as my daughter loves this genre of music: 'These specks of gray that's in my hair just make me look distinguished / They don't mean I'm over the hill baby I'm not extinguished.' For another great song, and one of my favourite pieces of cinema history, enjoy Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson singing 'My Rifle, My Pony, and Me' from Rio Bravo: 'The sun is sinking in the west / The cattle go down to the stream / The redwing settles in the nest / It's time for a cowboy to dream'. Or, if you want to crank up the intensity of your day-to-day life, Ennio Morricone's soundtracks for the great Spaghetti Westerns are phenomenal.
Radio & TV: One can easily become obsessed with Old Time Radio, especially with classic shows like Gunsmoke, which would also become a popular long-running television series. As it's set during the same era as Lonesome Dove, you might find it interesting to tune in to an episode. If you're looking to get into a more recent series, with high production value and influenced by McMurtry's world, then Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone, 1883, and 1923 are enormously popular.
Interviews: There is a wonderful segment from CBS Sunday Morning in which we get a brilliant glimpse into the working and writing relationship of Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana as they wrote the screenplay for the Oscar-winning Ang Lee film Brokeback Mountain. There is also a superb talk with some of the cast and crew from the Lonesome Dove series adaptation from the Austin Film Festival called 'The Women of Lonesome Dove' and also 'The Making of Lonesome Dove'. There are clips that show some plot details, so first time readers might like to hold this talk back for when the reach the end of the work, or have watched the series, as a treat.
Reading Assignment:
Our next discussion will cover up to and including chapter seventy-four of the story, which takes us through part two of the saga.
This coming weekend, we will be discussing the Oresteia of Aeschylus, which means the following weekend we will be back to Lonesome Dove. If you're reading both at the same time, it would be great to know what you're making of that experience.
Questions for You:
1) What are your impressions of Lonesome Dove thus far?
2) Which of McMurtry's characters is your favourite and why?
3) 'The older the violin, the sweeter the music.' Do you agree with Gus?
4) If you were setting off on the cattle drive, what would your journey be about?
If this is your first reading of Lonesome Dove, I would love to know how the story is meeting your expectations. If this is a reread for you, what is it like returning to the story? And please do share with us your favourite passage from the first part of the story.
Happy reading, everybody!
Comments
I'm loving this so far and I fell in love right from the beginning. Gus is the character I love the most with Deets in second place. I am so attached to these characters already and I know it's going to be painful as we inevitably lose some of them. Lorena's character surprised me. I felt so bad for her when I thought she had completely taken in by Jake, but it didn't take her long to figure him out. The whole sign scene and not renting pigs was absolutely hilarious to me. I'm excited to find out more about Call and Gus and their back story.
Tamera Cameron
2026-02-09 02:12:50 +0000 UTCFirst read of Lonesome Dove, and really enjoying it thus far. McMurtry's writing is very warm, comfortable (for now), and tactile. His words provoke my senses and make you feel as if you're right there at the Hat Creek Cattle Company. All the characters are fascinating and have such depth, but I probably find Deets to be the most endearing. The imagining of the Native Americans riding onto the moon was so colorful in comparison to the groundedness of the rest of the story. That, and his theory that only men that can find happiness in the sky and the moon can make it through life were quite beautiful. It stunned me. Looking forward to see how the story adapts to this new pursuit in part two.
Pete McMahon
2026-02-07 18:22:51 +0000 UTCI just stumbled across your channel today on youtube when looking up Anna Karenina reviews. You have a gift for bringing literature alive and i listened to all of your videos. I just want to read and listen to books now. Thank you for this book club
Jonathan
2026-02-06 02:43:57 +0000 UTCSecond time around. First read was in 1987 when I was 26 with my first wife and her mother. Enjoyed it immensely! On my personal list of top ten (10) novels ever written with “Moby Dick” at No. 1. Had the great fortune to meet and listen to Larry McMurtry at the Tucson Book Festival before he died. He would often go to Tavelino Italian Restaurant when it was on North Oracle in Tucson. At that time Tavelino was owned by the daughter of J. Pat Egbert, Esq. who is a member of the “Lady & ‘Gentlemen’ Second Tuesday of the Month” Book Club of which I am a proud member. We’re a small but mighty book club who have been together for over 25 years having read 100’s of great fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and plays during that period. This is our February 2026 selection and I am the book’s grateful sponsor. Thank you, Benjamin. Your insights are spot on and a wonderful resource that truly brings this book to life.
Shaun P. Kenney
2026-02-06 00:16:34 +0000 UTCIt's fascinating to think that Gus and Call's real-life counterparts were among the American audience for the monthly numbers of Dickens' novels. I imagine that Captain Call would find Esther Summerson, who is the very model of "duty," to be nigh-irresistible.
Will Pharis
2026-02-06 00:08:45 +0000 UTCWhen I first started to read Lonesome Dove, I was struck by the dismissive way in which women were written about in the narrative, so very early on I took a look at the 'feminist' take on the book. Note, this was just a google search, nothing too heavy. What I read was that the book as a whole was felt to portray women as strong characters - so, this made me feel a little better about it, although it took a while for these characters to reveal themselves. I must say that I haven't been able to read Lonesome Dove book at the pace suggested, i finished reading it a few weeks ago and have just finished reading Streets of Loredo, the sequel as well. I have written down my observations and feelings about Lonesome Dove for when the lectures appear, so will comment later, but for now there is a difference between the two books that I'd like to try and explain with sensitivity. Any narrative about this context has to sanitise, otherwise it wouldn't be readable and some places in these books go into some very dark places. I think McMurtry tells us enough about all the dark places, shall we say, and sticks to the inner lives of the characters and how they interact and in this sense I found the books readable, enjoyable and not graphic, they didn't need to be. However, at one point in Streets of Loredo, I did get the feeling that I might not be able to handle things to come?? Thankfully, my concerns weren't justfied, and I really liked the conclusion of the book and how it ended. I will at some point take a look at McMurtry's prequels to these books, I really have enjoyed Lonesome Dove and Streets of Loredo, but now ready for a change... Susan
SusanJTJ
2026-02-05 19:27:08 +0000 UTCI’m new to book club and read Lonesome Dove right before joining. I was also in the camp of not a reader of westerns, but I wanted to challenge myself to try a well known one out. I dislike them because of the mistreatment of women and animals and still do. With that, I still enjoyed Lonesome Dove. I skipped ahead on a few parts because of how violent and disturbed I felt. I wanted to also mention I read A DANGEROUS BUSINESS by Jane Smiley which is a woman penned western about two prostitutes in 1850s California and enjoyed that for the depth of women’s voices, if anyone else was looking for something similar. I haven’t listened to this lecture yet, but I’m sure I will find even more value to my thoughts on this novel based on the previous lectures I’ve listened to!
Alexa Montesa
2026-02-05 03:32:10 +0000 UTCYes Phil, that was sublime! I've never read anything like it!
Diane
2026-02-04 23:08:32 +0000 UTCI thought the death scene described from inside Roscoe’s head, where we get to experience his death as it happens, was incredible. The ‘warmth’ and tranquility of it. There is something eerie yet comforting about such an imagining of what death might actually feel like—even a violent one.
Phil
2026-02-04 20:35:29 +0000 UTCSadly I think this is inevitable due to the trappings of Westerns (and epics in general). But McMurtry does a great job of subverting many archetypes of Western characters and dynamics. I still love the characterisation, it is on the same level of depth and empathy as Leo Tolstoy's novels.
Zhuo Chengsheng
2026-02-03 02:44:38 +0000 UTCI am loving my first reading of Lonesome Dove… and I have loved it from the first page. The way McMurtry brings the landscape and wildlife to life makes me feel like I’m there. The character development is sublime across the entire ensemble. So fun and easy to get lost in. Wonderful lecture! Thank you
Jack
2026-02-03 00:12:26 +0000 UTCWhile I am enjoying reading Lonesome Dove and consider it a masterpiece, it is still hard to read. The treatment of women and animals, the common disregard for human life—for all lie—is hard for me to bare. There have been even moments when I didn’t think I could read any further. I’ve not yet finished, so maybe I’ll feel lighter when I do. But right now, while humorous and real and undoubtedly a well-written, symbolic, metaphorical novel, it is hard to read and grabs my heart strings with sadness and senseless. It’s more of a tragedy. Maybe that is its point.
Beth Basham
2026-02-01 15:53:16 +0000 UTC
