This month’s book review features a Larry McMurtry book – “Boone’s Lick”
This was my first time reading a Larry McMurtry book, and I was pleasantly surprised. After reading “Boone’s Lick,” it’s easy to see why he is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. He’s most well-known for his bestseller “Lonesome Dove,” which also became a hit TV miniseries starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones.
“Boone’s Lick” follows the story of the Cecil family, led by their stalwart mother, Mary Margaret, who travels by riverboat and wagon from Boone’s Lick, Missouri, to Fort Phil Kearny in Wyoming sometime after the Civil War.
She is searching for her oftentimes absent husband, Dick, who has again left her to fend for herself, their four children, her brother-in-law Seth, and her father, Grandpa Crackenthorpe. Her reason for finally tracking him down after putting up with his absence for over 15 years is “to quit him.”
The story is narrated by her oldest son, Shay, a 15-year-old boy, who provides a believable voice in describing their eventful journey. When Mary Margaret decides to pack up the family and leave, they aren’t really sure where they are even going to find her unreliable husband. But the stubborn Mary Margaret will not be deterred.
As the story unfolds, they encounter hostile Indians, harsh winter weather, and finally the truth behind their father’s frequent absences.
Although I don’t usually read Western genre books, I will try out another book by Larry McMurtry and highly recommend “Boone’s Lick”!
