Customer Reviews

The Evening Star

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

No writer in the last half of the 20th century was better at character development than McMurtry. In "Terms" he introduced us to Aurora Greenway; here he he expands and burnishes her character while he folds in a supporting cast of almost equally fascinating lesser characters. This was one of those rare tomes I wished would never end. You don't have to like her, but if you finish this book unaffected by la Greenway, you'd best read it again. Aurora's successful plan to ensure her young Grandson would never forget her is one of the most moving sequences I have ever read. Two years after first reading this novel and I still well up just thinking about it.

The continuing saga of Aurora Greenway, her friends, and her family is a random, lengthy read without much purpose and very little direction. Most of the 637 pages vacillate between Aurora's selfish, laughable, and audacious behavior, and that of her strange, absurd family members. Because there is so little emotional development, it is difficult to sympathize with any of the characters being presented. They fall in love quickly but somehow do not seem to really care about anyone but themselves. This makes the reader less inclined to be concerned about how any events will affect anyone else due to the cavalier attitude toward others or their plights.

Unlike other McMurtry books, I was not drawn into the world being portrayed and did not enjoy the quirky behavior or the stories being presented. McMurtry's normally masterful story-telling did not find fruition in this book. Aside from the last 80 pages or so, most of the book seemed random and non goal-oriented, without any sense of mystery or tension or even curiosity as to what will happen, making the story and the people sort of lifeless. I was happy to be done and generally disappointed with the book.

But not all was vapid, for some of the characters did grow through their experiences and improve their own lot in life. Aurora was a complex person and it was fun seeing her adjust through the challenges of life's battles and deal with the aging process. I still laugh when I try to figure out why she won't sing while stopped at stoplights! Many of the minor characters were introduced through their odd past and their current reactions to the situations in which they found themselves, and many were quite enjoyable people and very funny at times. The pervading sadness of the book, the deaths and the tragedies, was balanced with personal victories and positive circumstances, making Evening Star a fascinating study in people's motives as well as the bittersweet realities of life.

Not my favorite McMurtry book for sure, but enough redeeming qualities and interesting people to make it worth reading.

McMurtry's characters become so real to me that I can barely stand to let them go at the end of his books. I am so glad that I got to see what happened to the people from Terms of Endearment.

In typical McMurtry style, there is a good deal of humor and whimsy in this novel. For the first 400 pages or so I felt it was a bit overdone, but once I saw where the novel was headed, it made perfect sense. About the ultimate destination of the novel: it packs quite an emotional punch. Rare indeed is the novel that can make me cry, but this one did it.

Larry McMurty gives us another masterpiece of humor and tears in the continued saga of Aurora Greenway