Some Can Whistle [Mass Market Paperback]

Larry McMurtry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1990

In his most moving and richly comic contemporary novel since Texasville, Larry McMurtry returns to the modern West he created so masterfully in The Last Picture Show and Terms of Endearment. SOME CAN WHISTLE spins a tale of Hollywood glitz and texas grit; of an extraordinary young woman and a murderous young man; and a middle-aged millionaire running head-on into the longings, joys and pathos of real life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At 51, fat, lonely and rich Danny Deck (from All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers ) is contacted by his 22-year-old daughter, whom he last saw on the night of her birth. PW was disappointed with McMurtry's performance: "Full of events that defy credibility, and peopled with characters whose relentless eccentricities are not remotely appealing, the novel further suffers from rampant sentimentality."
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

The Washington Post Satisfying, sure, masterful, heartbreaking, and beautiful. Don't miss it.

Chicago Tribune Deliciously human comedy...An original, touching love story.

The New York Times Book Review Larry McMurtry can write about anything he wants, and most everything that breathes and is literate will beg for more. Mr. McMurtry's prose stands up and kicks fence posts.

Playboy McMurtry has a gift for probing the poignant depths of parent-child relationships, and the emotional roller-coaster ride of this love affair between father and daughter is a moving, hilarious delight. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (September 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099742403
• ISBN-13: 978-0671722135
• ASIN: 0671722131
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,728,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Larry McMurtry is the author of twenty-nine novels, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lonesome Dove. His other works include two collections of essays, three memoirs, and more than thirty screenplays, including the coauthorship of Brokeback Mountain, for which he received an Academy Award. His most recent novel, When the Light Goes, is available from Simon & Schuster. He lives in Archer City, Texas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Spoilers!, June 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Some Can Whistle (Mass Market Paperback)

You people are incredibly rude! Please don't tell the ending of the story in the review. If you haven't read the book, don't read the reviews from Laura or Paul. Could you be more rude?

By the way, I loved the book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre., October 5, 2003

By 

algo41 "algo41" (philadelphia, pa United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Some Can Whistle (Mass Market Paperback)

I loved Texasville, and couldn't finish Terms of Endearment. Unfortunately, "Some Can Whistle" is closer to Terms of Endearment, although I can take the main character, Danny Deck, more seriously. He is the former writer/producer of a number one rated TV series, who has become depressed, and doesn't do much on an isolated estate. The 21 year old daughter he has never seen contacts him, and sets the plot in motion, while awakening him from his depression. In some ways she is his antithesis: vital, joyful, impulsive. The book revels in eccentricities, but I didn't find it very amusing. It does make some interesting explorations of the nature of love and friendship between man and woman (parental love for children is unconditional in the novel). I found the main character interesting at times, and enjoyed the daughter. The book's ending was moving.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The only book that I could put down of Mr Mcmurtry's, January 6, 2000

By 

D. Carlson "DVD Freak" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Some Can Whistle (Mass Market Paperback)

This book I found the characters leaving a bad taste in my mouth. There is only one scene I found endering. I found All My Friends... enjoyable. But not this one. Mr McMurtry I love the rest of your woorks.