January 22, 2022

travel richness

Here, There, Elsewhere: Stories from the RoadHere, There, Elsewhere: Stories from the Road by William Least Heat-Moon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In "Here, There, Elsewhere", William Least Heat-Moon takes us along on a rich collection on journeys in the format of short journalistic articles. He brings his depth of spirit and discovery to each of the places he takes us, helping us to experience the many dimensions each place embodies. Morning in Manarola holds a special place among this collection, and we are looking forward to going back there. It has been too long since i last read William Least Heat-Moon, and i'm looking forward to continuing his classic travel trilogy with "PrairyErth" later this year.

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January 3, 2022

rich story telling

Horseman, Pass
        By Horseman, Pass By by Larry McMurtry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having seen the film "Hud" recently, I wanted to experience the story on which it was based. I just completed reading McMurtry's travel book entitled "Roads" and had an idea of the setting for this story. "Horseman, Pass By" is a richly layered and textured story of life on a ranch in central Texas, near the fictional town of Thalia, which based on the town where McMurtry grew up. The characters are 3D and real, their conversations feel authentic, especially compared to my similar rural early years in the Ozarks of Missouri. The personal dynamics between the family members, ranch hands and towns folk all feel as if they were real. The descriptions of the country and landscape are as picturesque as words can make them. The story is told by the teenage grandson of the family patriarch. Step-parents and siblings add to the complication of the relationships and color of the story. Based on my rich experience with this book and the film, I want to read the remaining two books that complete what is informally known as the Thalia Trilogy, the last of which is "The Last Picture Show", which was made into another excellent film. McMurtry's writing and story telling is warm and rich, which makes for a great reading experience.

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January 1, 2022

trips of the road-warrior variety

Roads: Driving America's Great HighwaysRoads: Driving America's Great Highways by Larry McMurtry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Having heard of Mr. McMurtry of Lonesome Dove fame, and being quite fond of travel log books i've read, i was looking forward to this book. In it, the author makes many cross country trips of the road-warrior variety, deliberately picking the Interstate highways on which to drive. This struck me as an unusual way to experience the country, but i hung in there. The descriptions of places are rather macro and superficial, as expected, traveling Interstate highways as opposed to the "Blue Highways" of William Least Heat-Moon. Intermixed with the travel are bits of history, wit, and cynicism not unlike that of Bill Bryson. But i think what Mr. McMurtry adds to this type of narrative is his deep appreciation of books and authors. Hardly a place is traversed that some famous book(s) and author(s) are noted, often with some history linked to them. My favorite part of the book was the next to the last chapter where he reminisces about the back roads of his Depression era childhood in Texas, and how as a child he asked "where" the paved highway near their ranch "went". The answer is revealed in the the last chapter, which is a really special way to end the journey. The mode of travel presented is not inspirational, at least not to me, but this is a nice overview of Mr. McMurtry's travels.

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