Well Michael, I am now into Chap. 11, Book 1 of the Berrybender Narratives. The Berrybenders are a British family of eccentrics who, together with an amusing assortment of family, staff, Indians, etc. are traveling by steamer up the Missouri River. -- well I'm hooked -- McM's writing, humor and description of the river and the prairie are engrossing -- but his description of the various characters, and I do mean characters, has me chuckling out loud. He describes a dog as "barking its inhabitants to death" -- a small girl as a "malignant sprite" -- and this: "He just looked tired -- nothing seemed to tire men so quickly as even a few minutes' questioning by a persistent woman." He has an observant eye for the foibles and follies of his characters -- and his description of the vast west is reminiscent of the "Lonesome Dove" series.
This series, a tetralogy, about the adventures of the Berrybenders in the American west of 1832-36 is set on the great rivers - the Missouri, the Yellowstone, the Rio Grande, and the Brazos. A cast of characters is listed which is a necessity, since they are so many --once you get into the story, it becomes easier to remember them -- but it helps in the beginning.
If you like McM, and I really do, I would recommend it. So far, it's an entertaining read IMO.
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The Book Reporter: The Berrybender Narratives are not something you can jump into. While McMurtry is incapable of writing badly, this series is best read from the beginning, as it is most definitely a sequential narrative. ... the fourth and final volume ...sustains, and even surpasses, the energy of its predecessors.