An Enjoyable Read | Rhino Ranch: A Novel

Easy to Read and Somewhat Entertaining | Rhino Ranch: A Novel | Larry McMurtry

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	• Rhino Ranch: A Novel Larry McMurtry Simon & Schuster, 2009 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 23 reviews view larger image
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Rhino Ranch

Another gem from McMurtry and another chapter in the Thalia series. McMurtry always writes a good book, with characters that seem real. People you could actually meet on the street. I find him very easy to read and hard to put down. I recommend it.

An Enjoyable Read

I have only read about 4 McMurtry books but I've enjoyed every one of them. This one is no exception. I was about 1/3 through it and thought about not continuing, but I'm glad I did. I quickly got caught up in the story of Duane. There are a lot of characters who are in and out of Duane's later years, but they are just background for Duane as he experiences life. They are not the story, though they are enjoyable and often humorous. Duane tries so hard to understand them all, especially the women. This book could have been twice as long if all of these characters had been developed, but that's fine. I felt more like I was listening to someone tell me the story of Duane. The only difficulty I had was trying to decide how much time had gone by. McMurtry does not give a good idea of something lasting years or months. He does a nice job of winding everything up in the end. I closed the book with some tears.

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Easy to Read and Somewhat Entertaining

Rhino Ranch is the story of Duane Moore, a hardworking and successful man in Thalia, TX. After his wife leaves him, Duane meets up with a billionaires named K.K. Slater who is importing endangered black rhinos into town in an effort to save them. This is the backdrop to introduce us to the zany characters of a small Texas town as well as the melancholy and loneliness Duane feels in his old age.

Slowly the rhinos fade out of the story, which is too bad because they were more believable than the quirky, and not-so-quirky, characters who pop in and out of the pages of this book. The author writes about Duane as if the reader is familiars with the series of books, but even though I haven't read the previous books I liked Duane, his friends and even his grandson which seemed to be the only sane character in the book. McMurtry can sure write cowboys, but the women lacked depth, each one was promiscuous on some level and wanted to lay one of the three elderly (late 60's early 70's) cowboys who the story mostly revolved around.
That being said, I thought the dialog was wonderful and the character development through mostly just talk was superb storytelling.

As mentioned, the rhinos all but disappear half way through the story. Rhinoceros are animals which has many symbolism attached to them such as freedom, stability, judgment and peace of mind among others. It seemed to me (maybe it was intentional, maybe not) that Duane's outlook is changing once the rhino he perceived to be his friend disappeared. At first, when his young wife left him, Duane is sad, but now he has his freedom to go fishing or spend nights in his cabin, as well as peace of mind (since his wife was cheating on him openly) all while looking forward to his daily walk to his cabin, through the rhino ranch, accompanied by his rhino friend. Once the rhinos disappeared he started questioning himself, losing his confidence, developing conspiracy theories, etc.

This book is easy to read, with lots and lots of white space, some of the chapters are half a page and none longer then two pages. Strangely enough, some of the chapters are split, or so it seemed to me, without any rhyme or reason.

When I started this book I didn't realize it was part of a series - so please keep that in mind as well.

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In this poignant and striking final chapter in the Duane Moore story, which began in 1966 with The Last Picture Show, Pulitzer Prize- and Oscar-winning author Larry McMurtry takes readers on one last unforgettable journey to Thalia, Texas, a town that continues to change at a breakneck pace even as Duane feels himself slowing down.

Returning home to recover from a near-fatal heart attack, Duane discovers that he has a new neighbor: the statuesque K. K. Slater, a quirky billionairess who's come to Thalia to open the Rhino Ranch, dedicated to the preservation of the endangered black rhinoceros. Despite their obvious differences, Duane can't help but find himself charmed by K.K.'s stubborn toughness and lively spirit, and the two embark on a flirtation that rapidly veers toward the sexual -- but the return of Honor Carmichael complicates Duane's romantic intentions considerably. As Duane reflects on all that he and Thalia have been through, he feels adrift in a world where love and betrayal walk hand in hand and a stalwart Texas oil town can become home to a nature preserve.

Rhino Ranch is a fitting end to this iconic saga, an emotional, whimsical and bittersweet tribute to the lives of a man and a town that have inspired readers across decades.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5