MADreads

For Duane fans only - Stop now if you don’t want to know the ending

February 8th, 2010 Katharine - Sequoya

Many authors write series characters, some of my favorites are Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie, Kellerman’s Alex Delaware and Trigiani’s Ave Maria Mulligan. Larry McMurtry has been writing about Duane Moore for many years and in Rhino Ranch - **SPOILER ALERT** - I’m not warning you again - McMurtry finally ends his love affair with all things Thalia, TX and lets his most memorable series character go gracefully into that good night.  I have to admit it’d been years since reading about Duane, but after a few pages in, all his character’s graces and flaws were easy to remember.  It felt like catching up with an old soap opera and unless McMurtry pulls a “back from the dead episode” Duane’s rich life ended more with a wimper than a bang.  Here’s a few highlights from Rhino Ranch for those readers that have waited for this last installment.

Rhino Ranch starts with billionaire K.K. Slater arriving in the sleepy oil town of Thalia convinced a game preserve full of African rhinos is exactly what it needs.  Duane is retired now and his son runs his enormously successful oil company, but like all reclusive millionaires whose wives have just left them he prefers to spend his days contemplating life in his cabin or fishing for a prize winning bass with his good buddy Bobby Lee.  K.K needs Duane’s support to make the town accept the new Rhino Ranch and also needs to clear out the local meth dealers who like to start fires on her property. Duane’s day-to-day existence dealing with the Rhino Ranch and his constant failing relationships with women make up the bulk of the story and comes to an abrupt finish when its’ wrapped up in two paragraphs on the last page.  That’s it.  Finito.  Duane’s dead.

Duane’s family and friends are a motley crew of eccentrics and that’s the only thing that kept this story interesting; he calls his old shrink Honor weekly to clear out his emotional cobwebs, his flippant ex-wife Annie who runs off to Paris and finds a new husband to name just a couple.  I most enjoyed his grandson Willy whose love of philosophy creates some interesting dialogue about all things Texas and all things life.  The less than appealing characters in Duane’s story were, however, the cast of barely legal oversexed women that Duane seemed to attract.  I forgot how crass McMurtry’s dialogue can be at times and some parts were just too ‘dirty old man’ for me.  The other “not my cup of tea” thing was McMurtry’s writing style of breaking the novel into 3 page chapters, way too jarring for this finicky reader.  Did he do that in all of his books?  SO, unless you’re a diehard McMurtry fanatic I would say mosey on by this texas tale.  Farewell Duane.  You had a good run.

**The Last Picture Show (where Duane’s story began) was published in 1966 and according to this article we may be saying goodbye to McMurtry also.  Farewell McMurtry.  You had a good run too.

Entry Filed under: Recreational Fiction