Sonny is in high school with his best friend Duane and still a virgin. What do they do all day? I adored every single page of this fast-moving, microsociety-under-a-lens type story which depicts the sexual and schoolboy escapades of two friends in a small Texas town. There were some adults in the town who cared enough to listen and try to help. It's kind of a slice of life book, no real plot, just a series of funny, sad events in a shit-hole Texas town. I'm surprised because I liked and related to another novel of his much better, All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers, which I gave 3 stars. • Maybe this is too real, maybe I don't like reality, maybe I'm spoiled not only by better novels, but by movies and television too? What will happen to them once they graduate high school? Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. The Last Shot is a concise portrayal of institutional racism, localized to college basketball. This is the last time things will be like this, therefore the adjective "Last" in the title. Is there a term for a boring omniscient narrator who doesn't commit to any judgment and hardly knows anything except who did what and when? Maybe I'm spoiled, or maybe this is dated. $11.99. But still. Order our The Last Picture Show Study Guide, teaching or studying The Last Picture Show. Jacy's mother, Lois Farrow, offers Jacy advice for her future: marry the boy who offers the greatest opportunity, especially in escaping Anarene, that boy who isn't Duane. That was kind of unbelievable as well, but then again, maybe Texas in the 1960s was a very different place. by Orion Books. This section contains 676 words (approx. • Shelving menu. Larry McMurtry. Want to Read. I'd like to give this one three and a half stars please. YA 1950’s/early 1960’s. Is there a term for a boring omniscient narrator who doesn't commit to any judgment and hardly knows anything except who did what and when? 2 pages at 400 words per page) View a FREE sample. You didn't put it there.”, See 1 question about The Last Picture Show…, SOLVED. Perhaps I was a bit more primed for what I was in for because I've seen and loved the movie many times but it is still a bit disappointing to see so many readers take such a judgmental tack with. Perhaps I was a bit more primed for what I was in for because I've seen and loved the movie many times but it is still a bit disappointing to see so many readers take such a judgmental tack with the characters here. Unfortunately, that is not such an easy thing to do and this tale of their struggle to make the right decisions is a delightful read. This is really funny, unbelievable stuff, and would have fit well with another kind of novel, but just seems out of place here. You may need to download version 2.0 now from the Chrome Web Store. Duane is dating the beautiful Jacy Farrow, the daughter of the town's oil baron. And many of us very lonely for that reason. Repeatedly McMurtry describes the single stoplight in Thalia changing from green to red despite an absence of cars, and this traffic light becomes symbolic on a number of levels. This is one of McMurtry's most memorable novels - … More. It was published in '66, but takes place, by one late reference to a current Korean war, in the early 50's - I was assuming it was the 60's, you can't tell in such a small town setting. Click on a plot link to find similar books. You speed away before the smell of death settles on you. The Last Tycoon Summary. Order our The Last Picture Show Study Guide, teaching or studying The Last Picture Show. When the theater closes, it's one more reason to want to escape this dying town. I adored every single page of this fast-moving, microsociety-under-a-lens type story which depicts the sexual and schoolboy escapades of two friends in a small Texas town. And you sit there, quiet and delighted because the guy is funny and also not afraid to stop being funny and describe things that are sad and he does it with the raconteur's expertise, which means that there's tons of detail of the kind that takes you there to the place and to the mind of the characters. One year in the life of two friends, and the girl they both loved, who was rich, pretty, spoiled and worthless as a piece of fluff. Anecdotal power at its height, Larry McMurtry should've won the Pulitzer Prize for this one, perhaps more so than for his behemoth "Lonesome Dove" (gasp!). She is a picture of repression, and after we catch a glimpse of her opening up, Sonny abandons her and the devastation is total. Then folks stop attending the second-run features at the movie house and the time comes for the last picture show. I read this, because I had seen the film (I thought so anyway, now I'm not sure about that). The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Ellen Burstyn, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, and Cybill Shepherd. Paperback (Reprint) $ 14.45 $15.95 Save 9% Current price is $14.45, Original price is $15.95. I think this was one of the author's first books, and that shows a lot, which is why it gets 3 stars and not 4. I grew up in a place way more rural than the setting of this book, and though my friends and I may have made jokes to each other about some hicks doing something like that, I'm pretty sure no one we knew actually did it. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich. It might be a dying town, but the only real inference to that is the literal title, besides all the characters being all washed up, too, so it's actually a town that's already dead, and it sure feels like it, but without any artistry involved. It just didn't notice me. It's kind of lopsided that way, everyone circling down the drain. The review of this Book prepared by Bill Brumlow. McMurtry has an incredible talent of turning a (let's say) genre story into a touching, moving and intelligent character study. As the stars of their high school team, each young man represents hope for their otherwise blighted community. How do people live here? Bobby Logan isn't even questioned because his father doesn't want him to know what homosexuality is yet, and if it happened to him his father doesn't want him to realize it. I loved this book, and the film version was well done too. These encounters and relationships, especially for Sonny, Duane and Jacy, who are just coming to the age of exploring their sexuality, show just what future there is for them in Anarene. You Save 9%. Their spouses have died or are physically or emotionally absent. Maybe it's that McMurtry's cast of characters is too large, or that he focuses too heavily on Duane and Jacy when others deserve more screen time. This is almost pure slow action and I found it mostly uninteresting. Sonny relaxes with his friends, Sam the Lion (Ben Johnson), the aging but still vital cowboy who owns the small town's cafe, pool hall and movie theater, and Sam's ward, the mute, gentle, simple-minded Billy (Sam Bottoms). The characters became more rounded, and the description of their lives and the small town they lived in was honest but poignant. Their parents have died or have simply stopped caring for them. I cannot understand how this book has received such high ratings. Maybe there are people like that, but it's kind of hard for me to imagine. Recommended. I know people read for a myriad of reasons and no one way should be prized as "right" over another. This Study Guide consists of approximately 69 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Last Picture Show. When the theater closes, it's one more reason to want to escape this dying town. The Last Picture Show represents a transition in that direction from the rural, wide-open-spaces setting and focus of McMurtry’s earliest novels. So, in the end I was impressed with the book, not as much as with. Good but not remarkable. That's what this book is about. Sam the Lion, owner of the local café, pool hall and movie theater, and the unofficial father figure to many of the young men of the town, is one of the few people who seems content with his life in Anarene. With Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ben Johnson. He shares this opinion with some men at the filling station, and soon Cecil is before the school board and summarily sacked. This Study Guide consists of approximately 69 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Last Picture Show. Larry McMurtry does add some humor as he writes a good portrayal of lonely, unfulfilled people in this fading rural area. It is exquisite & very fun to get through. He'll tell you for example that Sonny was depressed and won't dwell too much on it assuming, as he should, that you know how that feels. The Last Picture Show - Chapter 18 Summary & Analysis. During the first basketball game of the season, somebody trips Sonny, and he smashes into the wall of the Paducah gym and is knocked unconscious. These small towns are still populated by human beings with the kind of flaws and ugliness you'll find in the suburbs. It is exquisite & very fun to get through. I wasn't sure about this at first; it seemed a pretty shallow account of life in small town America. This coming-of-age novel, set in the 1950s, is populated with eccentric small town characters that hang out at the poolhall, the all-night cafe, and the picture show. Another way to prevent getting this page in the future is to use Privacy Pass. It loosens you up from the notions of perfection that might be burdening you. He is the author of twenty-nine novels, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning, “Do you know what it means to be heartbroken?...It means your heart isn't whole, so you can't really do anything wholeheartedly.”, “You have to remember that I've been lonely for a long time. Maybe there's a gas station you'd rather take your chances running out of gas than stop at and a cafe with one or two customers wearing greasy, battered baseball caps. This coming-of-age novel, set in the 1950s, is populated with eccentric small town characters that hang out at the poolhall, the all-night cafe, and the picture show. There's a sense of loss associated with leaving school and finding work, becoming distanced from one's friends, and this sense of solitude in "The Last Picture Show" is exaggerated by the setting: the small town (Thalia) surrounded by wind-swept plains. Does this make any fucking sense? A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. I totally get why this was produced as s movie, but I'm so not interested in seeing it. This book is part of a more modern series and the basis for the classic film. Chapter 8 Summary. I first read "The Last Picture Show" when I was around the same age as the three main characters, Sonny, Duane, and Jacy, and the novel had a powerful effect on me. Performance & security by Cloudflare, Please complete the security check to access.