Adult Readers Advisory: "Telegraph Days" by Larry McMurtry

Telegraph Days
By Larry McMurtry

Synopsis: After her father commits suicide, Nellie Courtright lives her exciting life in the Old West. She becomes the telegraph lady in little Rita Blanca, where her brother Jackson takes down the entire Yazee gang; meets Wyatt Earp and his brothers; works for Buffalo Bill Cody; has a ringside seat at the shootout at the O.K. Corral; and more. It's an epic tale of one woman watching the changing landscape of the West.

Western Elements:

Pacing: "Telegraph Days" has a leisurely pace, despite spanning many years of Nellie's life. It reads as a recollection of Nellie's adventures, with lots of asides and reflections, and less description of exciting events like shootouts and train robberies. Part of that may also have to do with Nellie's no-nonsense style of speaking; she's blunt and doesn't get excited easily.

Frame & Setting: The mythical old West of stories and movies is the setting for "Telegraph Days," and while Nellie visits many real places, such as Dodge City and North Platte, Nebraska, a good chunk of the action takes place in Rita Blanca, which, while being a real place, is "No-Man's Land" during the story - a place not claimed by any state. The book is set in a more solid time and place than many Westerns, but Nellie's descriptions of her surroundings makes the rough landscape its own character nonetheless.

Story Line: The story of "Telegraph Days" is, at its core, Nellie learning to not only survive, but thrive in the Wild West, along with a parallel story of the way that the Wild West went from being wild to being the stuff of myth, thanks to books and movies. This feels different from the typical Westerns. The traditional heroes and villains are made to be supporting characters in the drama of Nellie Courtright's life, and Nellie gives the reader an inside scoop. It's serves as a commentary on, or loving spoof of, traditional Westerns.

Characterization: Nellie is not a typical female Western character, neither a fallen woman with a heart of gold nor a good woman who stands by her man. She's more complicated than that. She isn't pure, and has dalliances with many different men during the course of the novel. She's a good woman, but she's also tough. She isn't exactly a typical Western hero in skirts either, though she does share some characteristics - she's a loner and a wanderer, though she doesn't administer justice or right wrongs. She's an active player in many big events described in the novel, many of which are events that take on mythical qualities, but she's usually working behind the scenes. Nellie can't quite be called a feminist heroine, but she certainly casts some light on the women behind the men described in Westerns.

Tone & Mood: "Telegraph Days" skims the surface of a lot of events without going in depth, which gives it a breezy feel. It's also funny, often darkly so. There is a nostalgia to the book, as any good Western should have, but it's a nostalgia that's tinged with sarcasm and droll commentary.

Style & Language: "Telegraph Days" is told in the straightforward tone of Nellie Courtright - sometimes shockingly so. The book is no-nonsense about everything, from descriptions of people and places to Nellie's forthright discussions of sex. There is a staccato feel to the dialogue, and the whole book feels gritty and frank.

Read-Alikes: Readers who enjoyed the Western setting and female protagonist of "Telegraph Days" may enjoy "True Grit" by Charles Portis, which also features a no-nonsense female protagonist (albeit a teenage one). "The Sisters Brothers" by Patrick deWitt is also a Western novel with a darkly funny tone. The books of Elmer Kelton, such as "The Day the Cowboys Quit," are Westerns that take place in the same transitional time period as "Telegraph Days." Pat Conroy's novels of the South, such as "The Prince of Tides" have a similar feel in a different setting from McMurtry's Western landscape and may be a win for someone looking for something a little bit different.

Jenny's Take: I wasn't sure what to expect with a Western, since it is a genre I have rarely read; most of my knowledge of the genre comes from movies. To complicate matters, I picked a book that doesn't appear to quite be a typical Western. I found the story to be kind of silly and far-fetched - Nellie meets a lot of famous Western characters - but I enjoyed the way that McMurtry put them all in the book and played with our perceptions of those people. It ended up feeling like a commentary, but I am sure I missed some of it because of my lack of knowledge of the genre. I really liked Nellie as a character, but for someone who reads a lot of Romance, with its flowery descriptions, Nellie's frank talk was a bit of a shock. It wasn't an unwelcome shock and it didn't offend me - in fact, it worked well for the character - but I'm not used to lines like, "Even then copulating with Teddy was no sure thing - he seemed to have no inkling as to how to find the entrance to the cave of joy. Tired of waiting - why can't the fool find it? - I put him in my hand, and then later, after an eruption and a nap, I put him in again and had some fun myself." (That encounter would have taken two or three chapters in a Romance novel.) It was fun to read a narrator who was that forthright - not just about sex, but about everything. I don't expect Westerns to become my favorite genre, but it was certainly a fun experience to read the book!