Mcmurtry Larry Quotes & Sayings

I'm a fastidious bookman and have never liked reading books with library markings or other messy defects. — Larry McMurtry

It's happiness to see you. — Larry McMurtry

The older the violin, the sweeter the music. — Larry McMurtry

What would you know about anything, Jasper?" Augustus asked. "Age don't slow a man's whoring. It's lack of income that does that. No more prosperous than you look, I wouldn't think you'd know much about it. — Larry McMurtry

The journeys that people took had always interested him; his own life was a constant journeying, though not quite so constant as it had been before he had his wives and children. Usually he only agreed to scout for the Texans if they were going in a direction he wanted to go himself, in order to see a particular hill or stream, to visit a relative or friend, or just to search for a bird or animal he wanted to observe. Also, he often went back to places he had been at earlier times in his life, just to see if the places would seem the same. In most cases, because he himself had changed, the places did not seem exactly as he remembered them, but there were exceptions. The simplest places, where there was only rock and sky, or water and rock, changed the least. When he felt disturbances in his life, as all men would, Famous Shoes tried to go back to one of the simple places, the places of rock and sky, to steady himself and grow calm again. — Larry McMurtry

Only a rank degenerate would drive 1,500 miles across Texas without eating a chicken fried steak. — Larry McMurtry

She had always loved to tease and considered it an irony of her life that she was often drawn to men who didn't recognize teasing even when she was inflicting it on them. — Larry McMurtry

I remember that the single most vicious letter I ever read was the letter Hemingway wrote Scribners when they asked him to give a blurb for From Here to Eternity. It's there, in the Selected Letters for all to read, an example of a once great writer at his very worst. I doubt that he ever forgave Scribners for publishing James Jones in the first place. War, as Hemingway saw it, belonged to him. — Larry McMurtry

Call saw that everyone was looking at him, the hands and cowboys and townspeople alike. The anger had drained out of him, leaving him feeling tired. He didn't remember the fight, particularly, but people were looking at him as if they were stunned. He felt he should make some explanation, though it seemed to him a simple situation.
"I hate a man that talks rude," he said. "I won't tolerate it. — Larry McMurtry

You better introduce yourself before you start talking Latin. — Larry McMurtry

But, if one cuts more deeply, the lonesome dove is Newt, a lonely teenager who is the unacknowledged son of Captain Call and a kindly whore named Maggie, who is now dead. So the central theme of the novel is not the stocking of Montana but unacknowledged paternity. All of the Hat Creek Outfit, including particularly Augustus McCrae, want Call to accept the boy as his son. — Larry McMurtry

Could any woman live every day with that level of masculinity? — Larry McMurtry

People got opinions, that's all they've got. — Larry McMurtry

For the past several centuries the bonding power of the family dinner table has been one of the few constants, and now it's binding no more. The potency of the media is now stronger than that of the family. The wonder is that families still exist at all, since the forces of modern life mainly all pull people away from a family centered way of life. — Larry McMurtry

One reason I've hung on to book selling is that it's progressive - the opposite of writing, pretty much. Eventually all novelists, if they persist too long, get worse. No reason to name names, since no one is spared. Writing great fiction involves some combination of energy and imagination that cannot be energized or realized forever. Strong talents can simply exhaust their gift, and they do. — Larry McMurtry

Losing weight. When we finish eating this horse I — Larry McMurtry

He loved the way she smelled in the mornings; he liked to sniff at her shoulders or her throat. — Larry McMurtry

Looking at her, though, was like looking at the hills. The hills stayed as they were. You could go them, if you had the means, but they extended no greeting. — Larry McMurtry

But mash whiskey took some of the dry away and made Augustus feel nicely misty inside - foggy and cool as a morning in the Tennessee hills. He seldom got downright drunk, but he did enjoy feeling misty along about sundown, — Larry McMurtry

How about a kiss?"
"Are you man enough to try?" she asked. — Larry McMurtry

There's nothing that sweetens the breath like a cedar toothpick, unless it's mint. And mint don't grow in these parts. — Larry McMurtry

The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters — Larry McMurtry

There seem to be no way he could stop anything that was happening, although it all felt wrong. — Larry McMurtry

Blue Duck could never avoid a moment of fear, when his father's eyes became the eyes of a snake. He choked off his insult
he knew that if he spoke, he might, in an instant, find himself fighting Buffalo Hump. He had seen it before, with other warriors. Someone would say one word too many, would fail to see the snake in his father's eyes, and the next moment Buffalo Hump would be pulling his long bloody knife from between the other warrior's ribs.
Blue Duck waited. He knew that it was not a day to fight his father. — Larry McMurtry

The years would pass like weeks, and loves would pass too, or else grow sour. — Larry McMurtry

It's a fine world, though rich in hardships at times. — Larry McMurtry

If you're planning on dying today I hope you dig your grave first. — Larry McMurtry

A man that sleeps all night wastes too much of life. — Larry McMurtry

During the day he had not trusted enough, and had worn himself out with pointless scurryings. — Larry McMurtry

It was often that way with women, it seemed. One minute Lorie would be drilling holes in him with her eyes, and the next minute she and Clarie would be combing one another's hair and singing tunes. — Larry McMurtry

The skinny ones last longer than the fat ones," Louisa said. "You'll probably last till you're about sixty. — Larry McMurtry

They probably think the sun won't come up unless you're there to allow it. — Larry McMurtry

Maude Jones, had killed herself with a shotgun one morning, leaving a note which merely said, 'Can't stand listening to this wind no more. — Larry McMurtry

For a time Dish lost all sense of what life was about. He even lost the sense that he was a cowboy, the strongest sense he had to work with. He was just a fellow with a glass in his hand, whose life had suddenly turned to mud. The day before he had been a top hand, but what did that mean anymore? — Larry McMurtry

Such is the life and death of a good cowboy. — Larry McMurtry

I'd like to see you think the roof back on that barn," Call said. — Larry McMurtry

He didn't feel sad. The one thing he knew about Texas was that he was lucky to be leaving it alive - and, in fact, he had a long way to go before he could be sure of accomplishing that much. — Larry McMurtry

Wantin' takes too much time ... I'd rather be working. — Larry McMurtry

It doesn't do to sacrifice for people unless they want you to," Clara said. "It's just a waste. — Larry McMurtry

Give Call a grievance, however silly, and he would save it like money. — Larry McMurtry

WHEN AUGUSTUS CAME OUT on the porch the blue pigs were eating a rattlesnake - not a very big one. It had probably just been crawling around looking for shade when it ran into the pigs. They were having a fine tug-of-war with it, and its rattling days were over. — Larry McMurtry

It was as if his whole life had suddenly lodged in his throat, a raw bite he could neither spit out nor swallow. — Larry McMurtry

-she remembered them kindly, for there was a sweetness in boys that didn't last long, once they became men. — Larry McMurtry

Backward is just not a natural direction for Americans to look - historical ignorance remains a national characteristic. — Larry McMurtry

Monkey John looked at the dead boy. "By God, life is cheap up here on the goddamned Canadian River."
"Cheap," Blue Duck answered. "And it might get cheaper. — Larry McMurtry

He didn't understand why women had such a need to question. He himself preferred just to let life happen, and act when opportunity arose. — Larry McMurtry

I would prefer to be shot, myself, if I get that sick," Call said. "Once there's no avoiding death I see no point in lingering." Augustus smiled at the comment, and poured himself a little more whiskey. "We're all just lingering, Woodrow," he said. "None of us can avoid dying - though old Scull did the best job of it of any man I know, while that old bandit had him. — Larry McMurtry

Nothing good ever comes without a price. — Larry McMurtry

She had a beautiful face, a beautiful body, but also a distance in her such as he had never met a woman. — Larry McMurtry

Call had never thought much about age. Charlie Goodnight liked to talk about it, but Call found the talk tedious. He was as old as he was, like everyone else; as long as he could still go when he needed to go, age didn't matter much. He was still able, within reason, to do what he had a mind to do. But he'd had a mind to kill the large doe, and he hadn't. Of course, he wasn't an exceptional shot. He had missed mule deer before, but the fact that he had missed this one just when he had, was troubling. They were just coming into the home country of the young bandit, a boy with a keen eye and a German rifle with a telescope sight. Getting a knuckle stuck in a trigger guard would not be wise, in a contest with Joey Garza. — Larry McMurtry

Buffalo Hump knew his son was brave, but that was not enough. If a warrior lacked wisdom, courage alone would not keep him alive for long. — Larry McMurtry

The woman had won. In the end, it seemed they always did. — Larry McMurtry

Well, boys," Long Bill said. "I guess here's where I quit rangering. It's rare sport, but it ain't quite safe. — Larry McMurtry

It's like I told you last night son. The earth is mostly just a boneyard. But pretty in the sunlight, he added — Larry McMurtry

Virtually all his life he had been in the position of leading groups of men, yet the truth was he had never liked groups. Men he admired for their abilities in action almost always brought themselves down in his estimation if he had to sit around and listen to them talk - or watch them drink or play cards or run off after women. Listening to men talk usually made him feel more alone than if he were a mile away by himself under a tree. He had never really been able to take part in the talk. The endless talk of cards and women made him feel more set apart - and even a little vain. If that was the best they could think of, then they were lucky they had him to lead them. It seemed immodest, but it was a thought that often came to him. — Larry McMurtry

He ought to let the past keep its glow and not try to mix it with what he had in the present. — Larry McMurtry

Son, this is a sad thing," Augustus said. "Loss of life always is. But the life is lost for good. Don't you go attempting vengeance. You've got more urgent business. If I ever run into Blue Duck I'll kill — Larry McMurtry

Call listened with amusement
not that the incident hadn't been terrible. Being decapitated was a grisly fate, whether you were a Yankee or not. But then, amusing things happened in battle, as they did in the rest of life. Some of the funniest things he had ever witnessed had occurred during battles. He had always found it more satisfying to laugh on a battlefield than anywhere else, for if you lived to laugh on a battlefield, you could feel you had earned the laugh. But if you just laughed in a saloon, or at a social, the laugh didn't reach deep. — Larry McMurtry

There isn't a thought in my head I care to be alone with for more than five minutes. — Larry McMurtry

Ride with an outlaw, die with him," he added. "I admit it's a harsh code. But you rode on the other side long enough to know how it works. I'm sorry you crossed the line, though."
Jake's momentary optimism had passed, and he felt tired and despairing. He would have liked a good bed in a whorehouse and a nice night's sleep.
"I never seen no line, Gus," he said. "I was just trying to get to Kansas without getting scalped. — Larry McMurtry

Perhaps, he thought, as he turned back, that was what Augustus wanted: just to be free for a few days, just to saddle his horse and ride. — Larry McMurtry

by the end of the week, all the cowboys along the river knew that the only sporting woman in Lonesome Dove had abruptly given up the sport. — Larry McMurtry

The best to do with a death was to move on from it. — Larry McMurtry

The moment indifference took over, life began to subside. Few men rose out of it: most lost all impulse toward activity and ended by offering death at least a halfhearted welcome. — Larry McMurtry

It was something, what must go through men's mind where women were concerned, to cause them to behave so strangely. — Larry McMurtry

A woman's love is like the morning dew. It's just as likely to settle on a horse turd as a rose. — Larry McMurtry

She wasn't going to succeed in newspapers if she didn't ask the big questions when she could. — Larry McMurtry

This is a damn useless conversation. Goodbye. (Charles Goodnight to Woodrow Call) — Larry McMurtry

I sometimes think the sexual organs were put there to keep the human race humble," she said. "They've certainly kept me humble. — Larry McMurtry

As she was finishing her song, the notes dipped down low - they carried a sadness that was more than a sadness at the death of men; rather it was a sadness at the lives of men, and of women. It reminded those who heard the rising, dipping notes, of notes of hopes that had been born, and, yet, died; of promise, and the failure of promise. — Larry McMurtry

Figure the reason you don't have much to say is you probably never met a man who liked to hear a woman talk. — Larry McMurtry

I hate rude behavior in a man,' he explained in his quiet, unassuming drawl. 'I won't tolerate it.' He politely tipped his hat, and rode away. — Larry McMurtry

They sorry," Deets said. "Saying won't change it. He's gone, don't worry about him. He's gone to the peaceful place." He put his hand — Larry McMurtry

Captain McCrae was wanting to know the answer to questions that had no answer. — Larry McMurtry

Famous Shoes knew the young ranger was scared. Nothing was easier to detect in a man than fear. It showed even in the way he fumbled with his cup while drinking coffee; and it was normal that he would be afraid. He didn't know where he was, — Larry McMurtry

There was said to be measuring of penises at the Orchid, but was it true and if so what did that mean? — Larry McMurtry

He was annoyed with his mind - it would be a lot easier to do his task well if his mind would just behave and not keep making him scared. — Larry McMurtry

was not old enough to understand the need to go back to a place where things were simple. He had no happiness in his face, the young ranger; perhaps he had never had a place where things were simple, a place he could think about when he needed to remember happiness. Perhaps the young ranger had been unlucky - he might have no good place or good time to remember. — Larry McMurtry

My main skills are talking and cooking biscuits,' Augustus said. 'And getting drunk on the porch. — Larry McMurtry

By the time the shade had reached the river, Augustus would have mellowed with the evening and be ready for some intelligent conversation, which usually involved talking to himself. — Larry McMurtry

Great readers (are) those who know early that there is never going to be time to read all there is to read, but do their darnedest anyway. — Larry McMurtry

Trees had been so common that it was a shock to ride out on the plains and discover that there was a part of earth where there weren't any. — Larry McMurtry

Is the girl all right?" "She's had an ordeal but she's young," Augustus said. "She won't forget it, but she might outlive it. — Larry McMurtry

The earth is mostly just a boneyard. But pretty in the sunlight. — Larry McMurtry

The family got nervous about blood poisoning and persuaded he and Call to saw it off. — Larry McMurtry

He had his knife and gun belt on over his underwear, in case of sudden attack. — Larry McMurtry

All America lies at the end of the wilderness road, and our past is not a dead past, but still lives in us. Our forefathers had civilization inside themselves, the wild outside. We live in the civilization they created, but within us the wilderness still lingers. What they dreamed, we live, and what they lived, we dream. - T. K. Whipple, Study Out the Land — Larry McMurtry

Though loyal and able and brave, Pea had never displayed the slightest ability to learn from his experience, though his experience was considerable. Time and again he would walk up on the wrong side of a horse that was known to kick, and then look surprised when he got kicked. — Larry McMurtry

Several times in his life he had felt an intense desire to start over, to somehow turn back the clock of his life to a point where he might, if he were careful, avoid the many mistakes he had made the first time around. — Larry McMurtry

See this page of paper? It's blank," Scull said. "That, sir, is the most frightening battlefield in the world: the blank page. I mean to fill this paper with decent sentences, sir - this page and hundreds like it. Let me tell you, Colonel, it's harder than fighting Lee. Why, it's harder than fighting Napoleon. It requires unremitting attention, — Larry McMurtry

I miss Gus ... I get to expecting to hear him talk and he ain't here. My ears sort of get empty. — Larry McMurtry

It's funny, leaving a place, ain't it?" he said. "You never do know when you'll get back. — Larry McMurtry

Working- and Middle-class families sat down at the dinner table every night - the shared meal was the touchstone of good manners. Indeed, that dinner table was the one time when we were all together, every day: parents, grandparents, children, siblings. Rudeness between siblings, or a failure to observe the etiquette of passing dishes to one another, accompanied by "please" and "thank you," was the training ground of behavior, the place where manners began. — Larry McMurtry

At times he felt that he had almost rather not be in love with her, for it brought him no peace. What was the use of it, if it was only going to be painful? — Larry McMurtry

The thing that Buffalo Hump was most grateful for, as he rode into the emptiness, was the knowledge that in the years of his youth and manhood he had drawn the lifeblood of so many enemies. He had been a great killer; it was his way and the way of his people; no one in his tribe had killed so often and so well. The killings were good to remember, as he rode his old horse deeper into the llano, away from all the places where people came. — Larry McMurtry

Listening to Eric Taylor is better than reading a Larry McMurtry novel and easier on the eyes. — Ralston Bowles

I pride myself on being able to put up with a lot," Nellie said. "But bagpipers are pretty much my limit. — Larry McMurtry

It was something he had always done - moved apart, so he could be alone and think things or a little. — Larry McMurtry

Even experienced men were apt to flounder badly in crises if they lacked leadership. — Larry McMurtry

I once owned a collection of 77 novels that won the Pulitzer. The only good novel of the bunch was The Grapes of Wrath. — Larry McMurtry