Larry McMurtry's Literary Life: A Second Memoir (Simon and Schuster, 2009) is a quick, enjoyable read. I recommend it for anyone who writes or has an interest in the writer's life.
McMurtry is one of a rare breed in the USA: the writer who sustains a living almost entirely from writing; in his case, through novels, screenwriting and nonfiction. Money matters, McMurtry makes realistically clear, is always an issue for most writers; in this memoir, he evokes the pressing financial concerns of Honoré de Balzac and Charles Dickens, among others, as prime examples. He's frank about writing conferences and worshops, too -- they are done mostly for earning income.
Literary Life touches on a lot of topics, not only writing but also reading, teaching, history, book collecting, aging and matters of style. McMurtry also discusses in mordant, irreverent terms his presidency of the American PEN American Center (PEN being, by its own defintion, "A global literary community protecting free expression and celebrating literature"). Which reminds me to underscore this: Larry McMurtry, despite his Pulitizer Price and Academy Award, is an independent "man of letters" (just as he has aspired to be) and, really, an iconoclast or, as he puts it, a "Hobbesian cynic." His take on other writers is often hilarious.
How long will Larry McMurtry keep writing? "In most cases it's probably the Reaper, rather than the writer, who decides what the final book will be" (p. 168). He admits to being surprised every time he finishes another book, especially a work of fiction.
Of the many McMurtry books I've read so far, these are my favorites:
Horseman, Pass By (1961)
The Last Picture Show (1966)
In a Narrow Grave: Essays on Texas (1968)
All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers (1972)
Terms of Endearment (1975)
Texasville (1987)
Crazy Horse (1999)
Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen (1999)
Duane's Depressed (1999; McMurtry's stated favorite of his novels)
Roads: Driving America's Great Highways (2000)
Paradise (2002)
Books: A Memoir (2008)
Literary Life: A Second Memoir (2009).
What strikes me is how easy he makes them all seem to have been written -- because they're so easy to read. But we all know good writing is rarely as easy as it looks. Cheers to Mr. McMurtry. I look forward to his third memoir, on Hollywood; and to a good biography about him.
Today's Rune: Partnership.
5 comments:
Any mention of a "live-in" female assistant?
He makes only oblique references to the women in his life. Unless he does a separate memoir that focuses on them, we'll have to wait for a biography, I suspect. Diana Ossana is mentioned as "writing partner" (since the early 1990s).
Erik, I've enjoyed Larry M in a number of books, too. His sense of humor always surprises me!
gonna see if I can find this one. I'm always in the market for a book about the writing life.
No Lonesome Dove? I've read quite a few and the memoirs sounds great.
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