First Impressions: Lonesome Dove

I have decided to solo read Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry and it is turning out to be an awesome Western genre book. It's very long and has 102 chapter and over 800 pages but it totally worth reading because it has a lot of unique characterization and interesting issues. Lonesome Dove is a border town in Texas near the Mexican border and the men that live there belong to the Hat Creek Cattle Company. The way they get their cattle and other livestock like horses is by raiding across the Mexican border or raiding the Native Americans in the surrounding area. They are also at risk from being raided.

Every person in Lonesome Dove has a unique story to tell about their lives. There is no main protagonist but most of the story revolves around Augustus because he is a part owner of the company and the main thinker in the group. Pea Eye is an older guy that likes to drink whiskey and because he's deaf in one ear he likes to use that as an excuse to ignore people. There is a Mexican in their town by the name of Bolivar and he's there horrendous chef. The town has only one female that the reader is made aware of and her name is Lorena, and she is a prostitute.

Mostly what these guys do all day is drink whiskey, play cards and talk with Lorena about the hardships in life. What surprised me the most was the open hate these men shared for African Americans. They always use them in examples where the African Americans are considered the lowest form of human life and its disrespectful to be put under that standard. Another thing that surprised me is Lorena. She is the local prostitute but the guys don't treat her like one because nobody uses her for one time sex but instead they are nice to her and want to treat her like a wife.