A review by maryehavens
Horseman, Pass By by Larry McMurtry

4.0

Woof.
It took me a while to finish this less than 200 pager because it’s hyper-depressing. A lot of loss of life expectations and feelings of being trapped in your situation. It ends just as depressing but it’s a fantastic ending. I wanted to cry.
I was interested in this story because I watched the movie Hud a long time ago. I don’t remember much of it except that Patricia Neal won Best Supporting Actress and there was a feeling of helplessness. That feeling is times ten in the novel.
Hud is like a black hole that causes complications everywhere he goes. He’s selfish and causes trouble but he’s not the main cause of the trouble - a changing world is the main problem. And that’s the point of this whole novel. When your way of life starts becoming irrelevant, what are you to do?
It took me a while to get through this - it’s hard to read such grim reality. But I’m glad I stuck with it for the ending alone. Good stuff.