Telegraph Days: A Novel | 
| Author: Larry Mcmurtry
Publisher: Pocket Star
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  59 reviews
Sales Rank: 146456
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 0743476913
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780743476911
ASIN: 0743476913
Publication Date: April 24, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Read Once-Excellent Condition-Will Ship w/n 24 hrs
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Product Description
I've come to think that in times of crisis human beings don't have it in them to be rational. The Yazee gang was riding down upon us, six abreast. We all ran outside and confirmed that fact. The sensible thing would have been to run and hide -- but did we? Not at all.The narrator of Larry McMurtry's newest book is spunky Nellie Courtright, twenty-two years old and already wrapping every man in the West around her little finger. When she and her teenage brother Jackson are orphaned, she sweet-talks the local sheriff into hiring Jackson as a deputy, while she takes over the vacant job of town telegrapher. When, by pure blind luck, Jackson shoots down the entire Yazee gang, Nellie is quick to capitalize on his new notoriety by selling reviews to reporters. It seems wherever Nellie is, action is sure to happen, from a love affair with Buffalo Bill to a ringside seat at the O.K. Corral gunfight. Told with charm, humor, and an unparalleled zest for life, Nellie's story is the story of how the West was won.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 54 more reviews...
 Pure Entertainment! June 17, 2008
If you want an accurate historical account of the west than this is probably not the book for you.
However, if you desire a decidedly fictional account of the events of the west and a wonderful heroine, Nellie Courtwright, then you should find Telegraph Days a joy to read. Pure entertainment!
I listened to the audiobook read by Annie Potts - she was a perfect choice for the voice of Nellie.
 Dangerous Ground June 13, 2008
It is always dangerous for a man to write in the voice of a woman, and this is an exhibit of those dangers. The main charactger and narrator is Nellie. Her voice did not come off as genuine. Her entire personality seemed to be what a man would like to see in a woman - an aggressive woman who loves men. This was true for her entire personality, not just her admitted obsession with "copulation" (the frequent references became dull).
The fictitious supporting characters in the book were interesting and the best part of the book. They were actually more interesting than the narrator. The famous supporting cast included Wild Bill Hickcock and Buffalo Bill, with a cameo by Billy the Kid. They seemed contrived. It was the unknown fictitious characters that gave any genuine western flavor to the book.
There was some good humor and spoofing of the old western novels, but all in all, the plot lacked depth and at times approached tedium. Although the book was not awful, there was little to recommend it. Nellie has an interesting life, but it did not seem the author was that invested in it. Therefore neither is the reader.
A quick light read, but nothing great.
McMurtry at his witty, breezy best... May 16, 2008
Certainly not to be confused with LONESOME DOVE which is in my Top 10 books of all-time but a breezy, rapid romp through the old West. The legends are all here Buffalo Bill Cody, Billy the Kids, Doc Holliday, The Earps and the OK Corral, Custer and a host of others. Nellie is quite a leading lady and storyteller. This book does not have the depth or emotion of LONESOME DOVE and seems rather abbreviated but it is a good story only as Larry McMurtry can write a good western.
 Larry can do so much better January 6, 2008
I was quite disappointed. Heroine seemed very unrealistic. Larry' M's awesome talent seemed shelved for this book. Also the boy who shot the 5 bandit brothers in the heart with 5 bullets? Wha - ? That is just cheezeball comic book! Sorry, Larry, but this book was not worthy of you.
 An Empty Desuetude November 25, 2007
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Pound for pound, few writers can compare with Larry McMurtry. The Pulitzer Prize winner has penned several contempary classics--among them, 'Terms of Endearment', 'The Last Picture Show', and the epic 'Lonesome Dove'.
So it's beyond disappointment when a writer as talented as McMurtry spits out a contrived, one-dimensional shell of a novel. And that's being kind to TELEGRAPH DAYS, McMurtry's "alleged" spoof of the cheap dime store novels of the 19th Century. This is a Western dominated by unimagination; by the "adventures" of Nellie Courtright, a young woman who roams the frontier, subsequently rubbing elbows with all of the famous--and infamous--icons: Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody, Jesse James, the Earp brothers, Doc Holliday, General William Sherman, Billy the Kid, to name but a paltry few.
Setting aside such a titanic suspension of disbelief, this is a book whose author blatantly goes through the motions--this is a book penned for nothing more than a contractual obligation to a publisher. There is no development, no depth, no dire conflict--no feeling. It's a rambling story that never sets a pace and ends with a whimpering yawn. . .that ends with nary an afterthought.
What's most frustrating is the fact had TELEGRAPH DAYS been written by an unknown, it never would have seen the light of day--or it would have been self-published. And that would do even more of a disservice to self-publishing.
--D. Mikels, Author The Reckoning
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