Finished Fr 2/8/19
This is one of my ancient paperbacks that I bought at The Book House on Sa 12/4/93. That was the old house that was converted to a bookstore near St. Louis. I used to take the Shadow there many years ago. I finished the book the first time at The Club in July of 1994.
According to the prolog to the novel, McMurtry wrote this during his work on 'LONESOME DOVE'. This was his very long saga about an 1880's cattle drive from west Texas to Montana. He got a call from a Hollywood screen writer to ask if he might want to take a crack at a 'mother and daughter' story. McMurtry was happy to put the long cowboy book aside for a bit, and he was taken by the new project since it also dealt with 'characters who history had passed by'.
In 1880's America, the cowboys were a dying breed, and this new novel dealt with 'show girls'. These were Las Vegas women who were merely stage decoration. They stood and posed, barely covered in feathers and silk. Soon, they would be replaced by dancers and women who took a more active role in the presentations.
Harmony- mother and 'the prettiest show girl on the strip'- many years ago. She's 39, and her boss has told her it's time to leave the profession.
Ross- He's Pepper's father, but left the family fourteen years before. He and Harmony never bothered to get a divorce and Ross works as a light man in Reno.
Pepper- Harmony's sixteen year old daughter. She is 'now' the prettiest girl on the strip. She has been offered the understudy for the lead dancer in the show. Also, a very rich older man has asked to marry her.
Myrtle- an old woman who shares the townhouse with Harmony and Pepper. This is an isolated development far from the downtown strip. Myrtle drinks vodka and has a miniature goat, Maud, for company. Although in her sixties, she has two boyfriends. Wendell owns an Amaco station, and he isn't aware of Myrtle's other friend, Bobby. He's a very sad and tired , yet sensible man.
Mel- a very wealthy man who is basically a recluse. He loves photography and takes 'semi porn' shots of the local kids. This is how Pepper meets him. He loves Pepper and will give her all the freedom she needs. It's kind of a creepy relationship, and I'm not sure what the reader is supposed to feel about this couple.
Gary- He is one of Harmony's closest friends and confidants. He is a gay man who works with the showgirls as a stage manager and develops their costumes.
Madonna- This woman is Pepper's ballet teacher. This is an older woman who believes that Pepper has a real shot of being a world-class ballerina. She had a career in dance, but now is a teacher and probably in her late fifties or early sixties.
Jackie Bonventre- He is the boss of the show. He does the hiring and firing. He wants to let Harmony go, and he doesn't want a show in which a mother and daughter share the same stage. Maybe the villain of the novel, but in a way he's just a businessman giving the customers what they want.
Buddy- Pepper's immature, yet very handsome boyfriend. He's very rich and spoiled- drives a Cadillac and is given almost anything he wants from his rich, but absent parents.
Woody- A very fat pinball wizard who is a close friend of Pepper's. She confides in this boy, but they're not romantically involved.
After Harmony is let go as a showgirl, she begins talking with Ross. He invites her to be a hostess in Reno and in the end of the book Harmony leaves Vegas and there's a chance that she will continue her marriage with Ross.
I liked the novel as it was kind of a light read, and an interesting look at a mother and daughter who are in a strange relationship. In many ways Pepper is more mature than her mother, Yet, I wonder what this relationship will be like in years to come. Will Pepper become more mature emotionally. She is very self-centered, but she is 'the prettiest woman on the strip', but nothing is forever.
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