The Desert Rose
McMurtry, Larry

RRP
A$19.99

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry writes novels set in the American Heartland. But his real territory is the heart itself. His gift for writing about women - their love for their reckless, hopeless men, their ability to see the good in losers, and their peculiar combination of emotional strength and sudden weakness - makes The Desert Rose the bittersweet, funny, and touching book that it is.

Harmony is a Las Vegas showgirl. At night she's a lead dancer in a gambling casino; during the day she raises peacocks. She's one of a dying breed of dancers, faced with fewer and fewer jobs and an even bleaker future. Yet she maintains a calm cheerfulness in that arid neon landscape of supermarkets, drive-in wedding chapels, and all-night casinos. While Harmony's star is fading, her beautiful, cynical daughter Pepper's is on the rise. But Harmony remains wistful and optimistic through it all. She is the unexpected blossom in the wasteland, the tough and tender desert rose. Hers is a loving portrait that only Larry McMurtry could render.

Author Information

Larry McMurtry is the author of more than 30 novels, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lonesome Dove. He has also written memoirs and essays, and received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work on Brokeback Mountain. He lives in Archer City, Texas.