Leaving Cheyenne is a very fine novel
It would probably make a very good mini-series.
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"Why do people always laugh in the wrong places?"
--Miniver Cheevy
It's much better than this adaptation. I'm not sure it would make a good mini-series, but it would make a good movie. It's a rather small novel, so there might not be enough material for a mini-series. I read the book when I was 15 or 16 and it was the first book I'd read that really impacted me. As far as I'm concerned it is as good or better than his later work, certainly as good as Lonesome Dove and better than Texasville.
"...nothing is left of me, each time I see her..." - Catullus
So would "Leaving Cheyenne" be the best place to start with Larry McMurtry, and what other recommendations do you have?
After watching this film, I get the strong suspicion the source material is much stronger, which is often the case with these types of stories. This film is decent, but feels a bit "cheap." I'd love to read the original novel.
I used to know McMurtry when he owned a rare and used bookstore in Georgetown(DC), and I remember asking him once when the movie was coming out. He said, if he had anything to do about it, it would't. He didn't elaborate.
LONESOME DOVE was originally written as a western for Wayne, Stewart and Fonda, but that's another story.