Telegraph Days

By: Larry McMurtry

Narrated by: Annie Potts

Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Not since the publication of his own beloved classic Lonesome Dove has there been a novel like this one, another big, brilliant, unputdownable saga of the West from Larry McMurtry. Telegraph Days is at once a major work of literature and a completely absorbing read; not just great fiction, but fiction on a great scale, encompassing many years, many characters, real and fictional, and the whole vast landscape of place, time, life, and heart, which has served for more than 130 years as the background for "the Western" in fiction and on the screen. Nobody writes, or has ever written, better about the West than Larry McMurtry, and nobody has caught better in words its myths, its often brutal reality, its overwhelming size, and the way it captured both the imagination and the hopes of those who settled there, only, as was so often the case, to dash those hopes.

Told in the voice of Nellie Courtright, a spunky, courageous, attractive young woman whose story this is in part, Telegraph Days is the big novel of the Western gunfighters that people have been hoping for years Larry McMurtry would write.

©2006 Larry McMurtry. All rights reserved. (P)2006 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

• Winner of Audio Publishers Association 2007 Audie Award, Solo Narration - Female

• Audie Award Finalist, Fiction, Unabridged, 2007
• Audie Award Finalist, Solo Narration - Female, 2007

"McMurtry's latest skips through western lore with a wry smile." (Publishers Weekly)
"In his striving to demythologize the West, McMurtry's vision of the reality is compelling." (Booklist)

Female Gus McCrae

I'm a big fan of the lonesome dove series and looked forward to this story as another saga by Larry McMurtry. I guess I have a tendency to measure all of his novels by that standard which leaves me lacking for more. having said that, this was a fun story and the narrator does a great job of telling the story and bringing the characters to life.

Its not lonesome dove, but well worth the effort.

Not the worst book I ever listened to

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Maybe, if they were an Annie Potts fan.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Listening to Annie Potts was very enjoyable. The plot was a little on the silly side, especially if you are expecting another Lonesome Dove.

What does Annie Potts bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Just a very pleasant voice with an accent that seems very appropriate for the subject matter.

Great voice

Like most Larry McMurtry reads … it’s a good one. Nelly’s voice is compelling and the story becomes more and more believable the more you listen. Highly recomend

Good but raunchy

This book is written more as a narrative-diary than a typical plot-driven novel. It is fun to listen to, but quite raunchy, lots of crude sexual references, but not pornographic.

Simply great!

Well written, well narrated. A super book that I could have gone on listening to for many hours more.

Great Story.

Where does Telegraph Days rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Very near the top.

What other book might you compare Telegraph Days to and why?

Lonesome Dove Series. Intriguing story, enjoyed the narrator.

What about Annie Potts’s performance did you like?

Very Much.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Kept me interested through the entire book.

A page turner after a bit.

Gor this book thinking it was a Western and really it was, but not your normal shootem up roundem up. I really don't like to listen to female narrators but after llistening a while she kinda grew on me. It's a story about girl/woman getting by in the west. Turned out I couldn't stop listening and stayed on to the end and am really glad I did. This story is one that grabs you and you don't want to lay it down (so to speak). Anyway give it a try!!!

great listen/read

A fantastic story, that was perfectly read by Annie Potts. The story is told in the first person, and she perfectly captures the voice of Nelly. There are some great characters here, and some very funny scenes as well.

Annie Potts is the star

This is a very fun book to listen to. Annie Potts is responsible. She reads the story about an independent woman whose life intersects with some famous characters of her time, including, among others, Wild Bill Hickok and Wyatt Earp and his brothers.

Annie Potts was a perfect choice

I love McMurty’s words and to my surprise he did a great job of writing a woman’s memoir. Annie Potts’ reading was perfect. Her own sass was a great match for Nellie.