Terms of Endearment

By: Larry McMurtry

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat

Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

A widow with a small army of suitors, Aurora Greenway loves the limelight. She’s got three grandchildren whom she adores (in small doses) and her son-in-law Flap, whom she’s not really crazy about. And there’s her daughter Emma. In some ways, Emma is all there ever was. Now, there’s little time left to say the things that need to be said.

©1975 Larry McMurtry (P)1990 Recorded Books

Rare for Me to Like the Movie Better But I Did

Would you try another book from Larry McMurtry and/or Barbara Rosenblat?

Oh yes, I love Larry McMurtry. He invents the most interesting characters! I've rarely missed a book of his. I have a couple to read maybe but that's about it. His books are among my favorites.

Would you recommend Terms of Endearment to your friends? Why or why not?

I'm not sure. As I said in the title I liked the movie better and that's unusual. Now maybe the reason the book didn't measure up for me is because I LOVE that movie. It's one of my favorites that I revisit often.While Aurora is the main character I felt the book didn't explore Emma as much as I would have liked. The movie did.I found Aurora's romantic interests to get a bit tiresome. There was a lot more to the story than that.I liked the book but didn't love it.I found The Last Picture Show much more interesting.

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

She's a wonderful narrator. I've enjoyed many of her performances.

Any additional comments?

I will say one thing: the folks who put the movie together chose the absolute best actors for the gang of Terms of Endearment. Shirley Maclaine was Aurora as no other person could have been. And Debra Winger was Emma to a tee.

Listened to this right after Lonesome Dove

It pales by comparison. The movie was so long ago, and I was surprised to find out that Larry McMurtry wrote them both, so I thought I’d try Terms. Almost wish I hadn’t. And the narrator sometimes emphasizes the wrong word in a sentence.

Larry McMurtry

In my ignorance, I did not realize Larry McMurtry had written this book. I thought he was all about cowboys and Indians. I was do mistaken. My term of endearment, "I absolutely loved it!"

very good

narrator has very nicxe voice. hardest part was staying awake., most enjoyable. very good read. highly recommended.

So Much Better Than The Movie

There are 'those' movies aren't there that we will always remember who we were with when we first viewed them. Sometimes we remember where we were and who we were with more than we remember the actual movie. That is the case for me. All I remember is the inevitable scene with the camera looking directly on Shirley MacLaine's face and that devastating change of expression when she is watching he beloved daughter leave this earth.

I have always promised myself that I would read the book and I have tried but I have always found it pure drudgery. So I thought that I would give the audible version a try. I am glad that I did. The book really fills out the character of Aurora more than Emma whom I felt was, even prior to her devastating terminal diagnosis was a dreadful 'whiner' and a full time 'martyr'. Aurora, on the other hand was a colorful, animated and life embracing woman.

Barbara Rosenblat did, at times, sound as if she was either stopping to take a quick 'drag' from a cigarette or having a quick break occasionally. Perhaps there was an editing issue.

All in all I am really glad that I listened to this book, as I loved Aurora, as she was such a 'saucy' character. She would tread where I would definitely have great reservation. I admire women of courage.

No regrets for this listener.

Performance Sullies Classic

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I am a huge Larry McMurtry fan. Although ToE is not one of my favorites of his, I wouldn't change a thing about it.

What did you like best about this story?

I love how McMurtry takes the time to integrate his environments and stories -- in this case, Houston in the 70s.

Would you be willing to try another one of Barbara Rosenblat’s performances?

Ms. Rosenblatt's unintentionally-comical performance almost kills this otherwise good book. I often felt compelled to turn to my printed copy to see whether she was accurately portraying the book's dialog. Invariably, I found that Ms. Rosenblatt had chosen to read the dialog of many of the characters in an absurd "southern" accent that was distracting at best. Would have preferred it if she'd just stuck with her normal (and quite nice) voice.

Was Terms of Endearment worth the listening time?

Absolutely, but I wish someone else would record it for future listeners to enjoy.

Narration disappointing

What did you like best about Terms of Endearment? What did you like least?

Characters. Narration.

What did you like best about this story?

I love Larry McMurtry and his insight of women and their thoughts/relationships. It's really a sad story, but I loved the book and the movie so thought a listen would be fun. Not.

What didn’t you like about Barbara Rosenblat’s performance?

Spoke too fast, not much emotion.

Was Terms of Endearment worth the listening time?

No.

Good Listen....tear jerker...life's lessons

Loved it...ready for the Evening Star to see what Aurora is ip to next in Houston

Technical issue

The reader was excellent but the method used for recording makes a click and pauses before the reading continues. Making a paragraph sound broken and disjointed.

This was more like it

This story brought me back to the Larry McMurphy I love. The ending was sad but the novel was funny and the characters were awesome.