The Evening Star (1992) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

Write a ridiculously simplified synopsis.

Characters edit see section history

• Aurora Greenway: The main character. A single woman, past her prime, looking for one last love.
• Rosie Dunlop: Aurora's maid and confidant.
• Hector Scott: Retired old general. Aurora's long time male companion. He shares Aurora's bed.
• Jerry Bruckner: Non-credentialed psychiatrist. Thirty years younger than Aurora, he is one of of her 'suitors' who disappoint her.
• Pascal: Member of the French diplomatic corp, he is another of Aurora's suitors and a disappointment.
• Tommy Horton: The oldest of Aurora's three grandchildren.
• Teddy Horton: Aurora's second grandchild.
• Jane Horton: Teddy Horton's wife.
• 'Bump' Horton: Pre-school child. Son of Teddy and Jane Horton, great-grandson of Aurora.
• Melanie Horton: Aurora's youngest grandchild. Sister of Tommy & Teddy Horton.

Quotes edit see section history

• “He had always supposed that passion would eventually subside, and that when it did life would be calm. He had once rowed a little boat across the Bay of Naples at sunset, and when he though back on the experience he realized that he had hoped that was more or less how old age would be: serene, beautiful, calm, with sky and water in harmony. But here he was, his hands shaking, calling from the second floor of Aurora’s house to the first floor, pleading with her to come back up and see him and, if possible, bring him a scrap of bacon, or something to eat. It wasn’t much like the Bay of Naples at sunset with the evening star bright in the sky.”

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Texas
• Houston

First Sentence edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Terms of Endearment.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Larry McMurtry (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3563.A319 E94 1992
• Dewey: 813.54

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Authors, A-Z › ( M ) › McMurtry, Larry
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Book Review: Aurora Greenway and Rosie Dunlop raised Aurora's grandchildren after her daughter died over 15 years earlier. They haven't done so well - Tommy is in prison for manslaughter, Teddy has been in and out of mental hospitals, although is now settled wife a wife and son, and Melanie is pregnant and separated from the boyfriend. Aurora, on the other hand, is as feisty and gregarious as ever.
• Book Review: The Evening Star is a sequel to McMurtry's 1975 novel, Terms of Endearment, which was filmed with Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson. That book's central protagonist is Aurora Greenway, a middle-aged New Englander who outlives the husband who brought her to Houston. Because she's selfish enough to have a good time with just about anybody, Aurora earns the love and admiration of a variety of odd, lonely men who find that, until they met Aurora, they had been taking the world much too seriously.
• Book Review: Aurora Greenway, readers of McMurtry's fine 1975 novel Terms of Endearment will recall, has known more than her share of disappointments. Since the death of her daughter, Emma, with which that novel ended, she's had trouble holding a man who can hold his own. ''I've got a grandson in prison,'' she complains to her maid, confidant, and inseparable companion, Rosie, ''another grandson who's in and out of mental hospitals, and a granddaughter who's pregnant and is not even sure she can identify the father. Why should I care about male capabilities, or male anything?
• Book Review: In Larry McMurtry’s wonderfully funny and poignant novel The Evening Star, the reader meets up again with one of literature’s most compelling and honest characters in the name of Aurora Greenway. Feisty, brutally direct and lively – Aurora takes command of this novel from beginning to end. McMurtry sets the novel many years after his blockbuster Terms of Endearment and shows the reader the fates of that novel’s beloved characters: Tommy, Melanie and Teddy (Emma’s children), Aurora’s gruff lover The General, and the unflappable Rosie. Told in alternating points of view and spanning nearly twenty years, the reader is tugged into the life of each character to experience all the turmoil, joy, humor and sadness that their journey has to offer.

Movie Connections edit see section history

• The Evening Star (1996) (IMDb): Starring Shirley MacLaine, and Jack Nicholson

More Books Like This edit see section history