Pretty Boy Floyd

by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana

Book Overview

The time is 1925. The place, St. Louis, Missouri. Charley Floyd, a good-looking, sweet-smiling country boy from Oklahoma, is about to rob his first armored car. Written by Pulitzer Prize winner Larry... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671891677
• ISBN13: 9780671891671
• Release Date: July 1995
• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.1" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Thanks, Diana and Larry

What a breath of fresh air. From the opening scene I was back in McMurtry country (language-wise) - an easy flowing style that is comforting and hypnotic.

FUNNY AND SAD...AND HIGHLY ENTERTAINING READ!!!

I don't understand the review by the (supposed) professor...because I don't think he understood this is a work of FICTION. Though it's loosely based upon an historical outlaw, it is a story told by FICTION WRITERS. It was funny, sad, full of colorful, clever, original dialogue, that made me feel as if I knew these characters inside and out. Pretty Boy was considered a folk hero in the late twenties and thirties, professor sir. Read the novel in that context. I think that was the point of the authors--that this was a time and place they wanted to capture with their imaginations, to bring to life for those of us who weren't alive then (and to entertain those who were). It was a rough time, people were poor, hungry, the banks were the enemy because they put entire families out on the streets, with nothing. There was no welfare, no homeless shelters. It was a wild, rough time. I gave this book to my grandpa (a fine, upstanding man if there ever was one), who remembered Pretty Boy Floyd from his own childhood, and he LOVED it!!! If anything, this novel, by the end, shows us how a wrong turn in the road of life can change the course of our entire future...and how hard it is to ever go back...give it a chance, I don't think you'll be disappointed!!!!!

Great Story! Entertaining

Pretty Boy Floyd, is somewhat fictionalized account of the true life of Charles Arthur "Chock" Floyd, the son of Oklahoma farmer and notorious gangster. I listened to the audio version of this book and it was most impressed, despite having reservations about wanting to hear about gangsters. (Not my usual fare). I was, however, most impressed with this audiobook. McMurtry and Ossana do a great job of bringing Pretty Boy Floyd to life. Even the minor characters have great personalities, and McMurtry and Ossana really DO manage to get into Pretty Boy's head.The Story: Charles, "Pretty Boy" is a small-town boy, with country charm, who is married to a young half-Native American woman named Ruby Hargove. They have a son named Jack Dempsey Floyd. When money becomes scarce, Charles headed north looking for work. After trying various jobs, Pretty Boy tries to make money the easy way- by robbing an armored car. What follows is the tale of Floyd's life. You see him get further and further embroiled into his life as a gangster, have affairs with his girlfriends, and watch as he tries to outwit the law. Floyd is consistently portrayed as a charming loveable rogue... An'outlaw' with a good heart, a weakness for women, liquor, and a well-cooked meal. (While I doubt many of Floyd's victims found him quite as so charming) the story worked for me. The novel moved at a brisk pace and was overall, greatly entertaining. I would recommend this novel for those interested in Gangsters or the life of Pretty Boy Floyd.

It made me laugh, cry, and want more.

Larry McMurtry is NOT a man who would ask to rent a pig. Nor did he write anything less than a great book, in Pretty Boy Floyd. I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. Starting with a bungled armed car holdup in the fog, and ending with me actually holding back tears. Wow! If this helps others with a frame of refence, I loved Lonesome Dove, and Texasville, but didn't really care for Terms of Endearment or Cadilac Jack. If this book was a dead snake, I'd skin it and make it a belt. I liked it a lot.

McMurtry and Ossana are FIVE STARS together.

WOW! This book is incredibly written. They showed a complexed version of this worn out outlaw. If I were stuck on a desert island I would unquestionably want this book with me, because I could never get tired of reading this excellent book. I have, therefore, read it four times in the last two years. It's something about the way it made you feel, and the emotions the two took you through. It is my favorite book and I will cherish it. Thank you to the writers, you don't know how much gratitude it gives me picking up this book and starting from page one. Even when I was twelve I started reading, but it was too difficult for me to understand. Now that I'm older and know a little about the outlaw I appreciate it. If only Siskel and Elbert reviewed books. They would definitly give this book Two thumbs way UP!!!