Caverns by O. U. Levon

Abstract

258 Western American Literature Some Can Whistle. By Larry McMurtry. (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989. 348 pages, $19.95.) I remember distinctly the bittersweet feeling that Horseman, Pass By left me with the first time I read it in 1965. I found myself under the spell cast by Larry McMurtry’s use of language, and I immediately became a McMurtry aficionado. His characters were exciting; women such as Molly, in Leaving Cheyenne, and Clara, inLonesome Dove, quickly became, in that uncanny way that truly gifted writers have of immersing us in their work, “real.” It was easy to get attached to them and to experience a senseof losswhen they disappeared or died. Even minor characters such, as Flap Horton and Jake Spoon, both rather disappointing men, left an impression, and I relished the idea ofreading McMurtry’s latest effort, Some Can Whistle. I looked forward to finding out what happened to Danny Deck, last seen in All My Friends are Going to be Strangers dramatically throwing his novel into the Rio Grande. I almost wish I hadn’t. Danny isnow fat, nearly friendless, has debilitating migraines and has become such a dull, self-absorbed character that it issurpris­ ing that anything worth noticing happens in the book. Danny narrates his own story, informing us that after deep-sixing his novel, he eventually made it to the top of the Hollywood sit-com world. Unfortunately, after the show finally folds, so does Danny; although fabulously wealthy, he returns to Texas, builds a mansion splendid in its isolation, and begins sinking into the morass of selfpity . He gains a momentary respite when his long-lost daughter, her two frac­ tious children and a bizarre entourage surface. His hiatus is brief, however; things blow sky high and once again Danny is left in limbo. The difference is that this time I am glad to see him go; his existence is too moribund to merit further observation. Although Some Can Whistle has its share of humor—much of Danny’s dialogue is reminiscent of the outrageous Aurora in Terms of Endearment— and despite the fact that the last sentence of the lastchapter isa rare McMurtry gem, the book isa let down. Danny and the others are as flat as the Texasplains they inhabit. McMurtry is whistling in the dark with this latest book; perhaps a more appropriate title would have been Some Can Sigh. JUDITH HAGAN Boise State University Caverns. By O. U. Levon, with introduction by Ken Kesey. (New York: Pen­ guin Books, 1990. 317 pages, $8.95.) If you’re wondering just who O. U. Levon isor whyyou’ve never heard of him/her, you may want to look at the name’s anagrammatic possibility. Per­ haps try reading it from right to left. You will get “Novel” and, with some luck, U[niversity of] Ofregon], Kesey’s name in conjunction with the University of Oregon is not coincidental. Reviews 259 Caverns, then, is the product, not of one O. U. Levon, but of Kesey and thirteen of his University of Oregon creative writing students. And if Kesey is to be believed, his contribution to this experiment in collective authorship was limited to roughly 1/ 14th of the total creative effort, his sole stipulation being that in the event of artistic dispute, his would be the final word. An odd genesis indeed. However, Caverns is more odyssey than oddity. Kesey and cohorts have produced a compelling if convoluted narrative chronicling the misadventures ofDr. Charles Loach, an unlikely mixture of P. T. Barnum and Mother Teresa, and his odd-ball band of pilgrims searching for a hidden cave purported to contain mysterious paintings which hold the keys to unravelling the riddle of human existence. Faithfully accompanying Loach in his surplus armored personnel carrier are, among others, two aging spiritualist sisters, a jaded pub­ lisher who has bankrolled the operation, a spiritually confused Catholic priest, Loach’s eccentric brother whose eyes glow red in the fire light, a bloated Mormon opportunist who joins up in mid-search, a small blue man whose unusual skin color is the result of gassing in the Great War, and an armadillo. Set in 1934, the story begins...