 | |
| Author | Larry McMurtry |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Set in | Hollywood |
Publication date | 1978 |
| Publication place | USA |
| Preceded by | All My Friends Are Going to be Strangers |
Somebody's Darling is a 1978 American novel by Larry McMurtry. The novel, set in Hollywood, follows a director, Jill Peel. Peel navigates directing a movie full of eccentric characters. The novel is part of McMurtry's Houston series, which follows a recurring mix of characters in Houston, Texas. It reviewed mixed reviews from critics.
McMurtry later wrote "By the time of Somebody’s Darling I had been working in Hollywood nearly twenty years and I still didn’t know enough about the town to write a wholly convincing book about it. The book has its moments, but these are scattered; the recollections of the old screenwriter Joe Percy are my favorite parts, now that I too, like Joe, have become an old screenwriter." [1]
McMurtry tried for several years to have a film financed with Diane Keaton and wrote "nothing cinematic came of this except a great friendship. Somebody’s Darling is a Hollywood novel—it went nowhere because of Hollywood’s persistent dislike of itself as a subject." [2]
In a review for TheNew York Times, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt gave the book a mixed review. He praised the development of the characters but criticized the aimless nature of the plot. Lehmann-Haupt wrote: "The trouble is that the characters keep kicking over the traces of the plots and themes. It's just as well they do. It's what makes them so appealing." [3] Kirkus called it an "imperfect but lovable book." [4]
In 2005, McMurtry later reflected that he viewed Somebody's Darling as his "worst book". [5]