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      The Desert Rose

      by Larry McMurtry
      Published
      Jan 1983
      Main Genre
      General Fiction General Fiction
      Rating
      Pages
      254
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      Series
      The Desert Rose Book 1

      About This Book

      Pulitzer Prize–winner Larry McMurtry writes novels set in the American heartland, but his real territory is the heart itself. His gift for writing about women—their love for reckless, hopeless men; their ability to see the good in losers; and their peculiar combination of emotional strength and sudden weakness—makes The Desert Rose the bittersweet, funny, and touching book that it is.

      Harmony is a Las Vegas showgirl with the best legs in town. At night she's a lead dancer in a gambling casino; during the day she raises peacocks. She throws her love away on second-rate men, but wakes up in the morning full of hope. She's one of a dying breed of dancers, faced with fewer and fewer jobs and an even bleaker future. Yet, she maintains a calm cheerfulness in that arid neon landscape of supermarkets, drive-in wedding chapels, and all-night casinos.

      While Harmony's star is fading, her beautiful, cynical daughter Pepper's is on the rise. But Harmony remains wistful and optimistic through it all. She is the unexpected blossom in the wasteland, the tough and tender desert rose. Hers is a loving portrait that only Larry McMurtry could render.

      Series Placement

      Book 1
      View full series order

      Genres & Themes

      Genres

      General Fiction

      Subgenres

      Literary

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      Formats & Editions

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      Paperback

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      Paperback
      Aug 1985 Touchstone ISBN13 9780671555375 ISBN10 0671555375
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      Apr 1987 Simon & Schuster ISBN13 9780671637217 ISBN10 0671637215
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      Mass Market Paperback
      May 1988 Pocket ISBN13 9780671660161 ISBN10 0671660160
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      Mass Market Paperback
      May 1990 Pocket ISBN13 9780671727635 ISBN10 067172763X
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      Feb 2002 Simon & Schuster ISBN13 9780684853840 ISBN10 0684853841
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      Oct 2015 Pan Books (UK) ISBN13 9781447274667 ISBN10 1447274660
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      Hardcover

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      First Edition Jan 1983 Simon & Schuster ISBN13 9780671494230 ISBN10 0671494236
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      Sep 1983 Simon & Schuster ISBN13 9780671461430 ISBN10 0671461435
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      Dec 1987 Amereon Limited ISBN13 9780848803711 ISBN10 084880371X
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      eBook

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      May 2010 Picador ISBN13 9781743540619 ISBN10 1743540612
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      May 2010 Picador ISBN13 9781447274650 ISBN10 1447274652
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      May 2010 Simon & Schuster ISBN10 B003NE6HIO
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      Jun 2010 Simon & Schuster ISBN13 9781439128831 ISBN10 1439128839
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      Audio

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      Nov 2026 -- Not Selected ISBN10 B0H34X87X3
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