Funny sad full of wonderful characters and the word-perfect dialogue of which he is the master McMurtry brings the Thalia saga to an end with Duane confronting depression in the midst of plenty. Surrounded by his children who all seem to be going through life crises involving sex drugs and violence; his wife Karla who is wrestling with her own demons; and friends like Sonny who seem to be dying Duane cant seem to make sense of his life anymore. He gradually makes his way through a protracted end-of-life crisis of which he is finally cured by reading Prousts Remembrance of Things Past a combination of penance and prescription from Dr. Carmichael that somehow works. Duanes Depressed is the work of a powerful mature artist with a deep understanding of the human condition a profound ability to write about small-town life and perhaps the surest touch of any American novelist for the tangled feelings that bind and separate men and women.