Somebody's Darling employs some of the conventions of aesthetic realism and employs them well; the characters are rounded and believable and the story line involving….

A complex narration, similar to that of The Sound and the Fury, interestingly complicates plot and characters by showing them through overlapping and frequently contradictory lenses. (p. 181)

McMurtry's is to my mind the most mature of several recent novels by men that consider the current status of women in American society, yet it is bound to come under criticism from a certain quarter. Why make [the protagonist] Jill Peel a film director with only modest talent? Why make her fall in love with cruel men? Why make her incapable of sticking up for herself? I think McMurtry would here invoke his realist aesthetic: he can only paint what he sees and the world as he sees it unfortunately provides more material to create...