Cities of the Plain (Everyman's Library) - All the Pretty Horses

'All the Pretty Horses' is a very well written saga of a teenage boy from Texas, circa 1940s, wandering off down to Mexico with his buddy. Both guys are horsemen. Their Mexican adventure turns sour very quickly and they are then thrust into a mix of love, death and everything in between. The author's prose and characterizations are perfect. The only reason I don't give this book five stars is because I found the heavy use of Spanish dialogue to be very distracting. Although oftentimes one can get the gist of what was being said, too many times I was left puzzled. Yes, the use of Spanish did add quite a bit to the feel of the story. I think it would have been helpful if the author supplied translations (in footnotes, for example).

Bottom line: quite an amazing story, .. and I don't even like horses. Recommended.

I cherished the slow rides across the desert with the rich imagry and the long contemplations about life, love and God (which might be horses?). There are few explantions -- things happen because that's the way they are and answers either come much later or perhaps never at all. Life in this time requires complete trust in oneself and patience. It is a much different world than we live in today with our constant need for answers and information - perhaps that is why the book seemed like such an escape. All of this is illustrated through the story of John Cole and Lacey Rawlins and their sometimes companion Blevins and their trek through Mexico. I have yet to come across another author who's style, prose and imagry can compare to McCarthy's. I am a desert worshiper and appreciate that McCarthy captures so well, and helped to show me more, the bounty of life and beauty that the desert holds.

I purchased the book because it won the National Book Award, because its author is a Pulitizer Prize winner, and because a movie has been made of it. With all this to commend it, I was expecting great things. What a disappointment!
As a retired teacher I found the lack of punctuation and the run-on sentences (101 words in one case) VERY distracting. I kept wanting to edit/correct. The plot is thin and predictable. I gave up about half way through which something I hate to do. I may return and finish it if I run out of anything else to read at some point in the future.

Every professional critic lauded this book as a great modern day western classic and perhaps it is.
I was looking forward to reading this acclaimed novel by Cormac McCarthy, but found the going extremely difficult on a number of counts. Some of the sentences are over half a page long so that by the time you reach the end, the beginning has faded into the distant past. The absence of inverted commas to denote the spoken word was hard to get used to, often requiring a revisit to check if the passage just read was conversation or narrative. The final obstacle for me, even though it helped to conjure up the surroundings, was the frequent use of Spanish.
Now for the positives. The story has a good plot with two charismatic leading characters who head off into a foreign land in search of freedom, but who discover adventure, romance, violence, hardship and tragedy along the way. The descriptions of the mountains, plains, storms and rivers of Mexico are excellent, so the atmosphere of that land is always floating there alongside the developing story. The love scenes and the prison scenes provide contrasting moments of relaxation and tension for the reader. Reading is a wonderful way to discover new words and even though it is purely imaginative, the word "blivet" on page 46 of the paperback edition, is now part of my vocabulary, albeit changed to suit the person with whom I am talking.
"All the Pretty Horses" has only recently been released as a movie and I would expect this to be one of those very rare exceptions where the movie is better than the book. I look forward to finding out.

The first of Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy, "All the Pretty Horses" captures the magnificence and poetry of a now-disappeared American frontier.

The prose itself imparts the characters' emotions even as their speech is spare; the sheer amount of attention, the carefully recorded detail, placed on the boys' surroundings shows the love both of them have for the horses and the land.

Without punctuation such as quotation marks, the dialogue and the descriptions blend together like the earth and sky at the farthest horizon. The book is slow-moving at times, but that only serves to make you feel like you are trotting along with the characters for the many miles they cover. The reader can't help but be drawn into John Grady's world and to feel a fraction of his sense of belonging in and to a majestic land.

Much like Mark Twain, McCarthy captures the easy, effortless dialect of a fading class of people. The cowboys refuse to be confined to convention and modern norms, and their speech reflects their nonconformity. Their dialogue is rife with run-on sentences and spelling that reflect spoken words, making it truly believable and captivating.

This book has received great critical acclaim, including the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and I can see why.

Though I can't recommend this book to everyone--the slow, steady pace that pervades much of the beginning will be a turn-off to readers looking for plenty of action--I would recommend it to readers of genres spanning literary fiction and westerns, as well as to anyone looking for a good, solid read.

For a complete review, visit my site, Melody & Words!

Dispossessed and alienated by the death of his grandfather, the divorce of his parents, and the imminent sale of the ranch where he grew up, 16-year-old John Grady Cole heads for Mexico with his friend Lacey Rawlins to pursue the lives of traveling horsemen. They find a hard, Darwinian world where the weak and foolish suffer. Cole is scrupulously ethical and strong-willed, and he needs to be. Every time he shows love or compassion for another, he is made to suffer for it, and only his own strength of character allows him to persevere.

Cormac Mccarthy's prose style is challenging at first, but I soon grew accustomed to it. His long galloping sentences effectively emulate the rhythm of travel, and his simple yet often startling turns of phrase bring the landscape of the Texas/Mexico border region to vivid life.

Historical signicance. Real. Helped me brush up on my ranch Spanish. L lots of horse sense passed on to the readers. Accurately describes the conditions of rural Mexico in the 1930's. Keeps you interested and in anticipation. Accurately describes Mexican prison institutions as they still are today.

English 122 (extra credit) Mieko T.
Young American cowboys, John Grady Cole and his bud Rawlins went to Mexico from Texas and sought their successful life on a Mexican ranch. McCarthy described details such as eating food and riding horses lively. After falling in love with a Mexican girl Alejandra, John Grady started getting in trouble. Mexican rangers caught John Grady and Rawlins, who were suspected as horse thieves and murderers. Alejandra's family tried to separate her from John Grady. Sadly, they didn't get married. At the climax of the story, John Grady, holding his rifle, got his horse back from a Mexican ranger captain. Finally, he returned his hometown where Rawlin had already been. He had a short conversation with Rawlins, and then he drifted away. Adventures and romance, this book is great for pleasure reading.

English 122 (extra credit) Mieko T.
Young American cowboys, John Grady Cole and his bud Rawlins went to Mexico from Texas and sought their successful life on a Mexican ranch. McCarthy described details such as eating food and riding horses lively. After falling in love with a Mexican girl Alejandra, John Grady started getting in trouble. Mexican rangers caught John Grady and Rawlins, who were suspected as horse thieves and murderers. Alejandra's family tried to separate her from John Grady. Sadly, they didn't get married. At the climax of the story, John Grady, holding his rifle, got his horse back from a Mexican ranger captain. Finally, he returned his hometown where Rawlin had already been. He had a short conversation with Rawlins, and then he drifted away. Adventures and romance, this book is great for pleasure reading.

A complete plumbing of the depths of this book has not been done. What exactly this book means is perhaps known only to the author. On the backdrop of a couple of Texas cowboys exploring Mexico, and getting into trouble in the process, there is a lot going on. At one point Alejandra's aunt delivers a long monologue in which she describes a worker at the mint placing the blank slug randomly one way or the other, so that the resulting coin, seemingly random of itself, is merely the product of an earlier random act. And so ad infinitum. True to form, McCarthy describes it all with a beautiful control of descriptive language, from the dry desert to the knifefight to the horses. If you enjoy McCarthy, this book will not disappoint you. If you have never read him before, this is as good a place as any to start.

This book was pretty boring from the start. It's about John Grady Cole a teenager who left home to go to Mexico. On the way he has many adventures and trials. Him and Rawlins leave and ride across the border. On the way they pick up a skinny little guy named Blevins. He has a real nice horse and gun. In a freak storm he loses his horse and his gun. In Mexico they are hired to break horses at a hacienda. Grady falls in love for the owner's young daughter. Which in turn leads to an arrest and a sentence to a Mexical jail. He murders a man that is trying to kill him in jail and ends up getting out of jail. After he gets his horse back from a Mexican ranger. At the end of the story he goes home and meets up with Rawlins and says hello. Then he just drifted away. This book is great for anyone who likes boring reading that takes a long time to get to the good stuff.

A western, coming of age novel, a transformation from innocence to road-worn. One quality remains unchanged throughout this story of two young men that leave their home in Texas for adventures in Mexico, friendship. McCarthy's Mexico is a vast other-world with it well described life styles of the vaqueros and the breaking of wild horses. The prose is sparse and haunting, prompting the reader to use their imagination. A refreshing approach from the contemporary American way of reveal it all in the most graphic and shocking detail. The story is intense and riveting, I couldn't put it down. All the big themes are depicted here: friendship, maturation, love, survival and family. It did remind me of Faulkner's work, in that, the story unfolds in a series of almost orchestral movements. An important author who should not be missed.

I admit it. I picked up "All the Pretty Horses" more for the photo of the horse on the front cover than for its reputation as a good book (though that helped). And once I began reading, I was more than a little doubtful of McCarthy's writing style - I've read Faulkner and Hemingway and been less than impressed with some of their output. But after a few pages I adjusted and began to appreciate the beauty of the less-than-correct writing. "All the Pretty Horses" is the stuff of legends, of a bygone oral tradition, and it reads as though someone were really telling a story, not just writing words on a page. The story lives in a way that is as real as a horse snorting in your face. The themes and ideas that McCarthy addresses are simple but powerful and his characters have the uncomplicated aura of those in an epic, which this book is. I read the ending too quickly because I was dying to see what would happen; and anyway, to fully appreciate the scope of this book, I'm going to have to read it again. I look forward to it with pleasure.

When I read this book, I was completely impressed with the author's power to draw you into the scene of the story. I mean, I was seeing mountains and open grass lands and beautiful horses - and I've never seen them in real life. This book is very well-written, and the imagery is powerful and moving.

The main character, Cole, is chasing after a lifestyle that has passed. A life that is no more. He wants beauty in the world; all he finds is pain and sorrow. And maybe that is the way it is for all of us. We want what he wants, but reality crushes our view that this world can be made perfect if only this could happen...if only that could happen...It cannot. This is one of the most powerful themes in the book: we are all chasing a life that in many ways cannot exist in this world.

McCarthy is a skilled and talented linguist who knows just how to pull a reader into the world of the novel, enveloping them in a richness of language that is truly amazing.
I admit, I haven't even finished this book yet, but I am so impressed by the writing that I couldn't wait. I have read two of McCarthy's other novels, Suttree and Child of God, and both demonstrated McCarthy's ability to create a vivid fictional world and characters, embuing them with such deep humanity. However, I've found that All the Pretty Horses so much wider and encompassing than the other two. Perhaps it is because the characters are young, touched with an idealism that had long escaped the characters in the other novels, they are more accessible and easier to understand. I've found this book impossible to put down, and would recommend it to anyone interested in a book that really draws the reader in...I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy.

cormac mccarthy's striking, bleak story of john grady cole's maturation is a marvel in both language and storytelling that is most certainly for the mature reader, and one who loves reading at that. This is not a light tale, and the violence is often excruciatingly graffic, and his unusual lack of punctuation (there's not a quotation mark to be found) can put off a reader who is not willing to look past this. In fact, the lack of quotation marks in conversations has the interesting effect of making the blend almost seemlessly with the descriptions... speaking of which, there are some truly beautiful passages in this book, worth quoting for the masterful pictures they paint. This magnificent book should be read by anyone who's mature enough to handle it's unconventionalism, and it's violent themes.

We are not in Texas anymore.

Read this book for the reward of a compelling story. It narrates the experience of two friends who wander into Northern Mexico, motivated for adventure. Along the way they meet an odd but fierce boy named Jimmy Blevins.

Blevins loses his horse to some rustlers. He takes great risks to get his horse back. Being near him, while a bit risky, reminds the men of the moral order of people who would not stand for letting someone steal your horse. Even if you die in the process. Blevins Then Blevins is gone.

McCarthy employs rich language. The verbs cloak description. It can be obtuse reading when the language utilizes so many cowboy terms. But, that's part of the value.

I read this over two airplane trips across the country. Stuck in a cocoon of canned air, this book gave me something to imagine. It is part of a trilogy. I am reading the next one, Cities of the Plain, right now.

I understand why everyone likes this book, but all the hyperbole seems to be feeding off itself. There is little about "All the Pretty Horses" that will have people still talking about it a generation from now. It is not a classic, in my opinion, but I thought it might be one all through the first half of the book. The language is so evocative and poetic as it describes the south-western scenery and establishes the characters. Very spare and beautiful and pure. Then, when the story's complications set in down in Mexico, the book degrades quickly to a run-of-the-mill adventure tale. All the subtlety and poetry in the book vanishes as McCarthy does nothing more than relate a series of increasingly violent actions. This is a problem since the pristine poetry of the first half promises a revelation of truth - a promise that is not kept. Instead of any kind of rare, penetrating insight, the reader is served up an action movie in print. The story devolves from fine literature to genre fiction with alarming abruptness. As I read this book, I was reminded of the countless Hollywood films I've seen that start out so promising with clever, engaging scripts, only to lose their nerve and segue into the typical car chases, explosions and gun play. Very entertaining, perhaps, but common. Even the book's romance is generic. ... In the end, "All the Pretty Horses" is still a great read, it's just not great literature.

McCarthy writes like cowboys think. He describes scenery, women, and horses through the eyes of grizzled young riders in the Texas dust. His landscapes are remarkable -- dry, dusty, steaming, other times lush, but always hot. His characters are truly wonderful, 1950s cowpokes and members of the Mexican aristocracy lost in time, not yet used to the world of the automobile, unaffected by the Baby Boom and the economic surge post-WWII.
John Grady Cole, a 16-year-old horse handler on the run from his mother's affairs and his father's illness, is what we all want to be: noble, wise, rugged. His pal Rawlins is a hilarious sidekick, though more than that. He lacks Cole's early wisdom, but enjoys life more and makes fateful decisions on instinct alone. Cole's romance with the beautiful Alejandra is masterfully handled, though the awful cover of this movie tie-in would tell you otherwise.
Find your favorite chair, turn off the phone, and curl up with this gem.

Many people compare, fairly or no, Cormac McCarthy's "All the Pretty Horses" to William Faulkner's literary work. What is neglected is the strain of Flannery O'Connor that runs throughout the novel as well. At any rate, "Horses" more than stands on its own as a startling achievement. It's prose is more accessible than Faulkner, and its themes less esoteric than O'Connor. "Horses" is an immaculate novel, dealing with the extreme facets of the everyday and the ways in which people become who they are.
John Grady Cole, a 16 year old boy, dispossessed of his family lands, wanders off into Mexico, accompanied by Lacey Rawlins, a close friend. Astride their trusted horses, Redbo and Junior, the two young men ride, searching for occupation and meaning. It may be somewhat idealistic that two ranch-hands like Cole and Rawlins should ride about, discussing throughout the novel things like the profundities of religion, life, and human relationships on so advanced a level, but McCarthy's grasp of vernacular - English and Spanish - makes the whole completely palatable.
McCarthy's writing technique leaves nothing to be desired - his evocative use of landscape draws the Texas-Mexico scenery off the page and into immediate experience. Impressionistic and yet utterly tangible, the cold of the evenings and the heat of the days is described as it is felt. McCarthy's characterization is just as remarkable. Minor characters like the various groups of laborers met along the way, Perez the mysteriously powerful political exile/prisoner, or children bathing in a ditch - all bring realism and depth to Cole's struggle into selfhood.
The most wonderful thing about "Horses" is that McCarthy doesn't beat you over the head with his major themes - they exist as constant undercurrents - humanity's relationship to tradition, the divine, to each other - these are the elements that course and pulse through the novel. Epic knife-fights in a Kafkaesque prison, emotional wounds that never heal, a covert love affair with Alejandra (the daughter of a powerful Mexican landowner), philosophical-historical conversations with her aunt Alfonsa, a problematic relationship with 'Jimmy Blevins,' a possessive young boy - all of these moments in the novel are saturated with fundamental thematic significance.
This is not a book to simply read. This book must be lived with, carried, held, gazed upon and treasured. Give it full reign of your mind and let the unknowable horses of your imagination take you into yourself.

Interesting read. I'd seen the movie and, as usual, much preferred the book. Kind of dark, this isn't a feel good novel but a really good read. Well developed characters, interesting plot, good study of human nature. Always wondered what it would be like to run away and become a cowboy. This is probably much more realistic than my fantasy.
I recommend it.

Cormac McCarthy's ALL THE PRETTY HORSES combines the plot details of Graham Greene's THE END OF THE AFFAIR and THE POWER AND THE GLORY. The difference is that where Greene placed the conflict within the confines of Roman Catholic theology (or better stated the inherent tension with RC), McCarthy removes God altogether.

The result is eerily simila. The renouncing of love to keep an oath
and the enduring of suffering become central motifs.

Thankfully, like Greene, McCarthy's style is first-rate. The pages
turn quickly and the plot holds together.

The only disappointing note is that Hollywood ended up making three poor film versions of the above books.

I love his writing! The story took me to Mexico after WW2, as the life in the southwest was dramatically changing. If you like arcane vocabulary, you will get plenty here! He draws from language around ranching and working with horses. A lot of dialogue is in Spanish. I resorted to a translator on my phone to make sure I wasn't missing anything essential.

I picked up this book, having seen it listed for readers who enjoyed "Cold Mountain". I was stunned by what I consider pretty lush prose, considering the barren landscape and lifestyle McCarthy is trying to describe. The stylistic choices in this novel (the use of Spanish, no quotations) that seem to have bothered others (and in "The God of Small Things" drove me batty) seem perfectly matched to the story itself; the starkness of the very appearance of the page matches the story. McCarthy did a wonderful job, in my opinion, of showing us people who just manage to keep going - they persever in spite of all the obstacles. I loved this book, and plan to follow up with the other two volumes in the trilogy.

This book is a spelling and grammar check nightmare. When I first started reading the book, the lack of quotation marks, commas, and acceptable grammar confused me. I soon lost track of the dialogue and when it was dialogue versus descriptions. Once the story got cranking, the book captivated me and I almost forgot about the punctuation. I liked the premise of the story and I always like a happy ending. Two thumbs up.

I didn't realize until I looked at the the store site that Frank Muller has narrated so many books. They have 84 Muller listings here, primarily for Stephen King, John Grisham and other best-selling authors. The only other Muller audio-book I was familiar with was his rendition of King's <The Green Mile>, which was excellent. Muller surpasses that here, however, as he renders McCarthy's prose faultlessly. He captures the accents, whether they be Texan or Mexican, faithfully and unaffectadly. This is a great acting-job, natural, unassuming, perfectly in-flow with the narrative. His shift from character to character is seemless. Muller is the latter-day role model for anyone wishing to narrate books. There is ample reason why he is so prolific.
The story itself lends itself to being told orally. It is a myth of the west, but I mean that in the greatest sense of the word. Mythic here does not mean unrealistic. Far from it. It is mythic because it represents higher truths, but tells a human story in as truthful a manner as possible. I hate to use a hackneyed term like "describing the human condition," but it does. There are other high-school terms I could use, such as "coming-of-age story," "piquaresque novel," "story of initiation," etc. , but they would all short-change McCarthy's accomplishment here. McCarthy represents what is increasiningly scarce in modern American letters. He is a truly original novelist. Yes, we can trace his roots, but he has acquired his unique voice by dint of much effort, trial, delving, maybe even bloodshed. He is one of those authors that after reading one of his works, we are left to ask "How did he come by that knowledge?" He doesn't just research a work. He must have, at least in part, lived it. For instance, in this work, I was left wondering how he could have aquired such an encyclopedic knowledge of all things having to do with horses. I worked on the backstretch of racetracks for five years and didn't know my nomenclature with anything like the authority he does.
It would appear that Muller, like McCarthy has thoroughly done his homework. Never once in the course of this unabridged audio does he stumble over a word, much less a passage. He speaks Spanish almost as fluently as English, which is important for this work. In fact I would suggest that if you do not comprehend Spanish readily, you refer to the text-form of the book and maybe a Spanish dictionary before listening to this tape, though you can still appreciate most of it.
My estimation of McCarthy, which was already high, as well as my opinion of Muller, were greatly enhanced by the experience of listening to these tapes.
(This review refers to the unabridged audio-tape version of <All the Pretty Horses>. I prefer printed versions of good books, but see nothing wrong with listening to books when we dont have our hands free. Cars, obviously. I know what you were thinking!)

I found it by accident when looking for a western to begin a couple hours before turning in one night. I'd been listening to Townes Van Zandt and wanted a novel full that kind of space and poetry. But it needed to be a western. It was available in ebook format from my local library and it immediately made my chest rise and fall and I could not sleep through the whole night. The next day I bought the physical copy to hold when finished. When I did finish, I read the last paragraph over and again. You don't review these books, you stand in wonder.

It was a privilege to read each volume of the Trilogy as it was published. Taken individually, each book has its strengths and weaknesses -- I find "All the Pretty Horses" the most even and satisfying, "The Crossing" the richest and most profound, "Cities of the Plain" a little less than either, except for its Epilogue -- but as a whole, it stands as one of the 20th century's last great masterpieces and I daresay an entry into the much-maligned but still useful "Canon" of Western literature. Taken as a whole, the structure and symbology of John Grady Cole and Billy Parham become coherent, and challenging, acquiring additional impact. I still think and will always think John Grady and Billy the two greatest heroes I've read in the postmodern world -- not that they were original, but because they weren't. Thinking about whose stories they echo is one of the deepest pleasures of the Border Trilogy.

For all of you who are worried about the aforementioned spanish content - give in to it. I read the book with zero knowledge of spanish and loved every minute of it. McCarthy understands lyrical novel writing and is in the same league as Ondaatje when it comes to letting words play music upon the inner voice. The very clip and melody to the spanish conveys its meaning. To dissuade yourself from this novel because of some spanish would be to dissuade yourself from one of the seven wonders of modern literature. Fierceness, Love, Courage, and Truth - these are the concerns of McCarthy's characters, and with their integrity, we can glimpse what is possible in our own lives when we are true.

I abandoned this book after 5 pages a year ago -- and for all the 'annoying' reasons above, ie the non-quoted dialogue, the Spanish, the dry, terse and 'lengthy' landscape narrative.Read the reviews--and made it a goal to read it during my Mexican vacation. This was a very easy goal because once I read the reviews I realized that I hadn't given the author's obvious talent a chance. By far the best book of the year I have read. It is not a difficult read at all, but it simply can't be skimmed, and you won't want to. The beauty of it is hearing every word in your mind - as if you are sitting by a campfire and hearing a very, very wise person tell the story.I hate (!) westerns, but all the really significant themes of living one's life are here.Take the time to savor this book.

I had to read this book as one of my summer reading assignments for AP English. I doubt I would have even finished this book if I didn't have to. Personally, I was annoyed by McCarthy's style. Many of his sentences would either be really short (especially the dialouge) or a paragraph long. It seemed to me like the author would try to throw in a few really long lines once in a while just to be pretensious. Additionally, the style of the novel (especially the first 15 pages) was confusing. There were shifts in time and setting without even a break in the paragraph. I also didn't understand McCarthy's reasoning for leaving out many punctuation marks including quotation marks, some commas, and apostraphes. I may have been biased against this book from the start though because I don't like reading westerns.

I've been told that other McCarthy novels are better, but having started with this one, I have not been inspired to explore his oeuvre any further. My annoyance with this book probably has something to do with its being vastly overrated. I picked it up expecting, based on what I'd heard, to be astonished on every page, only to come away from it bored and puzzled. What is everyone so excited about? The plot is thoroughly conventional, the prose is some kind of dried-up, left-over concoction made up of one part Faulkner and two parts Hemingway, and McCarthy has a bad habit of constantly singing the praises (in his chiseled, understated way) of his insipid hero, John Grady Cole -- what a horseman! -- all based on an antiquated and irrelevant code of manhood, or something. Who cares?

I happened to have read this McCarthy novel within days of exploring the southwest Texas-Mexican border region, down to Langtry. The trip offered a certain familiarity with the journey portrayed in two cowboy's trek into Mexico. The artistic prose, longer than necessary adjectives of grass lands and hills slows the reading down, but captures the essence of the era and locale. The reality of this fiction is quite close to home as the potential for tragedy always lies around the corner from impetuous decision making. In this case, two teenage cowboy partners made the decisions of the heart that brought tragedy and an ill fated love affair with a Mexican heiress. There are parts of the novel that are built on simplicity and humor, and even within tragic moments McCarthy uses simplistic conversation and somehow paints the image of the pain and hope in the hearts of the two cowboys. Friendship, sadness, loneliness, abandonment, hope and attraction are all woven into this well planned story line. An excellent choice if you are interested in a modern western that paints a story of life in the southwest area, without famous bank robbers and fancied pistol touting lawmen.

Frank Muller does an excellent job narrating this novel by Cormac McCarthy. Moreover, listening to the Audio CD allows the listener to sidestep the McCarthy's liberties with the punctuation e.g. the absence of quotation marks. This isn't to demean McCarthy's prose; far from it, he presents a nostalgic picture of Texas and Mexico in the 1940's. Indeed, one of themes seems to be how this `country' is disappearing and being replaced by a modern, industrial one. The hero of the novel, John Grady Cole, is depicted as near mythical; we are left with the impression that such a young, courageous man would not exist today-if he ever did it all. This parallels a theme from a recent novel of McCarthy's, No Country for Old Men. Actually, the two novels are related on many other points as well e.g. the symbolic coin toss and how it represents Fate. While the parallels between McCarthy's novels seem clear, a particular one within the novel does not: how Francisco's story relates to John Grady's. Leaving that aside, to see the author work through such wide ranging questions (Culture's decline, Fate v. Free Will) is a joy and one of many reasons to read his work.

Cormac McCarthy presents three tales about his young protagonists, John Grady Cole and Billy Parham, in this trilogy of coming-of-age novels. By the time the third novel ends, with a somewhat unsatisfactory fast forward jump across nearly five decades, one's nerves and emotions are practically wrung out.
These two young men, each traveling through the Southwest on quests that conjure up perils matching those Odysseus faced, are forced into choices with graver consequences than either can foresee. Their independent quests, which form the basis of All the Pretty Horses and The Crossing, intertwine in Cities of the Plain. Death is no stranger in any of the three books, but by the end of Cities on the Plain, it is irrelevant.
Though much has been written about the two central characters and their fates, in my view, McCarthy tends to amplify his characters more than he develops them for there is a sameness to each from start to end more in keeping with archetypes than real people.
McCarthy will build the tension to an almost maddening level at times, relying on vivid, detailed depictions of the now lost Southwest to slow the momentum. At times I felt like I was waiting for an iceberg to scuttle my ship: I could see its slow approach but could not forestall the inevitable. The layers and layers of description finely permeate your consciousness so that the clouds of dust, the smell of sweaty horses, the ache from a knife puncture, cold rain sliding under the collar down the spine take on the vividness usually imparted more powerfully by poetry than prose.
Sometimes, I must confess, the clipped style of the conversations and stacks of similes bothered me a bit because of what was not being said or shown but what lurked unstated like those half-formed thoughts we all harbor.
Yet writing with this level of detail about the land, the weather, the loneliness of souls on a quest, can take its toll and for all the pleasure these books bring, I must confess that I was not sorry to close the cover and shelve this book. Maybe I'll revisit it in 20 years; regardless, these characters are forever seared in my consciousness.

This man is an AMAZING writer -- you will be drawn in to each character's life and experience the events as if you are present. Your heart will break--but it is worth it. The Crossing was one of the best -- and saddest -- books I have read... but, you know what? It's is LIFE not the pretty crap we are sold all day on television. This man's writing takes my breath away, he is so good.

McCarhty paints a wonderful landscape across the border In All The Pretty Horses. This book by Cormac Mccarthy is a great book about the coming of age of 16 year old John Grady Cole. Like most coming of Age stories it is not particulary fast pased or thrilling. It is instead a book that slowly draws you into the characters journey and lets you along for the ride.It dosen't take long for you to cheer for the good hearted characters the McCarthy brilliantly portrays in his book. a would recommed this book to anyone as long as you have a little patience, as they will find that could things come to those who wait in all The Pretty Horses.

Haven't yet read a Cormac McCarthy and wondering what the talk's about? Walk out behind the line shack and ease up to the roan gelding standing there; a hard working animal that earns his keep daily in all weather without complaint. Lay a hand on his flank. You feel the supple, strong hide stretched to just the right tension over lean meat and tough muscle; no fat, no waste.

If you were to saddle him up, say, if you knew how and he'd let you, where might he take you if you gave him his head under this merciless sun, amidst all this dust and dryness? Will he carry you at good pace without dangerous skittishness, aware of and avoiding the hazards of the trail, and might he know his way to a reliable spot of good water at the end of the day? Well, he will and he does, a damn good horse and a tolerable companion. Hobble him up, make camp, check your bedroll for fangy or stingy things and turn in. It's been a tiring but fine day, the kind that calls sleep to you right quickly.

Now, this Cormac McCarthy book is maybe about horses or maybe it isn't. Up to you to decide what it's actually about once you've read it. The thing you'll find out about Mr. McCarthy is that the trip, wherever it actually takes you, is a good and enjoyable thing. Calmly and competently, you are delivered.

If you like westerns and good ol' boy characters then this book is for you. In many ways this book resembles a western style DANTE'S INFERNO. ALL THE PRETTY HORSES was assigned to me in an English class and I finished the book way ahead of schedule. I found it very interesting, especialy the romantic aspect. The book is broken into four sections. The first section could be characterized as a withering garden. The second section is the new garden, while the third section is excile from the new garden into a sort of hell. The fourth section is purgatory, or a cleansing of the main characters soul. I recomend this book to anyone.

Toward the end of "All the Pretty Horses," the main character John Grady Cole shoots a deer. When he reaches the doe, he kneels beside her to usher her tenderly to her death. His mind is filled with thoughts of the tumultuous journey that has brought him to this point:
"...he felt wholly alien to the world although he loved it still. He thought that in the beauty of the world were hid a secret. He thought the world's heart beat at some terrible cost and that the world's pain and its beauty moved in a relationship of diverging equity and that in this headlong deficit the blood of multitudes might ultimately be exacted for the vision of a single flower."

Later, John watches a funeral from a distance: "...for a moment he held out his hands...as if to slow the world that was rushing away and seemed to care nothing for the old or the young or rich or poor or dark or pale or he or she. Nothing for their struggles, nothing for their names. Nothing for the living or the dead."

Rife with these types of profound observations, this wry, beautifully wrought, sometimes comic novel is compelling, exultant, and heartbreaking.

Clearly, "All the Pretty Horses" is a multifaceted love story. First, it reveals the affection between John, a miraculously gifted horse whisperer, and his subjects: "What he loved in horses was what he loved in men, the blood and the heat of the blood that ran them. All his reverence and all his fondness and all the leanings of his life were for the ardenthearted and they would always be so and never be otherwise." Second, there's the more traditional, yet troubled love between the impecunious John and Alejandra, his wealthy boss's refined and beautiful daughter. And finally, there's the love expressed between John and his best friend Lacey Rawlins. In fact, this fraternal relationship may be the novel's most fleshed-out. McCarthy rarely expresses this love through dialogue, yet reveals it clearly and deeply: "They rode out on the prairie and sat on the ground and let the animals drift with the reins down and he told Rawlins all that had happened. They sat very quietly. The dead moon hung in the west and the long flat shapes of the nightclouds passed before it like a phantom fleet."

In a much broader sense, this novel illuminates a writer's unbridled love for his setting. McCarthy's broad affectionate descriptions of the Texan and Mexican landscapes are uncommonly detailed and full of integrity. In this, my third McCarthy novel, I'm finally beginning to get a real sense of his unparalleled use of setting as a character unto itself. That's a rare quality, even in the most accomplished writer.

"All the Pretty Horses" explores the perpetually inventive ways humans simultaneously revel in life, drinking in every vivid particle, while inexplicably separating themselves from it through fear, cruelty, and indifference. Perhaps this inherent compartmentalization explains how people can inflict evil on others and still sleep at night and also how victims somehow manage to extract tiny shreds of forgiveness from a soul otherwise decimated by their victimizers. Sometimes that perpetrator is life itself.

the good points: the story itself is interesting and moves along for the most part making the book readable, and it's gets into some interesting detail and perspective in terms of mexican landscape and culture and horses, and it's not bad for an adventure story, which is why i finished it.
the bad points: the book is almost entirely emotionally shut-down (written at about the emotional level of a fifteen year old, and not a very mature one at that), it totally idealizes machismo (glorifies being emotionally detached and tough), gives no reason as to why the two main american boy characters are close aside from some "mysterious" bond of loyalty which seems not to grow or change throughout the book - and their occasional philosophizing is trite and silly
further bad points: the main character grows to comically mythic proportions by the end of the book, almost as if he's become immortal and cannot be killed by the silly and foolish mexicans - on their own turf no less!, which to me is not only unrealistically pro-american but idealizes the myth of the invincibility of youth, which is dangerous...
other trivial points that annoyed me: author's use of stylized grammar shifted throughout the book. for example, in the beginning ten pages in the prose (not the dialogue) he spelled the word "didn't" as follows - "didn't" - but then after that point, and for the rest of the book, spelled it "didnt", with no apostrophe. annoying! and also, i felt the author was a show-off and a tease with his use of spanish dialogue. as i happen to speak spanish it was fine by me, but i find it annoying when authors gratuitously use foreign languages at length and do not translate, leaving the reader potentially out in the wind...

PAGE 141 (punctuation is as the author intended)

"...They'd ride at night up along the western mesa two hours from the ranch and sometimes he'd build a fire and they could see the gaslights at the hacienda gates far below them floating in a pool of black and sometimes the lights seemed to move as if the world down there turned on some other center and they saw stars fall to earth by the hundreds and she told him stories of her father's family and of Mexico. Going back they'd walk the horses into the lake and the horses would stand and drink with the water at their chests and the stars in the lake bobbed and tilted where they drank and if it rained in the mountains the air would be close and the night more warm and one night he left her and rode down along the edge of the lake through the sedge and willow and slid from the horses back and pulled off his boots and his clothes and walked out into the lake where the moon slid away before him and ducks gabbled out there in the dark. The water was black and warm and he turned in the lake and spread his arms in the water and the water was so dark and so silky and he watched across the still black surface to where she stood on the shore with the horse and he watched where she stepped from her pooled clothing so pale, so pale, like a chrysalis emerging, and walked into the water.

She paused midway to look back. Standing there trembling in the water and not from the cold for there was none. Do not speak to her. Do not call. When she reached him he held out his hand amd she took it. She was so pale in the lake she seemed to be burning. Like foxfire in a darkened wood. That burned cold. Like the moon that burned cold. Her black hair floating on the water about her, falling and floating on the water. She put her other arm about his shoulder and looked toward the moon in the west do not speak to her do not call and then she turned her face up to him. Sweeter for the larceny of time and flesh, sweeter for the betrayal. Nesting cranes that stood singlefooted among the cane on the south shore had pulled their slender beaks from their wingpits to watch. Me quieres? she said. Yes, he said. He said her name. God yes, he said..."

I have always believed that the genius of Cormac McCarthy lies in his ability to transform the ugliest of people and situations into objects of art by his hauntingly beautiful narrative. The Cities of the Plains is no exception. While not as adventurous as the first two novels of the trilogy, this story draws you in from the opening paragraph and never lets you go. I caught myself stopping several times just to catch my breath and marvel at the sheer brilliance of the prose. The maestro's story of the padrino was particularly poignant and moving. McCarthy continues to be the leading voice of serious literature in this country.

perhaps the most memorable of the Border Trilogy..Cormac McCarthy takes a little getting used to as far as his literary style but once you find the rhythm of his words sit back and enjoy being transported to a world of masterful prose..John Grady Cole is 16, parents divorced and his grandfather, the only adult he's close to dies then his world changes..deprived of life on his grandfather's ranch after it's sold..he decides to cross the border into Mexico..he's joined on the trip by an old friend, Lacey Rawlins..along the way they meet another teenager, Jimmy Blevins, most likely riding a stolen horse..the three amigos ride into Mexico..and what awaits is a journey that turns them from kids into men..in a harsh Western way..beautifully told...splendid imagery..

Going in, I was skeptical that I would particularly like this novel and made the choice simply on my enjoyment with previous novels and the promise of the premise of The Crossing that I could read after this.

Horses and cowboy life are the kind of thing that I never knew I could enjoy, especially not in the amount that it takes to read an entire novel about. This, however, is truly a man's tale. McCarthy's striking prose mixed with his distinct style made it a joy to read, especially in the two middle sections where the action really picks up.

It does take a bit to get going, though. There was also a part in the final section where the story was a very complex description of action with little dialogue that lost me a little. On the whole, this is a great story that runs you through a wide range of emotions and manages to surprise you in that trademark McCarthy way.

This was my introduction to Cormac McCarthy and I must say that I was very, very impressed. This is the story of two young cowboys (circa the early 1950s) who head off on horseback into Mexico from there homes in southern Texas. It is, however, no joy ride. The rich, vibrant tapestry of the landscapes painted by McCarthy form the backdrop to the tale as the two make there way south with no real goal other than to experience what comes there way. My only quibble with the novel is the especially young ages of the two... 16 and 17. Their ability to handle extraordinarily difficult situations with a maturity far exceeding their age is a bit of a stretch. Outside of that, highly recommended.

I've read the entire Border Trilogy at least three times now, and I've read each of McCarthy's other novels at least once. Now, I'm dying to see what he writes next.

The language is lyrical and poetic, sometimes short and choppy in the language of McCarthy's young cowboy protagonists, sometimes long and surreal in his descriptions of horses, landscape, and dreams. The language finally emerges as a living character of the novel, equally shaping the narrative and its power, separate from the plot line and journey motif.

His storytelling ability is unmatched as he weaves storytelling characters into the bildungsromanesque journeys of John Grady Cole and Billy Parham. These interlocutors relate intricate stories that allow us to witness tales being both told and witnessed, creating a double effect on us through our connectivity to the characters. McCarthy uses his own wonderful narrative to reflect on the power of the narrative event and the act of storytelling. He truly raises the standard for today's writers, for not only does his language transcend the pitter-patter of most so-called literature, his ability to weave marvelous stories and reflect on his role as narrator makes him a writer worth reckoning with. In fact, I just completed a thesis based on this set of three novels for my MA in English at BYU. Read them in order, or read them separately, "All the Pretty Horses" will draw you in with its sometimes intense sometimes comical language and bloody violence. "The Crossing" will captivate you in its complexity and depth, as well as its realistic, terribly moving portrayal of a young man alone and lonely. Finally, "Cities of the Plain" will make you laugh and cry as the protagonists are brought together in a domestic setting and move toward their destinies, each preset by McCarthy himself.

Read everything he has written. You will ache for more.

Note: I made some Mormon reader angry over my reviews of books written by Mormons out to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews.

So your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks, and note the effort I made in searching out the two wonderful passages (below). I hope they make reading my review worthwhile.

I didn't want to ruin the story by telling too much. A short review that catches the essence of the novel is worth reading. Read the longer reviews later.

This memorable novel caught me and wouldn't let go. Around 1948, two teenage boys from Texas ride their horses down into Mexico. From there, the adventure begins. For a while, they live at a cattle ranch where the one boy falls in love with the wealthy rancher's daughter.

Highly recommended.

McCarthy is a powerful writer, and his novel "Blood Meridian" is the most powerful novel I ever read (see my review where I compare his prose to that of Conrad).

Blood Meridian:

"That night they rode through a region electric and wild where strange shapes of soft blue fire ran over the metal of the hoses' trappings and the wagonwheels rolled in hoops of fire and little shapes of pale blue light came to perch in the ears of the horses and in the beards of the men. All night sheetlightning quaked and sourceless to the west beyond the midnight thunderheads, making a bluish day of the distant desert, the mountains on the sudden skyline stark and black and lived like a land of some other order out there whose true geology was not stone but fear. The thunder moved up from the southwest and lightning lit the desert all about them, blue and barren, great clanging reaches ordered out of the absolute night like some demon kingdom summoned up or changeling land that come the day would leave them neither trace nor smoke nor ruin more than any troubling dream."

Compare above lines to similar lines in "The Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad:

"We could have fancied ourselves the first of men taking possession of an accursed inheritance, to be subdued at the cost of profound anguish and of excessive toil. But suddenly, as we struggled round a bend, there would be a glimpse of rush walls, of peaked grass-roofs, a burst of yells, a whirl of black limbs, a mass of hands clapping, of feet stamping, of bodies swaying, , of eyes rolling, under the droop of heavy and motionless foliage. The steamer toiled along slowly on the edge of a black and incomprehensible frenzy. The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us--who could tell" we were cut off from the comprehension of our surroundings; we glided past like phantoms, wondering and secretly appalled, as sane men would be before an enthusiastic outbreak in a madhouse. We could not understand because we were too far and could not remember because we were travelling in the night of first ages, of those ages that are gone, leaving hardly a sign--and no memories."
Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West

John Grady Cole is a cowboy at heart. After his grandfather dies, he learns that his utopian vision of growing up on the ranch, with a good wife and all the pretty horses is dying with it. His mother is an only child, who upon inheriting the ranch decides to sell it, having little interest in the old life. John Grady finds nothing left for him in Texas and rides away on horseback with his pal, Lacey Rawlins, across the border into Mexico.

Prior to their crossing, they are joined by a younger boy named Blevins, who is a mystery in himself. The two young men doubt his age, his name and his ownership of the horse he's riding, yet they allow him to travel into Mexico with them. John Grady's ideology is confronted with reality in Mexico as he is met face to face with events that trigger the deepest of human emotions: forbidden love, imprisonment and death of those close to him.

At one point in the novel, Rawlins tells John Grady, ""Pretty women and pretty horses are more trouble than they are worth. All a man needs is one that will get the job done." Many others try to counsel John Grady to neglect his ideal visions of the future in favor of reality, but he does not concede (even when faced with death).

Cormac McCarthy articulates a wonderful story of a young man's coming of age in a world that refuses to grant his cowboy vision. I am increasingly becoming convinced that Cormac McCarthy is the greatest of the living contemporary authors today, and certainly _All the Pretty Horses_ is no exception.

Many readers have written many things about this book, and some of their comments I find curious. But the single word I feel comfortable using to describe this work is stunning, because I was truly stunned by its beauty, its pace, its ability to capture the human spirit.
If this is a coming of age tale, then it is the quintessential example of this genre. McCarthy's style is so unique, yet bears well when compared to the eloquence and characterization of Faulkner and the rhythmic beauty of Marquez, as McCarthy's style encapsulates the best of these authors while retaining its own voice. Reading this tale is enthralling and exhausting.

I never -- almost never -- recommend books to anyone, because although I know what I like and dislike, I recognize that tastes and opinions differ. This is one of the only books about which I make an exception. At the risk of hyperbole, I believe that "All The Pretty Horses" is one of the finest American novels of the 20th Century. I have read other works by McCarthy, including the other novels in this trilogy, and none match this book. The prose is powerful and moving, the plot riveting, the characters compelling. I have not seen the movie -- how could I be anything but disappointed in it? -- but even if one sets aside the grace and fluid strength of the writing, the story is remarkable for its passion and authentic feel...The punctuation meshes dialogue with narrative better. There isn't that much Spanish, it's ordinarily translated by other characters, ...-- a lot of the story takes place in Mexico....

McCarthy's wonderfully told story about western life is gritty. His characters shift through a perilous purgatory with depth and realism. You can almost feel the dust on your own clothes, the sun's heat on your neck, and smell the lathered horses. The story takes place while the true west is drying up before a cowboy's own eyes. He's caught between his family's ranching heritage and his own cloudy future. Often the characters fall from the razor thin ledge of purgatory into the pit of hell, but find a way back out. And if you are wondering, YES, the movie seems to portray the novel closely.

McCarthy redefines the Homeric hero in ALL THE PRETTY HORSES, a novel which places him in the company of Melville, Faulkner, Twain, Morrison and Hemingway. McCarthy's protagonist, John Grady Cole, understands completely the lesson of Santiago in Hemingway's greatest work, THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA: to transcend time and experience, you have to journey beyond your deepest fears, embrace your destiny, and carry your dream. Even when the journey places you in imminent danger of losing your life, it is the truth of the journey which teaches lessons that are profound and life-transforming, lessons which can only be learned once we, like Odysseus, make the journey. To see beyond you have to go beyond, and once you go beyond, the vision before you will change your life completely. The ancient Greeks believed that a Homeric hero must have "arete," meaning excellence in all things--see ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE for Pirsig's brilliant interpretation of arete in the modern era. And in ALL THE PRETTY HORSES, McCarthy does many things masterfully, but, quite possibly, none so masterfully as his portrayal of John Grady Cole, who is convincing, selfless, and truly in the Homeric tradition. Of course, many a literature professor will say there is no such thing as a Homeric hero in modern literature. And that's why they are paid to teach novels, not write them. Five stars is not enough. Cole's journey is no accident, and neither is McCarthy's command of the American language in this novel. Nowhere in contemporary American fiction is there a voice as compelling and lyrical as McCarthy's. Viva McCarthy!!!

McCarthy is always deliberate in his writing, ploddingly so at times, but he always keeps the reader engaged. However, at some point toward the end of this novel, with a long soliloquy by one of the characters, he seems to have taken the reader off the trail and lost interest. It was difficult to understand what the point was. Still, singed in my brain were the descriptions of the austere, stark mesas of the ride. Unfortunately, it all fizzled out for this reader.

This book has the amazing descriptive language you would expect from a McCarthy novel. The novel takes place in the mid 20th century yet has the cowboy feel of a novel taking place in the mid 19th century. The setting, southern Texas and the undeveloped prairies of rural Mexico, give a feeling that the two young characters are discovering and exploring a new world. It rings of a Huck Finn adventure but with a more serious tone.

Mid-twentieth century, in a place simply "out there," at a time when the American frontier faces invasions from highways and Ford trucks, two cowboys barely eighteen ride south across the border in an idyllic journey through the breathtaking landscape, described poetically by an author whose eye for the primal disposition of nature is superceded only by the sheer beauty of his writing. By happenstance, the young men are joined by a boy even younger than they, and as they ride further into the cruelly civilized world that the main character, John Grady Cole, has so often seen in his dreams, the pain of an unforgiving reality strikes at the boys' hearts as they, before our eyes, transform into men against a backdrop of innocence, maturity, and above all, a love borne from the grandest of circumstances.
John Grady Cole soon finds himself struggling to survive in a setting that has transformed from serene and scenic to tumultuous and brutal, "a place where dreams are paid for in blood."

If you're looking to be bored out of your mind with another school reading assignment, don't pick up this novel. Warning: it will only entertain you. Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses was one of the most engaging stories I have ever read, thanks to the enchanting and whimsical prose. Each moment it grabs you right out of your comfy couch seat and takes you south of the border, straight down to Mexico. All of the elements of a classic Western are evident: a steamy romance, endless days of horseback riding through the desert and prairie, danger and new adventure around every corner...but they are presented in a whole new form, one that entirely seizes your senses and doesn't release them until you are driven from your seat to eat something. McCarthy's first novel in the Border Trilogy easily paves the way, with its fascinating rhythm and charming characters, towards a new era of American literature.
The story follows young John Grady on his journey from his Texas ranch to the wild lands of Mexico in the late 1940s, with several mysterious and fascinating characters joining him along the way. McCarthy doesn't succumb to standard rules of novel-writing as he tells this story. There are no quotation marks in the prose, but this only helps the dialogue to blend more seamlessly with the rest of the text. His flowing sentence structure is reminiscent of the Beat writer Jack Kerouac; it's not difficult to follow, but instead allows the reader to stay in-tune with the twisting plot with little unnecessary interruption by punctuation. The characters themselves are filled with a contagious energy and spark, and the friendship between young John Grady and Rawlins is heartwarming. Many of the relationships developed or described in the text are relatable, thus increasing the pleasure received from the read.
That being said, this novel probably isn't for everyone. At times the plot can seem to drag on forever; the multiple traveling descriptions can be interpreted as dull and dry. The occasional use of Spanish dialogue might throw others off if they think they have missed an important piece of the plot, but I feel it adds to the overall atmosphere of the story and helps to reinforce the setting. Some might feel that the frequent lack of punctuation hints at poor craftsmanship or laziness, although this is an artistic element that sets this novel apart from so many others. In conclusion, All the Pretty Horses is a rambunctious read for the adventure-lover at heart.

Cormac McCarthy writes the more vividly than any writer I have ever read. His plotlines absolutely refuse to be boring; they mix gunplay, love and greed in a way that I find utterly compelling, fascinating reading.
My only criticism -- and it is a minor one -- is that in this book I had a harder time finding a ``point'' to the story as a whole.
There is no shame in writing a story without a clear moral (esp. if the story is as good as this one), but I urge readers to check out some of McCarthy's earlier work that blends thought with plot a little better.

Friendship and solitude are heavily explored in this trilogy. Bleak and pretty landscapes are artfully painted and rich characters engage in realistic dialogue and relationships. Two friends set out to find themselves in the bleak Western USA landscape. Along the way they have near brushes with death, from clashes with the law to the forces of nature. They travel to Mexico where they find work on a horse farm and observe the rich farm owner's struggle for status and power. Both men grow up quickly as circumstances force them to face the facts that they may not ever realize their own dreams and that life is unfair to all.

I don't normally read fiction, but was forced to read this book eight years ago for a college assignment. I couldn't be more delighted that my instructor forced me to read this book! My reluctance turned to joy and determination as I whiped through the pages as fast as I possibly could. This book has everything: joy, romance, action, life changing events, tragedy, unexpected twists, not to mention human loss and suffering. I found this book to be well written, and much better than the movie that attempted to capture it's essence a few years back (Matt Damon is in the movie). This book lives up to the five star votes it has received from so many readers. I hope you enjoy, I did.

Cormac McCarthy is, simply put, one of the best living authors around. The conviction that he uses for each page of his novels is astounding. In All The Pretty Horses, he gets into the mind of a young boy trying to make his own as a cowboy. The complete realism used in the descriptions of the Mexican setting, and the poetic nature of the prose make this an absolute must read for all fans of westerns, coming of age stories, and good literature.

"The Crossing" was difficult to read because of the spanish dialogue
To have a spanish dictionary on my lap was impossible to use to decode
this beautiful and sad story. Why, I ask, is the authors world view
so depressing, when I know that the world is not as bad as this? I've read almost all
his novels, and his view of man is very down and dirty. Mr. McCarthy is a powerful
author who uses the language like no one else. His losers never win. And there
is no winner who ever can lose. Keep your OED handy, and please Mr. McCarthy, write
in either one languge or another, but not mixed mosaic that only the very few
bi-lingual can appreciate.

I have looked at some of the reviews here, and am a bit surprised as the number of people who hated this book. It is a challenge to read, but this is no "Ulysses." The main themes can be understood with a little careful attention. Some have compared McCarthy's style to Hemingway's but this is not a fair comparision. McCarthy's prose is far more complex. Hemingway wrote arresting prose, but at times his minimalist style was cartoonish. McCarthy is simple the way Picasso is simple -- that is to say, only if you do not look hard enough.

McCarthy's skill with language is unequalled among living American authors. It is the language that is the star of this book, and if you cannot appreciate the language itself the story will not bear the weight. Yes, I found myself re-reading passages and puzzling out the construction of some sentences, but I did it with the same pleasure a sports fan looks at a replay of a spectacular play. This is a book for the patient. Not every book pays off like a James Bond novel.

I listened to the audio version of this, read superbly by Frank Muller. A true American tale, set in Texas and Mexico in 1949, a time in which the author must have felt that a little of the freedom and wildness and frontier justice of the Old West remained. The story was powerful and kept me fascinated all the way thru. I liked this enough to give a copy of it to my brother-in-law for Christmas.

For me McCarthy is the modern-day Faulkner: his themes are dark and unsettling, but as All the Pretty Horses shows, he can also be deeply funny. Though to be sure, this is no comedic novel. It's a Western, and adventure with horses, guns and coming of age for the protagonist, John Grady Cole, the last of a long line of Texas ranchers. And that's the core of the book, the sense that America is shrinking, that there is no room left for cowboys or adventurers. There's a great line in the book that John's buddy Rawlins says to him as they set off to Mexico on their adventure. "I could understand if you was from Alabama you'd have ever reason in the world to run off to Texas. But if you're already in Texas. I don't know."

I guess I am late discovering Cormac McCarthy. I've heard of him for years but and now finally reading his novels. This is my third.

This is a highly stylized Western themed novel that combines cutting edge writing techniques with old fashion speech patterns. I wonder if there are really people who are so calm and cool, especially at that young age. And did people ever really say things like "yon side of the river."

Wonderful writing -a beautiful book.

I'll keep it short. This is the best novel I have read in a long, long time. McCarthy's prose has been praised to high heaven before, let me just say it deserves every superlative anyone's ever granted it. But my love for this book stems from my awe at the hero, John Grady Cole, who is probably the best person, in every sense, I've come across in literature. As one of the characters does, I can only sit and gape at John Grady, not quite understanding who he is or how he does as he does, but knowing he's a better man than I could ever have expected.

All the Pretty Horses reveals the fate of a young man trying to live his life by a code no longer recognized by the world. His personal integrity is based on his ability to follow through with his commitments to himself and others and to honor the values his western lifestyle forged by his West Texas upbringing. His lack of close relationships with females taints his view of love and when his survival depends on his willingness to kill, he struggles with the morality of living a life based on survival of the fittest. His journey toward manhood and choosing his own destiny is fraught with loneliness, moral dilemnas, and cruel lessons about human nature and survival. The best and worst of human nature is exposed in this bildungsromain by McCarthy. His style is difficult to follow but the beautiful prose more than makes up for his lack of speaker tags, punctuation, and quotation marks. This book is a treasure worth seeking out and discovering!

Clearly, this is worth the tough slough to get through. The trilogy has a lot to say about the meaning of family, memory and tradition in a world of often violent cultural change. In this case, the subject is the death of the south Texas horse culture. But like all McCarthy books, the trilogy is full of gut wrenching, graphic violence. And the question is, does this violence add anything to the narrative? In most of McCarthy's books, it doesn't. It's just a tainted, dismal view of the human experience. In this case, though, the violence resonates with the tearing apart of a culture, families and a way of life. So, perhaps the violence has more of a place here than in, say The Road. But in the end, I think there would be be better ways to drive the point home.

I felt compelled to write this review only because of the complaint that unifies all the negatives reviews left for this wonderful book, namely that the book is pretentious in its lack of quotations and usage of the word "and." To be blunt, if anyone has a difficult time discerning between the dialogue of the book and the exposition, this speaks to poor reading skills or, at the very minimum, a lack of natural readerly intuition. In other words, these people probably also had a hard time understanding the chronology of Pulp Fiction and couldn't figure out how John Travolta could be alive again since he was dead just a second ago. I never knew how someone couldn't immediately rearrange and make sense of the film's plot, but such a significant amount of people have been genuinely mystified by its narrative that I now accept that many audience members to art lack a certain ability to accept given information and make intuitive leaps except through the most conformist and old-fashioned methods. Their pleasure is dependent upon familiar tools and mechanics, and without them they are lost. I know this may sound condescending to some readers--I can guess who they are--but condescending is not my aim. As to the second complaint of McCarthy's repetitive usage of the word "and," I can only say that it only makes sense that somone whose reading experience demands quotation marks would be equally baffled at McCarthy's poetic usage of the word "and," a technique that is definitely out of the norm. That being said, this book was one of the great reading experiences of my life. It is one of the few books I've ever read twice. I was deeply moved at the and the prose is breathtaking and poetic throughout. Several of the sentences I can still recall from memory though I never made a conscious decision to commit them there, so strong were their impressions. When I originally read them I actually stopped reading to pause and groan with pleasure.

I do not suggest that I am subject to prescient visions of things to be. However, allow me to assure you that in Year 4999 CE scholars of long forgotten linguistic traditions in unimaginable institutions will examine McCarthy's Border Trilogy for what it might reveal about our age and our fundamental understandings, much as scholars today are transfixed by Homer and Virgil. And while McCarthy may be no more representative of this time and place than Homer was of his, can we hope to be forgiven by the ages to come as unconditionally as we have been by McCarthy?

This book is outstanding. I read it, and the other two in the Border Trilogy in one summer, I had the novel in one hand and the Spanish/English dictionary in the other. Don't be put off by the Spanish. Look up the noun and/or the verb and you'll get the meaning. This book was an epic ride, and one of my all time favorites.

I picked this book off a list for my Adv. Lit summer homework because it was short and looked less dry and boring than the other ten or so choices. Normaly the 'good' literature chosen for english classes never fails to dissapoint me but All the Pretty Horses changed my stereotype. In fact I actually liked the book(oviously)even though I like neither westerns nor most national bestsellers. The plot could have used some speeding up, the unpersonal way it was told iritated me, the romance was pathetic and the untranslated spanish diologe was maddening. To be honest it was the way it was written that enthralled me. The way McCarthy captured compleatly the landscape, people, language and culture. He wrote some of the descriptions and realizations of the protagonist with such skill and deep meaning that it stoped me dead in my tracks. The descriptions were lenghthy but once I paid attention they were amazing. The very cadence of the words pulled me in. The sentences were long drawing on and on with a continuous stream of 'and the...'s but when i stoped careing what came next and acctually just took the book sentence by sentence it captavated me like no book has done before. I stoped careing about John Grady and only read the book for the words. It was an interesting experiance but one I recommend.

This book, like all Cormac McCarthy books, is a masterpiece. His subject matter is brutal, his writing style is complex, and he shows you the hard side of life. But his books are epics. People used to shallow fiction won't understand or like his work. But if you're into serious, masterful writing, you'll love Corma.

I read Cormac McCarthy's The Road first, and loved it so much that I picked up All the Pretty Horses soon thereafter. McCarthy's flat, distinctive prose reads like poetry, and several passages were so breathlessly beautiful that I went back to read them again and again.

All the Pretty Horses exists at a crossroads, both old west and new, as Cole and Rawlins leave their small town in Texas in 1949 to cross into Mexico at ages 16 and 17 looking for adventure. Along the way they meet up with Blevins, an even younger runaway who tries to recover his horse after losing it in a lightning storm. They end up being chased by the Mexican authorities, working on a ranch, breaking horses, falling in love, getting thrown in prison, and learning about the good, the bad, the old, and the new of life along the way.

Truly this is a book to savor, and at the end I wished that it would go on. I am now looking forward to reading the rest of the Border Trilogy. Cormac McCarthy's writing is a national treasure, and will live on forever in all those who read it. Highly recommended.

Despite my initial less-than-forgiving attitude toward this book, I quickly fell in love with McCarthy's profound and elegant writing style, and ended up reading over 200 pages of it in a day. Could not put it down. Would recommend to people interested in symbolism, philosophy, and action, and to people able to overlook McCarthy's complete omission of quotation marks and stylistic use of polysyndeton (which can get a bit tedious to read after a while). It also might be handy to keep a Spanish dictionary nearby, because much of the dialogue is in colloquial Spanish, and though it is definitely not instrumental to the meaning of the novel, it does help to know what's going on!

Otherwise, this is an amazing coming-of-age novel, and I highly recommend it.

It is seldom that an author can move his reader to the actual place where the sights, sounds, feel and even smells are real and in your face. This book does it. The Crossing [his next installment in the Border Trilogy] does it even better and the third combines the lead characters of each of the first two, John Grady Cole and Billy Parham, with an ending that is as brutal and tear jerking as any read out there. McCarthy has gone on to write No Country for Old Men [soon to be filmed by the Coen brothers], The Road and a new short play Sunset Limited. This is writing at its very best. No contemporary author is even close.

This was the novel I expected to hate. Well - not really hate; after all, it was written by a very gifted and much praised author. But I just kept putting off reading it based on those silly blurbs from the publisher. So...reluctantly, I bought it, and began to read it. It started off slow (I really hate when others say that about a great book...but); however, my interest continued to build. What really held my attention was, in the beginning at least, McCarthy's prose. Yes, he breaks all the rules, and yes I am rather hung up on grammar and solecisms, but when your prose becomes poetry, you just can't argue with how it's done. I fell in love with the book. I was lulled by not only the fine writing style, but also by the mood and tone of the novel. I had travelled though Texas and stayed in Saltillo many years ago so I felt at home with the setting in a way. I read "The Road" and loved it but somehow felt this book was not comparable. I was right; it was even better, although you shouldn't compare apples to oranges. This is a credit to McCarthy's versatility as a writer. In the end - "All the Pretty Horses" was a great story which made it a winner, along with its other fine qualities. It is certainly worthy of the accolades it received.

It is 1949, every family owns at least one car and society is used to many modern conveniences such as dishwashers and vacuum's. For a third generation rancher, these so called conveniences foreshadow the end of an era when a simpler lifestyle had value. After loosing his grandfather and his land, John Grady, the main character, flees from an industrial America. He tries to travel back in time by escaping to a primitive Mexico. This novel is commonly viewed as a coming of age story in which John Grady Cole matures into a man. However, the main purpose of this book, is to inform the reader of mans struggle to cope with his losses. Cole faces many losses throughout the novel. John Grady is forced to cope with the loss of his grandfather, his innocence, his first love, and his pride. These losses all foreshadow John Grady's ultimate loss of hope and contentment. The other two major characters of the novel offset Cole because of their ridiculous and often amusing actions. The novel is divided into three parts: John Grady's life in his home town in west Texas, John Grady's life in Mexico, and John Grady's life after he returns to Texas. McCarthy does a great job of revealing Coles feelings of alienation in the first part of the novel. During the bulk of the novel (while John Grady is in Mexico), McCarthy superbly identifies the fallacies of all of Coles fantasies. He accomplishes this task by harshly eliminating each one of Grady's hopes and
desires. This book is very well written and often depicts the characters emotions through the landscape. It's overall plot is not difficult however, the reader may experience difficulty discerning some dialogue because McCarthy does not use quotation marks. Initially, the reader may also struggle with extremely long sentences. While reading this book I quickly grew attached to the characters and I was eager to learn more about their daily adventures. However, the first fifty pages are rather uneventful. The reader should prevail because the plot gains momentum and the ending is rewarding. I would recommend this novel to anyone who has ever experienced loss because they will identify with the thoughts and feelings of the characters of this novel.

I took the time to read many of the reviews that were posted on this page before I decided to add my own. What shocks me most about it, is how many described the plot being boring or whimsical. I was apalled, nauseated, sickened,by this book. Yet the whole time I was captivated. I think it was a great story, and McCarthy's elements of intense description, which may have turned off some, only helped plunge me deeper into the surroundings of the time and place of this novel. The characters were very strong and I agonized through this novel,empathizing with their dashed hopes and dreams, their successes and failures. When Blevins met his face, I put the book away and declared that I had read enough,it was just too morbid for me. A couple hours later I picked up the book and finished it off. I admit I am a bit of an emotional reader, but I have never encountered a book with this force. I do plan to read the other 2 novels in the border trilogy with a better understanding of what to expect. I also will eagerly await the motion picture expected for Spring 2000, directed by Billy Bob Thornton, and starring Matt Damon (John Grady Cole)(would prefer a younger actor, like within 10 years of 16), with Henry Thomas as Rawlins (E.T. kid) and Lucas Black as the wild Blevins (Slingblade)

I finally read this book after having it in my possession from about 92? Whenever it was released. I could not put the book down from day one; the sometimes comical adventures of the two boys, and their progress toward Mexico is entertaining. However lacking Spanish translations I was unable to understand most of the Spanish dialogues! The boys do seem quite mature for their age, though, but all in all it is an excellent read, especially if one is inclined toward Western reads or loves horses as I most certainly do.

Other reviewers have spoken eloquently of this book's qualities. I want to warn everyone to avoid reading the review titled "Ok, but if you have a choice, don't read it." The cretin that wrote it revealed many plot points that you won't want to know (while still managing to grasp nothing of what the book was about). My experience of the book was the unabridged audio book read by Frank Muller. There is some interpretation involved in any reading, which may not suit all listeners, but I thought Muller did a fantastic job of capturing voices and the rhythm of the story. A delight to listen to.

Cormac McCarthy was born in Providence, RI, in 1933 and saw his first novel - "The Orchard Keeper" - published in 1965. "All The Pretty Horses" was first published in 1992, is the first book in his Border Trilogy and was adapted for the big screen in 2000.

"All the Pretty Horses" opens in the late 1940s, not far from San Angelo in Texas. John Grady Cole is sixteen years old and everything he has ever known is coming to an end. His parents are divorced and he doesn't appear to have much of a relationship with either one. With his grandfather's recent death, the ranch on which John Grady was brought up is to be sold - depriving him of the only lifestyle he'd ever wanted. With nothing left for him in Texas, Cole decides to cross teh border into Mexico and seek work on a ranch there, He doesn't leave alone, however - he's joined on the trip by an old friend, Lacey Rawlins. The pair meet another teenager on their way, one who introduces himself as Jimmy Blevins. The pair recognise his instantly as trouble and have little doubt that the horse he's riding is stolen. Nevertheless, they allow Blevins to travel with them for a while - a decision that leads the pair further into trouble than they could've forseen.

Although I can see "All the Pretty Horses" is so highly thought of, the style and approach McCarthy adopted didn't always work too well for me. In fact, I felt that - at times - the style hindered the story, rather than helping it along. The lack of punctuation is often commented on and, while it helps establish the sort of characters that feature in the book, it occasionally left things a little unclear as to who was saying what. Similarly, some sentences featured five or six 'ands' and ran beyond the length of a standard paragraph. As a result, there were times I couldn't stop myself from drifting off and absent-mindedly turning the page. Overall, I'm glad I read it - I'll just not be in much of a rush to read books two and three of "The Border Trilogy"...

As the literary child of Herman Melville, Cormac McCarthy sends his characters off for their own taste of "truth" in their beautiful, violent, and life-affirming quests in the great Southwest--the last bastion of the archetypal American West. The three novels that comprise The Border Trilogy come as close to anything since *Moby-Dick* or *Huck Finn* to being the Great American Novel. Each in its own way presents a chapter on the American's search--even need--for meaning in life. Although not all characters truly come to that understanding--John Grady Cole, in his unstoppable desire to save anything small, frail, innocent, or weak cannot in the end save himself from the dangers of his search. Billy P. nevers really comes to the realization of his truth, but it is through him that we as readers (best exemplified as the woman in the closing sentences) come to an understanding of McCarthy's view of truth. Although *Cities of the Plain* is not the exciting and ambitious novel that *All the Pretty Horses* is nor is it the touching and relevant story that *The Crossing* is, it is a beautifully satisfying culmination to the search. It, by itself, may not be a particularly solid and worthwhile novel in the American canon, but taken with its two brothers, the trio stands head and shoulders above anything else written in the last fifty years. McCarthy deftly manipulates his readers with his lyrical prose, juxtaposition of bloody death and life-affirming action, doubt and certainty, love and loss. A thoughful reader is easily taken to the red sands of the desert by McCarthy's spell-binding imagery; the symbolism is at once obvious and hidden. The novel(s) are well worth the time and energy. They are getting very close to the epitome of what America has come to expect from its great writers.

The prose is so eloquent and descriptive that it becomes a contest between wanting to read quickly for the engrossing plot and wanting to read slowly to enjoy the prose. I enjoyed reading The Road by McCarthy, but for readers who were turned off by it, this book is quite different in its plot.

A lot has already been said about this novel, so I'll address my review to those unfamiliar with Mccarthy's work. If you've never read Mccarthy before, this is a great place to start. The plot is tight, engaging, and easy to follow, and the language is gorgeous. If you enjoy this book and want to move on to others, read the others in the border trilogy before tackling "Blood Meridian."

Some people will take issue with Mccarthy's grammar, sentence structure, use of Spanish, and punctuation (or lack thereof). Mccarthy takes a lot of poetic license with his writing, and chooses words as much for their sound as for their meaning. The sentences are written with attention paid to rhythm and "breath," meaning that they don't always look or sound like conventional prose. This will be displeasing to some. As an example, the first line of the book reads: "The candleflame and the image of the candleflame caught in the pierglass twisted and righted when he entered the hall and again when he shut the door." Now, Mccarthy could have just as easily said "the candle flickered when he entered the room," or something like that, but the effect, aurally, is just not the same.

Read the first page of the book. If you don't catch fire at the beauty of it, then maybe this book, and Mccarthy's work in general, is not for you.

This book contains the qualitites that make up a good book to me, horses, a cowboy and a romantic love story. Cormac McCarthy does an excellent job of telling this comming of age story of a young boy who has lost everything of meaning to him and a mother who has lost interest. The pain that he has to go throung not just physically but mentally, that shapes him from a young boy into a man. The way that he can connect with the horses and train them truly is remarkable and the love that he feels for a certain girl will make your heart long for the same feeling.

All the Pretty Horses is a story about a boy who is in distress and thinks that leaving home will help him deal with the problems that he faced throughout his life. The boy John Grady Cole was mourning over the death of his Grandfather and since the grandfather only had one child, a daughter, the family name would be gone forever. The ranch that his grandfather owned was now in possession of the boys' mother, which was an idea she wanted nothing to do with it. With this news John decides that he needs to get away. This decision composed of him meeting with his friend Rawlin to embark on a journey that they would remember for the rest of their lives, a journey that involved traveling on their own to Mexico. While riding they meet a young boy who is about the age of 13 and asks the men if he could join them on their journey to Mexico. They respond by saying, "You aren't riding with us", "You will get us thrown in jail with that stolen horse of yours." Even with these situations the men still allow him to travel with them but under a close watch.
Through this journey all the people in this close knit community are exposed to many situations and feeling such as love death and especially welcoming something that many experiences for the first time. This book expresses with great emphasis the changes that the characters went through in a way that different people can relate to.
I would recommend this book to anyone who like's reading books when you don't know what is going to happen next. There are many different parts of the story that don't make sense in the beginning but all come together by the end of the story. Cormac McCarthy puts many of the problems that humans face today in a storyline that everyone can enjoy. This is a classic story that will be in our hearts and on our shelves for many years to come.

A wonderful book. Cormac McCarthy's writing reminds me of Jim Harrison's books. Echoes of Faulkner and Thomas Wolfe as well with the exuberant stylized prose. The conversation between John Grady and his lover's grandmother is one of the most vivid conversations I have ever read. Another scene involving a red hot pistol and a bullet wound will live in my memory forever. If you love beautful writing you will enjoy this book. If you are a fan of Jim Harrison's books you will find this trilogy a delight.

This is the second Cormac McCarthy book I've read, and this author's prose is like poetry. He really has a way with describing scenes of the countryside, the love of horses, and the tragedy of a man's destiny within a blind, or indifferent, universe.

The story focuses on the young John Grady Cole, who sets off on an adventure, on horseback, into Mexico with his childhood friend Lacey Rawlins. Along the way the encounter this kid, Jimmy Blevins, riding a beautiful horse. The resulting incidents lead the trio into deeper trials of their character and courage as they face the worst in humanity, love, and the land itself.

Cormac McCarthy has the amazing abilitly to envoke emotion using description of action and place. One never gets inside of his characters heads directly (at least not in this particular series) and yet it is the most emotionaly powerful series i have ever encountered. McCarthy taps into the very core of the human life force, our relationships with nature and change.
I first read All the Pretty Horses when i was thirteen, having heard my father talk about the effect the book had on him, specifically the way McCarthy contrasted the rappidly changing United States and the little changed Mexico. i enjoyed the story, although i found the narrative a bit dense. Jimmy Blevins, the runnaway who ends up traveling with John Grady Cole and Lacey Rowlins, made quite an impression as a fully fleshed out character and a very confused and truly destructive adolesent. He is the source of much of the trouble Grady Cole and Rawlins are presented with. Also there is a scene in which John Grady Cole and The Mexican girl who he falls in love with go swimming in a lake a night which has stuck with me. Her hair, blacker than the night, floating about her.
I read the Crossing about year later, and found it much more difficult to get through. Billy Parhams relationship with the wolf is so strong that when she dies it is difficult to continue sheerly becuase the main meat of the story seems to have vanished. the rest of the book is sparse and seemingly aimless. Billy is has lost most everything that is dear to him and cant land anywhere. the reader gets to be with him through his uncertainty and the search for his younger brother who has run off with a Mexican girl and dissapeared deep into Mexico. The novel does have conclusion however, and definately packs an interesting punch.
i didnt read Cities of the Plain until I was eighteen, ironically enough working on ranch in the middle of nowhere. It is the single most influential and moving book that i've read in my life. Watching the demise of John Grady Cole, and his friendship with Billy Parham (who is ten years older) is incredible. The contrast between Billy Parham who is very observant but also very uncertain and John Grady Cole, who is completely whole, and gifted and certain in everything he does, is staggering. The difference in the way they approach the rappidly changing world is both depressing and enlightening. I suppose the verdict is that people as whole as John Grady Cole cant survive in our culture today. There's no place for people who wont compramise their ideals, purhaps merely becuase they arent concious of the fact that ideals can be compramised. Either way the book wripped along for me, and it was a terribly painful experiance. Never have i fallen in love with a fictional character the way i fell in the with John Grady Cole in Cities of the Plain.
The love story is also quite nice, despite it's tragic qualities. The Whore that John Grady Cole falls in love with is perfectly suited for him and the scenes between them are beautiful. They're both trying to survive in a world that will never hold them. For me it is the book that best describes the compramise of the late teenaged years and young love, in a real way. The story exposes the world the way it actually is, Billy Parhams reaction to John Grady Coles death being another side of things. The conversation at the end of the book between an old Billy Parham (now a bum), and another bum under a bridge raised some interesting questions for me.
On the whole the Border Trilogy is very dense, very raw, has very strong characters and is not easy to get through but is very worth reading.

All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy is a beautifully written novel. His great attention to detail and vivid imagery create scenes that come to life, jumping right out of the page. Reader's experience stunning imagery such as: "Shrouded in the black thunderheads the distant lightning glowed mutely like welding seen through foundry smoke. As if repairs were under way at some flawed place in the iron dark of the world." This kind of description is unlike any other novel I have read and this is what made the story most enjoyable for me.

When I first began to read this book I was shocked by McCarthy's sentence structure. I was on the second page and had just come to my attention that I had read nearly half a page and gone through three sentences. I did not think I could go on reading a book like this, but I became used to it and I began to appreciate his syntax. Although any stickler may not appreciate McCarthy's usage of punctuation, or lack there of, the long lines flow off the page in a poetic fashion. The poetic feel of McCarthy's writing adds to the experience seen through the eyes of two young men searching for meaning in their lives.

I also enjoyed John Grady and Rawlins' perpetual adventure riding their horses through the rugged Mexican Landscape. Never was there a dull moment in the story. Whether Grady and Rawlins were stealing back a horse, dodging bullets, or chasing after a girl, there was always something going on. Any reader who likes stories of western adventures or of adventures in general will enjoy McCarthy's skilled telling of two young men's adventure through Mexico.

Unlike most of his books, this is not a beginning to end dripping blood bath. The author skips the usual format of quotes and translating the Spanish and spoonfeeding exposition. The story is a fascinating 20th century Western. It demonizes Mexico, but that's only fair, in the historical context.

when i first picked up "All the Pretty Horses", I was struck by the way cormac mcarthy talks....It was as if my father were the one narrating this story, for they both speak the same way, and John is the personification of my Grandad....Those english professors and nitpickers who didn't like it, most likely have never lived a real life and should get out of the classroom or stop watching too much TV...This is one of the best books I have ever had the privelage of reading........

This one deserves an extra star. Beautiful is all I can say to this wonderful novel. This marvellous book has it all. The adventure and the tension is described in a way that makes you part of it. Cormac McCarthy's use of language is wonderful. Like a wave he sometimes describes things, a situation to the tiniest detail - but only for a few seconds. Then the wave drops down on you and he lets you roll within his and your imagination. The nature, the horses, even the romance; you're there and it won't let you go. A novel to reread again and again.

This masculine view of the American cowboy in the southwest, circa 1935, All the Pretty Horses would probably be boring if penned by any other writer. McCarthy breathes life into this simple story through his masterful, though somewhat risky, writing.
McCarthy's use of cattleman lingo and apparent distain for using quotes in his dialog take some time to get use to, but his artistry in breaking the high school rules of literature are invigorating. McCarthy has no qualms about sentences that take entire paragraphs, or pages, strung together with 'ands'. There is a unique rhythm to his writing as he blends brief sentences of prose with long. Intertwined with prose are some stunning glimpses of poetry.
This is a story as the cowboy poets might tell it. The main characters are not the one-dimensional cattlemen often portrayed as macho men, though they are unashamedly masculine. The central character unselfconsciously accepts his tenderness, especially toward horses, and his insecurity with women and life at large.
Taken as models for modern living the men in this book necessarily fall short. They are not literal role models but icons and symbols of true masculinity. This is man at his best: loyal, independent yet social, self-sacrificing, and willing to see the beauty within nature, horses and his fellow man.
"All The Pretty Horses", like so much of the 'great' literature of the twentieth century, is simple in its delivery yet vastly complex. It is the kind of book college professors could force students to agonize over as they dissemble the grammar and symbolism. It is also a book that anyone, especially horse lovers, can enjoy.
Take the time, make the investment, and take the risk. You will be rewarded.

ALL THE PRETTY HORSES is not an easy, lie on the beach read. like faulkner, mccarthy uses the power of language to connect to the emotion of his characters. his descriptions of the landscape are breathtaking, almost biblical, & the characters are defined through their actions & dialogue. the episodic plot is propelled by the cumulative power of all these elements, reaching a devestating finale that will leave the reader anxious to read vol. 2 of the border trilogy ('the crossing')

A joy-ride turns tragic.

A beautifully written tale of a spirited young man from Texas who decides to take on the rugged lands of Mexico on horseback in the late 1920's. He picks up two more young riders on the way. Tough as nails (so they think) and reckless, they head to an uncivilized land of corruption unprepared for the horrors that await them. They find death and the inner walls of prison. Good novel; recommend it.

Wish you well
Scott

The hero of the book is a teenager who takes off on his own when the grandfather who cares for him dies. Throughout his travels on horseback he meets a couple of other boys and they travel to Mexico. The traveling becomes more and more exciting, and all three main characters are fun to know.

I read this book very quickly because I enjoyed it so much. The writing style is honest and direct, and the characters are richly developed.

The movie was cute -- but nothing compares to seeing the actions and characters in the writer's own words.

While the charm of another western tale is enough to call this book enjoyable, the author's distinct style of writing makes a palpable impression. With a brevity and clarity somewhat like Hemingway's, McCarthy spins out this tale of a pair of boys in Mexico. His spare writing empthasizes the leanness of the characters and creates a vivid vista that comes alive in the reader's mind and unites them with the experiences of the characters. Not to be read just as a western, but for it's humanity.

100 years from now, I believe people will continue to read this book & marvel, much like we marvel at Tolstoy, Dickens, & Dostoevsky. This is stream of consciousness the way it should be done. It's too bad Faulkner couldn't do it this well. One of the greatest books ever.

"...his grandfather looked up from his plate at the painting as if he'd never seen it before and he said those are picture book horses and went on eating." (16) Horses are one of the main focuses in All the Pretty Horses. They are held as sacred and an object of affection for the characters in the book. They are what life is based around and an intense topic of discussion. John Grady Cole and his cousin Lacey Rawlings are the main characters in the book. Hardened by their tough life in the rugged area of southern Texas and northern Mexico, they set off on a perilous journey. Driven by the desire of a better and more fulfilling life, All the Pretty Horses reports a detailed account of their adventures. John Grady Cole is sixteen years old and like all of the other characters in the book, has a fascination and love of horses. There has been a recent death in his family and his mother left his father and him on the family's Texas ranch and went to the city. John Grady is a dynamic or round character. At the beginning of the novel, he is a little naive and unaware of the brutal harshness of life. He has been toughened by hard ranch life, but he does not fully understand the ways of the world. He shows compassion towards other characters in the novel. Although in a sense he has lost his mother, he does not know the true sadness of a lost loved one. By the end of his journey he understands the brutality of life and no longer enjoys the innocence of childhood. Rawlings is a static or flat character. He is seventeen and lives on a ranch as well. Little is revealed about Rawlings' past or home life in the novel. He is tougher than John Grady is and does not come across as being naive. He uses strong language throughout the novel and shows little sympathy towards other characters excluding John Grady. He is the definition of a true cowboy. His experiences throughout the novel do not have the same life altering effect on him as they do on John Grady. These two cousins and best friends yearn for something more. They want a better life and future. With hopes of achieving this, they set off for Mexico. They meet a young boy named Blevins who rides with them for awhile. Rawlings and John Grady share different emotions about Blevins, which reveals their characters more clearly. Blevins eventually gets them into serious trouble and the situation they arrive in forever alters their lives. The most remarkable aspect of this novel is the way it is written. Characters are often referred to as he or she. Dialogue never has quotation marks around it and the phrase he said or she said or something similar to that seldom is at the end of a statement of dialogue. Often times the reader must guess who is speaking. The novel is littered with foul language, however that helps to show characterization and the setting more clearly. Spanish is used quite frequently with no translation guide. Often times important parts of the book are written in Spanish. Studying three years of Spanish will be helpful in reading this book or a Spanish-English dictionary will be sufficient. There are a few things to consider when reading this novel. Be sure to read dialogue carefully and pay special attention to what is said because often times dialogue hints at who is speaking and more about the characters or their situations. Make sure you have a Spanish dictionary because entire conversations are done in Spanish frequently. At first the novel will seem slow and redundant. Do not give up. The novel is divided into three parts and the second half of part two and all of part three is extremely good. You will find it hard to put it down and become lost in the story. This novel is in a way a coming of age story. John Grady and Rawlings learn about themselves as well as the world. Teenagers will especially relate to this story and realize that they are not alone in the emotions that they feel. By reading this story, the reader will gain an understanding of what life was like at the beginning of the nineteen hundreds and become aware of the lawlessness and poverty stricken regions of southern Texas and northern Mexico. The reader will understand their dependency and relationships with their horses better and realize why the novel was titled All the Pretty Horses. There are many themes in this book and all of them are important. If taken seriously, the reader can be changed by the message in this book, however I will leave it up to you to discover what those themes are.

The books of Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy have been well received individually, and yet none of them has been received well-enough... What we have in these three books are three works of genius, vivid, thrilling, heartbreaking, individual stories of astounding specificity and realism which nevertheless pull larger stories, the story of the American West, the story of unspoiled wilderness, the story of our own national romanticism, along with them.
The protagonists are boys in love with the land, in love with an ascetic live on it, who are forced, through the series of stories, to watch that land change and whither and grow tame and bland. The boys quarrel, fall in love. They are prey to violence, to loss. They are, for the most part, taciturn, and yet McCarthy's extraordinary skill puts meaning into what they do not say, their silences, their gestures.
I have read the first two books twice. I have not re-read the third yet because I have not recovered emotionally. But the reading of that third started a chemical reaction that made it seem as though I had read the first two a third time, and brought a new, fuller meaning to all my literary experiences with the trilogy.
A great stylist, a superb story-teller, a poet, and a profound psychologist, McCarthy is, in my opinion, the best writer in America. I see him viewed and admired, in fifty years, as Hemingway, Faulkner, and Fitzgerald are now. I would like to be one person who gets a jump on this eventuality.
PG

I read this book in my sophomore year of highschool but I didn't really grasp the brilliance and magic of the book. I do admit that I skipped a lot of the spanish conversations and I was frustrated with so much detail.

BUT...

I decided to read it again four years later and I felt like a complete idiot for missing out on the magic of Cormac McCarthy's words. The story itself is something I think a lot of people can relate to. No, not very many people actually run off to Mexico on horseback to seek adventure but how many of us just want to escape when life throws you a curve ball?

the characters are so well done, the conversations between John Grady Cole, Rawlins, and Blevins are simple yet you are captivated and for the spanish I had skipped through my first time reading it, actually adds to the story. Its beautifully done so that it makes the story come to life but you don't really need to fully understand exactly what they are saying, Cormac has drawn the reader into the story and the emotions of their journey that you get a sense of what is being said just fine.

The details of this book are amazing and paints the perfect picture in your head. Cormac McCarthy has a wonderful gift and his books are really pieces of art.

Reading this trilogy is a defining experience for anyone who has spent time face to face with the pensive Southwestern border landscape, or for anyone attuned to human solitude in various forms. I am particularly fascinated by the sparse, seemingly inarticulate dialogues. They generate a poetic rhythm rarely found in contemporary literature, a dazzling game of improvization against dark backgrounds. As a musician and immigrant from Europe (at odds with some current literary mannerisms) I find McCarthy's style powerful, pure, and highly stimulating.

Hello folks, I'm James Drury. I used to play television's Virginian for many years, and I hope that gives me some kind of credit in reviewing this book.
I thought the book followed along well, but it was a pretty harsh, perhaps too harsh book at times.
Anyone interested in reading about the West but not necessarily what one would call "Westerns" might want to pick up books by Elmer Kelton, Kirby Jonas or Mike Blakely as well. And give Cormac McCarthy a try. You might as well see for yourself. It may be just your style.

This is my first novel by Cormac McCarthy, and I loved it. The story is gripping, though slow at times. The style reminds me of Hemingway--simple sentences with lots of coordinating conjunctions, and simple repetitons to create a poetic sense of setting and mood.

John Grady Cole is the archetypal teen on a quest to grow up, and he is complex. The moral dilemmas build this character, and his coming of age is rough and dark. Cole's lost innocence symbolizes the changes in the country after WWII.

This is the first novel in a trilogy, and I am looking forward to the other two.

I read this book when it first came out. One of the dumbest stories I'd read in years, but wow, the writing and style are so magnificent that I always have to recommend it with these certain qualifications. Just so eligent. Unlike The Road, which is dull as a dead dog, yet was made into a movie. Maybe it's best that All The Pretty Horses isn't (is it?) as i might watch it and be disappointed. Read this book because Cormac McCarthy is at his most beautiful.

This, the first book in Mccarthy's reputation making border trilogy, is what every novel should be: a good story told well.

The book follows the adventures of a young boy as he travels with his best friend to mexico. Mexico in this novel is an ambiguous place and seems to be the last bastion, at least in the boys' minds, of a way of life that problebly never existed. The thing that breaks with other such narritives is that Mccarthy does not write in stone why the boys decide to leave their country. There is no hidden treasure one of the boys hear about or some crime they are tring to escape,they just go and you as a reader, I promise, will follow with them even when the going gets tough. And all the Cormac fans know that this writer's tough is a whole different monster than the standard breed to be found in most books.

This may not be his best book, but that is like saying Portrait is not Joyce's best. McCarthy is a writer who will be remembered as someone who contributed something genuine to American letters. A must for any fan of literature or the western in general.

Cormack McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses seemed somewhat too affected for my tastes. His hero is somewhat one-dimensional and there is a sense of a desperate search for significance within the novel - in the end most of the themes appear trite and I could not convince myself that this novel was very significant at all. McCarthy's The Crossing is a much better novel - a more finely tuned existential treatise, but still with too many stale ideas

First: I read the Border Trilogy this week. I haven't read any other McCarthy literature. I was told that if I liked Larry McMurtry, Steinbeck, and Salinger then I would love McCarthy. The first thing I bought was The Crossing. Upon realizing it was part of a trilogy with All The Pretty Horses as the first installment, I was very disappointed. I had no intrest in a Hollywood western novel. But, I grudgingly purchased All The Pretty Horses and read it. (Have not watched movie). That said...
Cormac McCarthy far surpasses any living writer with which I have come in contact. If I had the masterful ability with language that he does, I could express that in a much more emphatic manner.
Any reviewer who complains about things such as puncuation, grammer, or spanish-I feel compelled to respond with this:
1. Would you prefer that all painters created exact duplicates of their subject matter? Are we not better, as a society and as a species, for taking our interpretations further and showing those things we are already intimate with in a fresh or different way? Would you say 'cubism', for instance, is too complicated for you?
2. Are you 25 years old or less? Do you have any true ability to surive in a harsh world without parental aide? The struggles depicted in this novel would, of course, be difficult to fathom in that scenario, especially when teamed with non-traditional grammar and punctuation and a lack of a personal translator.
3. If neither of the two applies to a negative reviewer, perhaps a solution would be ritalin. It is supposed to assist in 'focus'.
On to the review:
All the Pretty Horses is the 'prettiest' of the three. The least bleak, possesses the least darkness. John Grady Cole, loses what he allows himself to lose. He is afforded by McCarthy some level of self determination. He rarely states a prediction that does not become so. He never throws a rope without catching what he intends. Even in the darkest scenes, if John Grady fights for something, he seems to get it.
The Crossing's main character was just the opposite. Billy Parnham will never get anything he for which he fights. He will always align himself most closely with a losing cause. It seems that he is completely asexual, and the closest bonds he forms almost always precede the demise of said character/animal.
There is something striking in the fact that the moral stance, character, sense of justice are nearly identical for John and Billy. Yet John wins, and Billy loses. Repeatedly. Yet it is Billy who survives all contests, all tragedies, all of his closest bonds. Billy's 'heart' is never joined with any group or idea or convention larger than land and animals. At some points his 'heart' is rejected; but is his survival possibly attributed to his lack of truly 'giving' his 'heart' to any passionate cause? The passion Billy gives us in the final scene of The Crossing, the self-realization and anger and utter despairing are so exceedingly rare that your tears are nearly required after finishing this book.
As you might be able to tell, it would take far more than the 1000 word limit to fully explore the metaphors, symbolism, or intentions of McCarthy's characters.
The Cities on the Plain brings the two that abadonded their families in favor of the dust of the road together in this final installment. While personally jostled by Billy's transition from complete and total sorrow (in the conclusion of The Crossing) to the casual, easy going buddy (in the opening of The Cities), that is the only fault worth mentioning.
The theme may or may not be this: We don't know anything and neither does anyone else. The nuggets of wisdom that our heroes encounter from the journeying, extrapolating, strangers they meet are proof of this, and, an indication that these books could be re-read hundreds of times.
The Crossing, in my view, is the strongest of the three, with The Cities of the Plain second and All the Pretty Horses, obviously, third. The Cities of the Plain would be wasted as read without the other two.

I read this book on the recommendation of an old friend and had difficulty putting it down. The descriptions of Mexico and horses were beautiful. The plot was engaging and the characters, John Grady Cole in particular, were like old friends by the end of the book. The story was an exciting and suspenseful page turner. From the standpont of pure enjoyment, I can't imagine anyone not liking this book. I liked it so much I went right out and bought The Crossing.

I have to admit, I saw the movie before I read the book. I loved the movie, but the book is even better. McCarthy's language is so simple, yet at the same time complex and deep. The storyline is often crushing, but on the whole, beautiful and full of truth. This one's a new favorite!

This Book is a modern-day western full of excitment about cowboys and horses. It deals with a fictional 16-year-old character named John Gragy Cole, who is the last of a long line of cowboys. He is feed up with texas and all of his family problems there, so he decides to run away with his cousin to Mexico. Their adventure is both dangerous and idyllic, but they have sworn to tough it out through thick and thin. Many of times the book is comical at how it deals with situatios and characters abroad. The energy of the author (Cormac McCarthy) can be felt through the whole book by his passion and knowledge al horses and the northern cowboy life. The rhythem of the book captures the bad lands of northern Mexico and its culture with characters and plots ideal for every situational stage of the John Grade adventures. The first quarter of the book sets up the rest of the story in a dramatic way. Although the beginning I found slightly boring, it pays to stick with the story because it builds up and pays off later as you read. Overall, this beek is well written because it is more broadly based than the title implies. I recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a book with a little bit of everything in it.

One of the best novels I have ever read. The questions above do not apply, it is thoughtful, hopeful, dark, and nostalgic. This is one that gives you a sock in the gut and will have you thinking about it a long time.

This has to be one of the best books (and authors) I have ever read. His books will become classics. I can see, though, why some people would have a hard time reading what he writes, because it is SO creatively different that it's almost like learning a new dialect. But more amazing just for that reason, and vivid, and deep. But it does take a few pages to get your mind around the writing style.

Clearly "genius" is in the eye of the beholder. Sometimes reading through even a classic is slogging through muck, but ya make yourself do it, cause you know it's an established classic. I felt like I was reading great writing, but did find it fairly difficult to understand in places. Even after rereading passages (especially dialogue-who said what), it seemed not terribly clear. The genius of his style (if that's what it was) was lost on me, although I did like it allright. Also, while I appreciated the authenticity of Spanish dialogue, I felt like I could have been missing something significant, which annoyed me (I broke down finally and used a Spanish dictionary). Thought the story was brilliant, and the characters soulful. There do exist in this world precocious people, but John Grady Cole must be the most maturely drawn 16 year old in the history of literature. 18 woulda made a little more sense. I'd say it's a great book that I only liked a whole lot.

I was skimming through the 100+ reviews of this fantastic novel when I stumbled across one from a reader in San Diego who claimed that the book lacked romantic detail. I have to say that this is one my of my favorite aspects of the book. Had the author delved too far into the romance, he would have effectively ruined it. Yes, I wanted to know more, but in true modernist/minimalist style, every word was chosen with care and the dialog was electric. This is one of my favorite books of all time, but it is also my favorite love story. It is absolutely heart-wrenching and has some of the most beautiful (not gratuitous) expressions of love between two characters that I've ever read. Romance can easily ruin a great story by becoming the focal point of the novel. In many ways, this love story was the focal point for me, but only for the feeling it evoked. John Grady Cole was the center of this story and had this romance been over done, it would not have meshed with the rest of McCarthy's style. I honestly would not have wanted it any other way.

All the Pretty Horses is what I would imagine it would be like if Ernest Hemingway wrote a modern-day Western. Very rich language and vivid imagery, yet simple and direct dialogue. Not an especially complex plot and nothing unnecessary throughout, yet very deep emotionally. I'm eagerly making my way through the rest of the Border Trilogy and finding McCarthy a little more verbose and allegorical in The Crossing, but All the Pretty Horses has no wasted words in telling a fantastic story.

All the Pretty Horses
In McCarthy�s novel, he uses well written description in areas to explain the people around the main character and death or dying. �He looked at the face so caved and drawn among the folds of funeral cloth, the yellowed moustache, thee eyelids paper thin. That was not sleeping. That was not sleeping.� The books point of view for this novel is in second person. The main character of the story is John Grady Cole. John Grady is a dynamic person because he changes from a quiet kind of guy to a murderer and then falls in love that changes his personality.
The major conflict of the book is that John is running away, along with his friend, Rawlins, from Georgia to seek a better life in Mexico, so they thought. After reaching Mexico John falls in love with a girl named Alejandra, whose family disapproves him and Alejandra leaves him. Because of this John becomes broken hearted and gets drunk and is thrown into jail. The captain of the jail house takes John out into the desert intending to leave him there, but John finds his pistol and shoots the Captain and leaves him there to die.
John goes to a judge and tells him everything that he has done. John tells him about the first man he murdered, his love towards Alejandra, how he left the captain in the desert to die and that he helped the captains dislocated shoulder.� He reached up and grabbed his arm as if he�d reclaim it but John Grady had felt the coupling pop into place and he gripped the shoulder and rotated the arm again while the captain tossed his head and gasped.�
This novel is enjoyable for readers who love action, death, and romance. McCarthy wrote this book with ferocious energy and puts other writers having their noses looking down on the ground. It gives people other thoughts of Mexicans and Mexico�s culture and lifestyles. However, some areas of the book drag and are dull, but overall it is a well written book.

What a fantastic book. Somehow both stark and lush at the same time. McCarthy's power of description is astonishing. A handful of scenes here are among the best of modern American writing. I'm no fan of the Western, but this work transcends mere genre to achieve an effect that stuns. You know you've read a book when you put Horses down finally. One minor point: perhaps a few less "ands" next time.

i was able to identify with this mainly because i had spent 4 years and 2 weeks in the jail that was described in the book "all the pretty horses". I will never forget reading this book about 2:00AM one morning a few years ago and was so amazed and shocked that they had carried this cowboy to a prison on Castelar Street in Saltillo. I must say that this author had to have been inside this prison to have described it so well. even more amazing was that the cowboy was thrown in a corner cell on the sixth floor of this place and I was thrown in a corner cell on the sixth floor, the first night that i was there and preceeded to spend the next few years in that same cell. The kitchen scene was well described and came vividly to mind when i read it and beleive me I saw many just as brutal scenes on my sojourn in Castelar 203. i wrote the publisher asking about being able to get ahold of Mccarthey but got no response. I understand that a movie is being filmed currently in New Mexico. Anyway, It was the best and worse four years of my life. The stories i have to tell! I was there between 1973 and 1977 for having violated their laws concerning antiquities. I am fifty years old now and there is not a day goes buy without a thought back to the biggest and greatest challenge a man can go through. Is this a book reveiw - only that i loved the book and have read all the rest of them. If anyone has any info over how he was able to describe the inside of this prison with such detail - i would like to hear it. thanks, a guy who lived it.

Im sorry but I cant like this book, it is full of unending sentences, bad grammar and a society domanated by men, where women rareley have name and are only used for the plesure of men. The book is unrealistic and writen like it is a common for an seventeen year old to self cauterize a bullet wound with a burning hot gun barrel. I give MaCarthy credit for trying to make a poetic book but I just dont feel that you can romantasize throwing up, or use the word "blood" so many times. Although I do admit that the book did have many thought provoking conversations between Rawlins and John Grady Cole.

First of all, I'd like to address the many negative reviews for this book on the store. I've read through many of them, and they all have one thing in common; they're all concerned with McCarthy's style over his story. Yes, he has a strange style, but many people happen to like it, myself included. All these reviewers say that they had a hard time understanding the book because of the lack of quotation marks. Two points here. One, how hard is it to identify speech when it has "John Grady said" after it? Two: folks, if you can't understand the book, then why are you writing a review about it? That simply doesn't make sense to me.

Now, onto the review. McCarthy is probably the greatest living author there is. His prose is simple, but it packs a punch, and his pacing is utterly perfect, with no boring parts whatsoever. But these two aspects only work to bolster the already incredible plot. The plot is the high point of the book. It's funny, tragic, and heartfelt, but above all else, thought-provoking.

The point here is if you haven't already read this book, do so now. However, know that you aren't reading the latest James Patterson. McCarthy writes seriously, and this is a tough book to read because of that. But it's worth the effort you'll put into it. Is it ever worth it.

This is a modern western (1949). Young 16-year old John Grady Cole has become the lost generation of the Grady family with his grandfather's death. He hoped to remain on the family's East Texas ranch and work cattle and horses, but his parents problems cause the ranch to be sold and he is on his own. He and his friend, Rawlins, take off for Mexico hoping to be cowboys on a ranch there. On the way, they are joined by a younger boy, Blivens, who has a great horse, is fast with a gun and very rebellious--the instigation of much trouble for John Grady and Rawlins. Once in Mexico, they lose young Blevins and eventually locate on a ranch where they are happy. John Grady gets involved with the rancher's daughter (Of course, this is not an approved relationship.) and eventually, he and his friend are turned over to police who take them to prison where they again meet up with their nemesis, Blivens.
This book is beautifully written with much vivid description. Much time is spent describing emotions of various characters, and McCarthy aptly describes the good and kindly poor Mexicans as well as the cruel and evil ones with a little authority. He has the Mexicans speak in Spanish, which John Grady understands, but often, the Spanish passages are so long that the non-Spanish speaking reader cannot make sense of what is being said. I came away feeling depressed and not sure of exactly what was happening in too many places.

After 20 pages of reading All the Pretty Horses, I put down my book and stared at the cover. What the heck was happening? What was Cormac McCarthy trying to say? There was a funeral. There was a boy named John Grady Cole. Some lady wanted to sell his ranch and he had a very confusing conversation with his father. The lack of quotation baffled me and the ambiguous characters frustrated me, but I couldn't stop reading.

McCarthy has an incredible gift. The story he spins begins in 1949 in San Angelo, Texas. When John Grady Cole's grandfather dies, his mother sells the family ranch to pursue a more glamorous career in acting. For John Grady, life on a ranch was "the second best thing to dyin and goin to Heaven," so he and his friend Lacey Rawlins set off for Mexico on horseback (17). Near the border John Grady and Lacey meet a younger boy who calls himself Jimmy Blevins. The three cross the Rio Grande and through a course of events end up discovering happiness, despair, and maturity among all the land and horses.

Though the plot is very compelling, it is McCarthy's words and style that really make the novel impossible to put down. McCarthy has a style all his own that takes a slightly improvised coming of age story and makes it a classic. He juxtaposes long, complex sentences with brief statements and breaths into every character such life. Within the text he adds a great deal of Spanish without translation or explanation bringing the reader even further into Mexico with the protagonist. McCarthy is an anomaly in modern literature, and I would suggest this book to anyone seeking a simply well written, good book.

The story of John Grady did not hold my interest as I thought it would when I bought this "award winning" book. It moved very slowly most of the time and I found it difficult to stay tuned. A few scenes were riveting but most of the book was a chore for me to finish. Melvilles Moby Dick comes to mind, another book that had far to many long spaces between the part that were compelling

very good and sparse storytelling; practical like the life on horseback must have been. two real tragic moments stand out: the she-wolf's death and the misshapen and life-battered dog at the end of the last novella.i agree with a previous reviewer that the wolf's death was an act of love and the only one in this trilogy; the dog's running off into the night is frightening as i believe the dog represented the future end for the solo cowhand. Gripping, thought-provoking,takes a mature and aware reader; don't look for a happy ending--look for insight into character, values and life itself.

I found this book on an empty, dusty bookself at the back of my high school library, it's cover and first few pages torn away and the corners burned round. I thought that either someone was very bored and destructive or frustrated by the difficulty of the first few chapters (this only after flipping it open to find out it's title, the side being illedgable). After reading it I realize it could even more easily have come from the frustration of wanting more! This book kept me reading from cover to cover and still awake enough to wish it were double it's size. While reading it I had no clue as to it's popularity or award, but I knew it deserved one. John Grady Cole is an amazingly believable hero. I found myself trusting him and not the author to carry the book, knowing that he would come through no matter what. Even as the dialogue turned increasingly to spanish I felt that there wasn't a need to understand every word, I knew Grady enough to know what he would say. After getting a friend to translate a bit I found that this was true. I can only hope the movie is even half as good! I'm going to buy my school a copy to replace the destroyed version that I found.

Cormac McCarthy's "All the Pretty Horses" was critically acclaimed as one of the better works of modern American fiction. After reading the book, I can't help but agree with the reviewers. McCarthy has created a classic, a must-read for anyone, regardless of personal taste. For one thing, there is a little bit of everything - a heartbreaking love story, violent action sequences, realistic portrayal of mid-20th century plains life, and inclusion of even the most minute details of setting. The careful attention to detail can get tedious (it's almost reminiscent of Dickens -- "oh no!") but the landscapes McCarthy creates are beautiful enough to make the descriptions worth your while. The violent scenes are created so bluntly, as if McCarthy is talking about the weather as of late, that they seem all the more shocking to the reader. And the love story - wow. I've never read anything that seemed more real; McCarthy took some of the most trite and often-used ideas of romantic stories (the girl being the most beautiful thing the man had ever seen, the man being out of breath when he saw her) and created a tragically beautiful story that was startlingly realistic. His descriptions of the ordinary events that transpired in the novel were anything but trite or commonplace; McCarthy used fresh, thought-provoking similes and metaphors alongside deep psychological character analysis to pursue the realistic aspects of his character and plot. In short, I highly recommend this book to anyone, even those who don't particularly like "westerns", because to call it a western would be to shortchange this novel. It is a profoundly emotional yet soft-spoken tale, highly entertaining and edifying.

I'm not knocking this book at all ... but I had a heck of a time starting it. Once I got into it, it was ok. It's not the best read which really disappointed me as I had been waiting for years to read this book. I also had a hard time reading it because of the lack of quotation marks, puncuations and so forth. I also lost track of who was who in the story. Otherwise, his description of Texas and Mexico, the lonely life as a cowboy, waxes lyrical. I would recommend this book for those who really likes cowboys and westerns. It just didn't appeal to me very much!

If your into western or southern genre of riding horses, and enjoy translating spanish, and writing style that uses original language,then this book is a must read. I had a difficult time with character dialogue not being surrounded with quotation marks and extrememly long sentences left me lost without time to pause for thought. The main character, John Grady Cole,is tactfully designed to include all the elements of romance within this fictional novel and is of paramount importance to thematic setting. Overall,I found myself referring back to the book and reading it with more critical detail. After watching the movie version,which disappointingly excluded important details from the book,I was able to visualize the scenic narratives important to making connections.

All the Pretty Horses is an intriguing story about John Grady Cole's journey to find the only lifestyle he knows. When his mother decides to use their ranch to searh for oil, John and his buddy, Lacey Rawlings, set out for Mexico to search for the ways of their youth. Along the way they run into all sorts of trouble and find themselves struggling to stay alive. There is also the forbidden love affair between John Grady and Alejandra, the daughter of a very important mexican cattle rancher, to add to the excitment. By the end of the novel the two boys discover that thier search for a more "simple" life is actually the most complicated journey they will ever experience. McCarthy did an outstanding job of writing this piece. McCarthy was out to write a thrilling novel about love, violece, and horses. With the combination of all three, along with his descriptive writing it is no suprise to see why this book won numerous awards.

The themes are important and well played out: religion, free will v. predestination, love, patriarchy, initiation, violence, Latin American history, language, and culture, sex, bravery. I am not annoyed with the Spanish. I am not annoyed by the vacillation between terse dialogue and lengthy prose. I am not annoyed by the excessive use of conjunctions, the lack of punctuation, or the tediousness of working through the syntax and recongnizing the underlying messages. I have been studying literature long enough to have learned patience and appreciation, even if I don't particularly enjoy a novel.
But what I can't stand is when a novelist is a blatant thief. McCarthy shamelessly and directly plagiarizes phrases from Faulkner, the untouchable Southern writer-- not just in style, as some have recognized, but in actual phrases, especially from "The Sound and the Fury." Further, he is "influenced" a bit too much by Hemingway's read-between-the-lines dialogue for me.
I give McCarthy kudos for reviving a much satirized genre of the mythic American cowboy, and for addressing important issues such as the aforementioned. But when he steals from established and revered authors such as Hemingway and Faulkner, I can't give him more than a tepid pat on the back.

I read "The Sound and the Fury" and "Absalom, Absalom!" and "Their Eyes Were Watching God." Then I read "The Crossing" (my first McCarthy novel and favorite) and "All the Pretty Horses" and "Cities of the Plain." Like the three other works, the Borders Trilogy is sensational to me. The style the prose was executed with naturalness--the long sentences are like thoughts and seems to meander somewhere but unknown, some lost place or location or dream. The text makes you feel there is sense of lost with hard sigh and wish to return the thing that was lost. The text is beautiful because it sometimes complex and long and sometimes short, like human thoughts. I read "The Old Man and the Sea;" compared to the trilogy, the text of "Old Man" is baby talk, so simple as if humans are simple creatures incapable thinking deeply.

McCarthy's lyrical novel has its origins in the nursery rhyme "All the Pretty Little Horses", emphasizing the rhyme's two-part structure of soothing, comforting images, and the bleak, harsh reality of the natural world. It also may have its roots in the poetry of Edwin Muir, particularly the images of "Horses": "so wild and strange, / Like magic power ...", "Their hooves like pistons in an ancient mill", etc. The apocalyptic sequel, by Muir, "The Horses" offers correspondences with the malevolence of the earth, and yet the centrality of horses to human endeavours. Besides these literary allusions and those to Faulkner's prose structures, McCarthy has written a beautifully pained evocation of man's adjustment from innocence to experience.

This first novel in Cormac McCarthy's "Border Trilogy" is not one's typical Western tale of Indians and cowboys. I originally began to read All the Pretty Horses very reluctantly for my AP English Literature class in high school. However, the plot washed away all of my qualms. The protagonist, sixteen-year-old John Grady Cole, loses his father to illness and his beloved ranch to legal pettiness. With his friend Lacey Rawlins, he travels by horseback across the Rio Grande into Mexico in search of work and adventure. While they finally find work breaking horses on a hacienda of a wealthy hacendado, Cole and Rawlins also find romance and great trouble. While the plot is exciting, the actual story is not merely centered on horses and danger. It focuses more on a boy's coming of age and how he comes to terms with the choices he has made. McCarthy's style paints a wonderful picture of hacienda life in Mexico without using florid language and makes John Grady's tale an absorbing one. I recommend this National Book Award winner to anyone.

This book was an exciting epic taken place in the 1950s. Sixteen year old, John Grady Cole has more than raising cattle in his plans. After his Grandfather's funeral, he and two other, somewhat comic, companions, Lacey Rawlins and Jimmy Blevins, make their way to Mexico to escape the hassles of their American culture. Soon they find themselves working on a ranch, where Cole shows his deep love and talent for training horses. Alejandra, the ranch owner's daughter, and Cole soon fall in love with each other, but their love is tested by the disapproval of Alejandra's family. This heroic, heart-throbbing novel is a tale that provides the search for romance and the challenge to pursue a cowboy's dreams. Although the lack of quotations was a change, the novel's comic relief and Texan accents gave it a unique style. The way John Grady defies the ways of society and continues to believe in the power of love shows a complete heroic character. I would recommend this book to any American romantics who enjoy a heroic story about a boy growing up in a Western atmosphere searching for adventure.

I liked this book right from the start.
I'd already read The Road (took me 22 hours) and No Country For Old Men, so I was a bit familiar w/ McCarthy's style.
I had read 1/2 of Blood Meridian, but found it a bit tough to read, so I wanted something that read quicker.
I gave this 4 stars, only because I'm super picky. A 5 star rating would need to totally rock my world, which this book didn't.
But it was a very good read.
The movie was very close to the book. I recommend watching the movie AFTER reading the book, which is normally the case.

There is nothing finer.

After reading these three books, I came to believe that allegory is finest of all writing, satire second, and everything else after that.

No praise is high enough. These works justify mankind.
I just wish I had found them sooner!

If you're not into reading other languages and you can't speak Spanish then All the Pretty Horses is not for you. In the novel the author does not use the same writing techniques that we use in English. Instead he is more cultured and uses a Spanish style of writing. The book is about a young man named John Grady Cole. He travels down to Mexico to this hacienda and falls in love with the owner's daughter. He now must suffer all things that love can bring. The story is one of romance and adventure. The character is sent to a Mexican prison for killing someone in self-defense. This is just one of the many adventures that he encounters. The author has written many novels with this sort of cultured writing style. Overall the book was intriguing and exciting. It took you on a cowboy ride to Mexico and back. If you like reading about a young boy's life and like to read of love and action then this is the book for you.

McCarthy describes a world painted in sepia tones. He has iron-fisted control over his prose, with the effect that his moments of unhindered expression light up the novel's landscape like a sunset. Much has been made recently about minimalist vs. maximalist American novels: this stark and beautiful book stands equal to the thickest of Wolfe's efforts.

It is impossible for me to adequately describe Mr. McCarthy's style, but suffice it to say that my inability to offer sufficient insight is precluded by the fact that we simply don't speak the same language. In the hands of Mr. McCarthy, the english language utterly transcends its common and base usage, and instead becomes truly lyrical.
Anyone who's ever traveled the Trans-Pecos region, or been to the Border, will find themselves transported there once more as they follow the stories of John Grady Cole and Billy Parham. Mr. McCarthy describes the area perfectly, and with the expertise of a true native.

This book was assigned reading in an English course I took about a year ago. It blew my mind. The writing style is very simplistic, even more so than Hemmingway, in that there is very little punctuation. There are no quotations, but they really aren't needed. Once the main character, John Grady Cole, finds his way to Mexico, there is some Spanish, but it isn't neccessary to know the language, as there is no exposition in it and a decent explanation is given soon after. It also helps to make you feel a stranger in this land, as Cole is. What is tragic is that Miramax has cut the original four hour film translation of this masterpiece down to a piddling hour-forty-five. Read this. You won't regret it.

Simply said, this novel is made to move you. And it does.

McCarthy's bleak, free-flowing, elegant prose is unmatched in skill, craftsmanship, and beauty. All the Pretty Horses it's a delicately sad and romantic ode to the dusty, hot Mexican landscape. A great work of literary fiction.

I read All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. I thought that it was a book worth reading and I liked it a lot. It was the story of a cowboy John Grady Cole who decides to go to Mexico with his best friend Lacey Rawlins. They believe Mexico will be a great place to live but it doesn't quite turn out like they thought it would. The book has no marks of punctuation such as quotation marks or exclaimation points. I believe this shows a lack of emotion from the speakers. Without quotation marks, it is also difficult to recognize a change of speaker and i often became confused because of this. The story line was good and i liked the theme of John Grady trying to become a carefree cowboy along with his friend Rawlins. This is not a sterotypical cowboy novel though. There is a lot of violence and some killing. John Grady also does not have a happy ending as one would think he should. He finds romance but it doesn't work quite the way he wants it to. What i didn't like about the book is when the characters begin speaking in Spanish. I didn't know what was happening and it really wasn't translated in the following text. I knew that they were in Mexico, so obviously that's why they spoke in Spanish. Overall it was a good book about John Grady not conforming to what others wanted and making his own destiny. He never took anything lying down. I give it a four out of five stars.

In many years of reading and writing, I have never read a novel by a contemporary author and then gone out and purchased five other novels of that same guy. And continued to be amazed, novel after novel. Cormac McCarthy is up there with Samuel Beckett as that unusual modern novelist. He dosen't give interviews, do books reviews, teach writing classes; he's isolated, serious, successfully creating an individual world no one ever dared dream of inventing, and where followers would get lost in his wasteland, just as with Beckett. And God does he have language. If "Art is reality seen through a unique perspective", then read this or any of his books. Other novelists seem to be playing it awfully safe compared to him.

I LOVED this book. McCarthy's use of language is powerful and really swept me away. There were sentences that I read over and over again -- they were so beautful. I have yet to read the other two novels in The Border Trilogy (they are waiting on my shelf), but if they continue the experience I had with All The Pretty Horses, I will be thrilled.

One of my favorite books. The one and only problem I have wit Cormac McCarthy is that he assumes everyone speaks Spanish. Keep a Spanish dictionary handy if you plan to read the Border Trilogy or Blood Meridian.

I read this book in High School, about 8 years ago. When the movie came out a couple years later, I had to go see it because I had such fond memories of the book. Now, I am recommending it to my book club as our next book to read. Not many books I remember fondly all the way from high school, but this is one of them.

A story of two teenagers who embark on a world full of adventure, love and cruelty are faced with numerous obstacles that transform the young teens from kids to adults. Set in the olden days of cowboys, John Grady Cole and a friend decide to leave their homes and travel to Mexico. Cormac McCarthy's ability as a writer flourishes throughout this narrative. His ability to show the struggle of John Grady Cole being forced to become a mature young adult makes this story that much more interesting to read. His intense desciption of events as they occur allows the readers to vividly picture what is going on. His choice of using a foreign language, Spanish, and his lengthy syntax adds to the realism of this adventure John Grady and his friends decide to engage in.

Since the early 1900's, America has greatly progressed industrially and technologically, thus causing the early 1990's publication of the western novel, All the Pretty Horses, to seem out of place. This untimliness, however, is no indication to the quality of the book. Cormac McCarthy demonstrates all the characteristics of a traditional Western: adventure, love, damsels, murder, horses, and a hero, while still maintaining the elegant language and style of writing he has created. Set along the Texas-Mexican border in the late 1940's, All the Pretty Horses relates young John Grady Cole's discoveries about religion, love, and life as he runs away from home and becomes a man. The idealistic Cole embodies the desires of all young adults, freedom and understanding, and sets out to satisfy them. Through several experiences that an average teenager would not have encountered, he realizes that reality can be cruel but maintains his amazing determination to live his life without the burdens of society.
McCarthy's magnificent wording and motifs demonstrate the many themes of hospitality, religion, freedom, and the quest for knowledge. The language appears to be deterring because of the author's choice to delete the majority of punctuation marks, however, if he had left the words in proper English format, the novel would have lost its realism and power. Unlike Charles Dickens, who is infamous for his lengthy, soporific descriptions, McCarthy utilizes his language to depict the Mexican landscape in a way that appeals to the reader. Not everything in the novel is pretty; as an adventure story, the book still enbodies the basic blood, guts, and gore; it simply describes them more completely than an average fiction novel. This quest for realism can become overused at times (i.e. entire dialogues written Spanish where occasionally a character may offer some form of explanation but usually leave the reader wondering). McCarthy's realism also extends to his multiple color motifs. Almost every pigment in the color wheel represents a quality in the novel, and because the author describes everything accurately, at least one of these recurring motifs appears on every other page. This does make analysis of the the novel fairly simple, but the overwhelming amount of color can become repetitive. McCarthy has mastered a wonderful command of language and exemplifies creativity well, but by stating the themes outright, he removes the opportunity for the reader to demonstrate his own ability to understand.
All the Pretty Horses embodies all the requirements of an interesting, adventurous novel that anyone could appreciate for its exciting plot and insightful discoveries of human nature. Whether searching for a wonderful book to read purely for entertainment or attempting to discover a piece of literature that is relatively simple to analyze, one should seriously consider All the Pretty Horses as an appropriate choice.

I am a young, female, high school teacher. I am always on the look-out for excellent novels to read with my junior/senior all-boys AP Composition class; I have found such a novel in All the Pretty Horses. This "coming of age" story contains all of the elements I need: adventure, sexual exploration, (appropriate) violence, friendship, father/son struggles, and mother/son struggles just to name a few. The prose is difficult and begins slowly, but with determination, this novel can carry ANYONE away. I hope that my students will enjoy this novel as much as I do. As for the people that gave this novel ONE star....you need to start reading literature. This is not an Oprah book....it takes a little more patience than you allowed and more than 45 minutes to decipher. Give it another shot....it is better the second time around, as are many great novels.

I picked up this book at random when I was at the store with my daughter because I liked the title. Once I started reading I could not put it down. I live in Houston and enjoyed the description of Mexico. I also liked the way that Cormac used Mexican language, it makes you feel like you are closer to the characters and because my daughter speaks/reads the language she can interpret for me.

The bleak plot was engrossing and true to life. I am a 50 year old male and I can look back and easily imagine myself making the same choices that cut both ways.

Loved it.

My least favorite of McCarthy's works. I found this diorama and even the words he used extremely fine and spare, like the elegance of a bone found bleached white in the desert, but I personally prefer the rich gothic settings and language of his earlier work. Despite my dislove of the Border Trilogy McCarthy is still one of my all time favorite writers.

Cormac McCarthy has managed to separate the literary men from boys with The Border Trilogy. Readers who were disappointed mentioned the lack of narration and punctuation. The first 10 pages of the first book caught me off guard. It felt a little like being left in a strange country with no one to translate. I kept going and fell in love with this style of writing. Everything I read afterward seemed like it was written for children; all the obvious tricks.

The story is stark. The writing is too. It fits. I was completely engrossed is this trilogy and yes, it was somewhat depressing. But for authenticity , the characters are flawless.

It takes a certain 'adjustment' to read, but anyone with a love for the west and nugget or two of gray matter can enjoy it.

I became aware of McCarthy when I watched the movie No Country for Old Men (I have not read the book) which I ejoyed although I was frustrated that there was no resolution at the end. I guess the message was you win some and you lose some so just move on. I then read All the Pretty Horses. I later saw and enjoyed the movie which was well done and stuck close to the story line. I enjoyed the novel but, somewhat like No Country, it ends with the main character riding off into the sunset without the reader knowing what happens to him. This character does, however, reappear later in the series. I did not particularly enjoy The Crossing as I did not find certain early events believable. However, I do recommend The Cities of the Plains. It was a good read. That said, I was frustrated by the frequent use of Spanish that was not explained in any way to those who do not know Spanish. At times, there would be six or seven lines in a row in Spanish leaving me to wonder what story line I was missing. Moreover, it was often difficult to know which character was speaking. That, however, I have unfortunately found common to many authors. Overall though, the Trilogy is worth the time.

What it is is a pretty good novelization of George Miller's great movie The Man from Snowy River (based on a poem by Banjo Paterson). McCarthy hasn't WF's metaphysics, these are replaced by truly brilliant descriptions of the southerwestern landscape that you need a Baedecker's to decipher. He's good at describing Marlboro Men doing Marlboro Men type things, but couldn't write a decent woman character if it meant five miles of downed fenceline. That McCarthy is so popular is less a reflection of his brilliance than the dearth of good literature out there. Then again, better read him than say, Colin Harrison. Or read Blood Meridian -- a truly brilliant work of genius., nothing like it in American Lit.

I would consider this a masterpiece but for one thing- large amounts of the dialog is in Spanish. I damn myself for quiting on Spanish after the Ninth grade but that self-criticism doesn't help me now. This would make a great movie but for the fact that there are few talented, serious directors left in film.

It's one of those books that it takes you the first fifty, or so, pages to get into, but once you're past that I would be surprised if you could put it down. It was an excellent book that gives you all the aspects that an enjoyable book should have: adventure, romance, danger, etc.

In the novel, All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy creates an unpolluted, untainted image of his main character's love interest, Alejandra, through the use of diction and stylistic elements. McCarthy states that Alejandra speaks "english learned largely from schoolbooks..." (123). This depicts Alejandra as well-articulated and well read. She obviously has not picked up any slang, and therefore it is inferred that she mainly associates with poised, sophisticated society. McCarthy describes that her "hand was small and her waist so slight" (123). Through the utilization of imagery here, McCArthy creates an almost child-like image of Alejandra, a petite figure that has yet to blossom into womanhood. In one scene in the novel, Alejandra sneaks out late at night with John Grady Cole, the main character. John Grady decides to bathe in the "black and warm" (140) lake. As Alejandra begins to join him, John Grady notes her "clothing so pale, so pale, like a chrysalis emerging" (141) from the water. Since white is the universal symbol of purity, the repetition of its connotation, pale, emphasizes her innocence. The simile employed here compares Alejandra to an infant moth. By comparing her to a newborn, she again seems childlike and naive. Also, by linking her to a moth, which is usually pallid, McCarthy reinforces symbolism of the color white and continues his unsullied image of her. In the same scene, John Grady thinks "Do not speak to her. Do not call" (141). By means of stream of consciousness, McCarthy makes it clear that John Grady is painfully aware that if he calls his love into the dark water, he will take away sowme of her wholesomeness. By using another powerful simile, McCarthy demonstrates that Alejandra burns "like foxfire in a darkened wood" (141). By relating her to an illuminating, organic substance, McCarthy fortifies her pure white aura. Later, through personification, McCarthy describes Alejandra's hair "falling and floating" (141) on the water. This exemplifiew her celestial, angelic persona.

Cormac McCarthy's beautiful All the Pretty Horses places a Texas boy, John Cole, in the Mexican desert, and lays bare the soul of Americans in their search for love and life's meaning. No other recent book describes the restlessness of a nation, entwined in the story of a strong 16 year-old, with quite the power of All the Pretty Horses. At times heartbreaking and always fulfilling, John Cole's journey with his friend, his love affair with a Mexican aristocrat's beautiful daughter, and the landscape that scars Texas and Mexico are flawlessly described by Mr. McCarthy. Only one other book has moved me quite as much as this one, Gunter Grass' The Tin Drum.

I found the first 3/4 of the book good reading, but soon it just seemed to plod along like walking horses, going here, going there, stopping here, stopping there.....let's just get on with the story! And when we got to the part where the aunt tells her story, I just didn't care and skipped over it. Finally could not finish the book. Wish someone would tell me what happened, but I don't care enough to read it. Sorry, not for me.

The amount of Spanish in the book was really annoying. I don't speak it and don't like guessing what was being said.

I have heard a lot about this book and finally got around to reading it (actually I listened to it on audio- the unabridged version, kudos to Frank Muller who did the reading). McCarthy's writing is absolutely amazing. Through much of the book, not a lot happens action-wise, but the writing is so fantastic that you are enthralled nonetheless. The dialogue in the book is unparalleled, I found myself wondering if McCarthy had studied philosophy at some point. Every character in the book has their own philosophical outlook, that through amazing dialogue, McCarthy is able to justify as a valid perspective on human nature. It is no surprise that this is a National Book Award Winner.

This novel broke my heart. It gave me much greater insight into my dad, who is dead now. I had a hard time coming to terms with my dad when he was alive. This story illuminated lots of male-ness that is often inaccessible to me. The book overstated some things (I hope!). But it essentially rings true. Readers who liked this, but want more accessible writing should read "Red Sky at Morning" by Bradford which covers some of the same ground geographically, emotionally, and philosophically. This growing up is a hard way to go. And at the end, maybe leaves you betrayed and alone. I'm more generous & gentle with the destitute now.

I would encourage anyone that picks up this book to keep plowing through. The beginning is dry and your not sure what the writer is doing. You may even ask, "Where is this going?" But it certainly heats up and becomes a strong novel. I do plan on reading the other books in the series.

This was one of the best reading experiences Ive ever had. What was most important to me was how true to the how people of this lifestyle actually are. I grew up in this type of atmosphere and its a big part of who I am even though it no longer defines me on a daily basis. Working with horses is a lifestyle. It what you live and breathe. McCarthy captures that. It had such an effect on me and took me back to a life I miss so much. Enjoy this book.

My 15 year old daughter wanted this book to read over the summer. My daughter does like to read and is at least 2 grades above her current grade level when it comes to reading. However, due to how the book is written, she complained she did not understand what the author was saying. I decided to read the first page and I then understood what she was talking about. The author has no conception of grammar. There are constant run on sentences that make it teadious to try to read. Too many thought combined in one sentence. One sentence could be its own paragraph. How could anyone have published this book. To get a child to read these days is very difficult, but when there is a book written so poorly, as this one is, it can turn a child even further way from reading showing them that reading is not pleasurable. What a pity. We will get rid of the book and will not donate it as we don't want to continue this authors inability to use words in a learning and constructive way. Children are supposed to learn from reading but this is not what our children should be using as a learning tool.

McCarthy is undoubtably the finest American writer at this time. His prose has a lyrical quality that is not often found in modern writing, while always remaining attached to the reality of life in the raw. His prose is evocative of the land in which the story arises and of the people of the Texas border. Much of the writing defies convention in terms of structure. Much of the writing is wrong in a technical sense, but just so right in an evocative and emotional sense.
This is writing that cuts straight to the heart. Like all great literature it opens a new window into the soul of humanity.

These three novels should establish Cormac McCarthy as a worthy inheritor of the mantle worn by William Faulkner. The first, All The Pretty Horses is probably the best because it introduces John Grady Cole, who should join the ranks of legendary fictional heroes. His story is concluded in Cities of the Plain the last of the trilogy which contains an account of a knife fight that is almost unbearable in it intensity. The second novel,The Crossing is in my opinion, the weakest of the three,although the first 100 or so pages which describe the relationship between a boy and a wolf he has trapped is as good as anything in the trilogy. McCarthys description of ranch life on the New Mexico-Mexico border in the 1940s and early '50s is so pure that one can almost feel the icy wind as it cuts through the characters as they ride south to meet their fate in old Mexico. This is a great book and Cormac McCarthy is among the greatest novelists of our time.

This book is great. It isn't just your normal epic love story, they put horses in there, and they also pu adventure and suspence in it. I would recomend it to anyone who enoys reading about love, cowboys, or horses. I can honestly say that there was no point in the book when i ever wanted to put it down. I wanted to read it all day if i could. I woudl read it before i went bed until i was falling asleep, then i woudl read it in all of my classes anytime that i had a chance. It pulls you right in, you feel like you are in the story with them, you are going through the same things, and you always want to know what happens next. I would definetaly recomend this book.

You've got to admire McCarthy for his total refusal to conform to any 'writers' edicts. His characters are supremely one-dimensional (in "Horses" anyway), and he lets the action bring any little character development there is. But the strong elemental prose gets to you - if you believe in the power of fate, and the beauty of ancient landscapes. It's a good thing though that he doesnt include too much dialogue - most of it is abysmal, and at least the Spanish phrases distract a little from that. Overall though a story that will take you places no other writer can - its worth the effort.

I've only just finished Moby Dick before reading ATPH so cryptic style was not a problem, if you follow me, shipmates? I have been aware of Mc Carthy for some time, but have been reluctant to read him, I think due to his artistic reputation. Comparisons to Faulkner aren't enticing, or maybe they are. Anyway, the time was right after Melville. Still, I must say, I liked the story and will read more of this Cormac McCarthy, so mystical and subtle.

One thing. Does anyone else see a connection with Gabriel's Story by Dunham, another fine book?

McCarthy is a bit tough to read. It isn't a leasurly book that you'd want to read while on vacation. I found it tough to follow at first, mostly because there are no quotation marks for when the character speaks. As the story progresses, though, the text becomes more comfortable and, in the end, the book is rewarding.

Let's start off with an admission. I rarely devote free time to novels - just can't sit still that long. On a lark, I picked up McCarthy's "No Country for Old Men" for a quick read on weekend escape to the beach. Perfect. Four novels later, I am now officially hooked. "The Border Trilogy" is a must read and my latest purchase. As always, the action is continuous, the descriptions unique, the characters interesting and believable. More than occasionally McCarthy taunts you with the unusual phrase or jumps to Spanish conversation. Do take the time to look these up as it adds unique and complete meaning to the novel. It also soon becomes a game between you and the author, a quest if you will, to unabashedly claim mastery of the piece.

I haven't even finished reading All The Pretty Horses yet. However, Cormac is a fantastic author worthy of your time and money. His images are gorgeous and well realized; his storytelling cold and gritty at times, warm and intensely human through his dialogue and character study.

If you feel drawn to the mystery and brutality in the great expanse of west Texas and Mexico than look no further.

For anyone not giving this or any book written by McCarthy, 5 stars, I question their literary competence. McCarthy should be required reading in AP and college literature classes. Comparing total works in literature, he rates being first among contemporaries and equal with the best among all writers of fiction.

Book one of the Border Trilogy. The coming of age story of John Grady Cole. Set in 1940's Texas and Mexico. A story of the often violent relationship between Mexico and the U.S., the fragile balance between life and death and what it takes to become a man. If you read the first book, reading the entire trilogy becomes a must.

I was required to read this book this past year as a school assignment. First off it's rare for such a new book (it was only published 14 years ago) to be a school assignment (well at my school it is). I suppose that says something for this book. It's the easiest read but not bad. Rather boring in places. It leaves a lot of the story up in the air a little which I didn't like so much, and I definably found the end rather rushed. All in all, not my favorite book, but a good book in general.

I had trouble at the start of the book. McCarthy's prose style came on too strong for me at first, and I put it down twice before I finally powered through the beginning (something about the beginning just hit me the wrong way).

McCarthy is a brilliant writer. I especially loved his descriptions of the landscape.

This was a great book, very detailed on all aspects except on the romantic side. He used more words to describe plains and grasses than Cole and Alejandra's relationship. However, the moral lesson was very realistic and moving.

This is a fantastic story - powerful, amusing, and moving. McCarthy has such a great way of engaging the reader by alternating between being economical with his prose during one moment, and gushing the next. This novel contains narrative so powerful and beautiful that I could scarcely believe they were hidden within a western novel.

McCarthy's book, All the Pretty Horses, was an easy and capturing read as an escape narrative. The book did not appeal to me but I did find the dialogue challenging at first, then engaging. The book was a typical Western story set in Mexico with numerous conflicts. What I wasn't expecting was the myriad of juxtapositioning present, predominantly at the beginning and the end of the book.
I enjoyed the initial challenge of the dialogue. The paragraph long sentences and the absent quotation marks created a continuous stream of thought and an excellent flow to the book.

Over the weekend, I determined to read this National Book Award winner. The first 100 pages were about as much fun as a forced march with the Marines through a swamp.
Mc Carthy, the author, introduced characters by pronoun, created mystery by obscurity, and chose to thumb his nose at Strunk and White. Quotation marks were absent, capitals, nearly so, apostrophes hit and miss in his contractions. He writes: cant, couldnt, but restores the ` in I'll, I've. He sprinkled Spanish over the desert description, which made me wonder how a reader from Wisconsin without an "enchilada" in his vocabulary might lose the picture. All the Pretty Horses relies on a comic book plot of teen-age fantasy. Tough, abandoned 16 year old boy and his cousin meet up with Annie-Oakley-sure-shot idiot who's some kind of a metaphor for Del Rio religious lightning, grunts his was to romantic tryst with Mexican beauty who slides into his bed nightly without waking up the hacienda, then finds himself an incarcerated horse thief, knives a Mexican hit man in the heart, is rescued Mexican style (jailer paid off) by feminist angel who lectures him in a 10 page monologue.
His girl calls it quits in deference to her family but gives him one last lusty bed bounce in Zacatecas before a tearful goodbye.
Our hero recovers his horses, fights his way home, is absolved by father-figure judge and I felt like the Indians when he passed the Yates Field, "They had no curiosity about him at all."

For those who did not particulairly like this book for its long sentences and use of Spanish, I say go back to reading the mundane and boorish books you must be use to. This is a classic mix of art and writing that is lost on so many books today. Most books I've read lately seem to have been adopted by the writers of USA Today. Why not read something that will cause you to slow down for a second and read a book the way you would sip a 12 year-old scotch. Imbibe the words and let them swirl in your mind. All the Pretty Hosrses is worth the slow digestion.

A stunning novel illuminating the violent South with startling prose. CMAC's gift is to paint his land for us with mystery, menace, colour and deep arden-hearted feeling, without ever violating the laws of nature. Thus he shows us the magic in the world, without having to resort to cheap stunts of magical realism. Here you will find magic in your own world. The images have a mythic quality that reaches into the heart of all men, the language is hard and beautiful, the world is real yet haunting and mysterious. If you liked Cold Mountain, here you will find its original influence. The master, in command of his medium, pioneering a new brand of writing. Read all his novels, and you may begin to see the world as he sees it - there is the treasure.

I bought this book for a Christmas present. I have read these three books twice and found them just as exciting the second time around. The author is a wonderful writer and I wanted my son to have the same enjoyable experience reading them as I did.

Okay, so it's a little crunchy and difficult in spots, like eating wild game with the shotgun pellets still in it, it's still wonderful. Forget the obvious, 'boys-2-men' plot, ignore the occasional too-purple description, and savor the atmospheric power. It doesn't get any more evocative than this. Lyrically, it's an Everest of a book, hard and cold and high and lonely and very beautiful.

I can read English, French, Italian. This novel ranks with Proust's La Recherche du temps perdu, and Manzoni's Promessi sposi. Breathtaking scenes follow more breathtaking scenes and the whole leaves the reader breathless. Magnificient, none like it.

A stunning work of fiction which is tightly written and with a definite aim in mind. I would say the central idea of the story is the inability to belong in a particular place or time. McCarthy's ability to choose just the right words and sparingly but perfectly describe a place or feeling is only matched by the greatest American writers of the early part of this century. The style is distinctive and not difficult to follow after a few pages. I will eagerly await the last book of this trilogy.

I am in the middle of my third reading of this book. McCarthy is incredible, and "All the Pretty Horses" is one of his best texts to date. My favorite aspect of owning this book is the ability to pick it up at any time--open to any page--an just start reading. The text reads like poetry and will put you in another place all together!

Difficult to believe this snoozer won the coveted National Book Award. Characters are one-dimensional (author himself seems to hold them in extreme contempt) and in reality reveal a couple of cow-poke dead-beats who speak largely in monosyllables and about the most inane matters imaginable (what's to eat?/not a lot. look at that "purty" sunset. nice horse, huh?/I seen better. life sure is a bitch. you think they're after us?/I know they are. think we ought to get sleep?/I think we oughta. etc.) and probably couldn't express anything insightful or profound even if they were reading it from a script. One almost longs for even a brief conversation about, say, Stem Cells or Climate Change. It's as if the author, through sheer persistence, hopes the reader will engage in some kind of pathos and at some point register the angst of these two dusty low-lifes. Much of the description seems pointless and fails to provide any analogous insight into the characters predicament or sensibility and neither of these wandering cow-hands even comes close to achieving mythical status, as does the High Plains Drifter in Eastwood's movie. Both of the primary characters appear set in American Literary Naturalism (briefly, the environment determines their decisions and neither has any free will or insight into their overall condition as human beings). For an earlier example of characters within the American Naturalism movement that achieve mythical status and are true representatives of their types try Frank Norris' McTeague or Stephen Cranes Maggie: A Girl of the Streets.

Which is precisely the major problem with McCarthy's novel: it fails to transcend this traditional literary form, popularized mainly from 1890-1950: the novel is much too resonant of Faulkner (McCarthy's sentence structure owes Faulkner a tip of the cap), Steinbeck (all of the horse lore and painted literary landscapes, although Steinbeck uses his environment to offer insights into his characters and motifs), not to mention Jack London and Larry McMurtry (McMurtry--Lonesome Dove, Movin' On, The Last Picture Show--is the unqualified contemporary south-western writer here and All the Pretty Horses owes a substantial debt to this writer, yet to be acknowledged as far as I know).

All the Pretty Horses disappoints the reader but it does demonstrate that those literary prize judges back on the East Coast who also happen to award National Book Awards etc. can still be seduced by the "'low' plains drifters" and scruffy ranch-hand personas of the mythical and largely fictional American Southwest-Mexico.

Adventure is most often described as exciting, romantic, dangerous, suspenseful, mysterious, and unforgettable. In the world today not many people are able to experience an event such as this, but I know two people who are that lucky. In Cormac McCarthy's book All The Pretty Horses, John Grady Cole and his closest friend Lacey Rawlins ride horseback through a timeless adventure. While they travel from Texas to Mexico the reader gets sucked into the story to go along for the ride. When I first read this book, I thought the author's style was poor and unorganized, but my opinion began to change because the story is spectacular! The writer's tone is excited, because in every paragraph things are rapidly changing and it is a heart-racing event just trying to keep up with what is about to happen. My favorite character is John Grady Cole because I admire him for his honesty, dignity, loyalty, and courage. In the story, John Grady is introduced to a young, adolescent boy named Blevins. The boy wants to join John and Rawlins on their journey, however Rawlins is opposed to the very idea. John Cole allows the boy to ride with them to Texas and after some time he becomes fond of Blevins. I think that John Grady sees his reflection in Blevins and he understands the boy. John Grady Cole reminds me of my grandfather, because during his lifetime my grandfather was an honest man who was caring and considerate of others. I admire them both for their meritorious characteristics and hope that I too, may learn from their behavior. Later in the book, times get tough and the future looks worse and worse. However in all the conflicting troubles, never does John Grady give up. My favorite quote is when John and Rawlins are in jail and John is talking to an administrator named Perez. "It is not that he is stupid. It is that his picture of the world is incomplete. In this rare way. He looks only where he wishes to see" (Perez 192). I believe that this saying applies to life today. Perez is basically saying that stupidity is only looking at what one wants to see instead of what there is to see. Maybe if people would try looking beyond the obvious and taking a deeper understanding, the world might be a better place. In conclusion, the most important thing about this book is the adventure. Adventure is not only parachuting from airplanes or scuba diving in Hawaii. I think the main thing the writer is trying to say is that life is an adventure in itself and one can make it memorable if one tries. My advice to the reader is to have fun and enjoy this western extravaganza. It is a vacation from the chores of daily life. It is an excellent book!

I am a big McCarthy so thi smay be biased, but this is a fantastic book. Awesome environmental descriptions, you can almost smell the air on the plains. Main character perfectly realized, twists, turns and tragedy. Not your everyday western.

Book was written in a very impressionistic style. It's surreal and dreamlike and beautifully done. Touching, disturbing and sad in parts. Not your everyday novel with cowboys as subjects. A real piece of literary art.

I struggled initially with the author's style. But after a few pages, I was so caught up in the story that the writing style was no longer noticeable and came to realize that it was an important contribution to the tone of the book. It was a great adventure that caused me to put aside my current Tom Clancy and spend the weekend with "All The Pretty Horses." It was good enough that I have ordered the second and third books in this triology.

Cormac Mccarthy is truly probably the greatest living author alive today. I have read all of his books at least twice. I never get tired of him. All the Pretty Horses was my initiation into his canon. It will stand as a great work for years to come. His writing is lyrical and beautiful. I would suggest All the Pretty Horses to anyone who wants to get lost in a book. McCarthy builds a world for you to get lost in. The whole Border Trilogy is worth reading.

McCarthy writes using dialogue and extremely long sentences, reminding me of Hemingway. It is an excellent "story". I loved the intertwined languages and often encourage my students using that format. The Spanish vocabulary is wonderful! It is obviously a good book for English classes but could also include further research on horses and the plains in U.S. History. I enjoyed the book though it did take a little while for it to roll around in my mind. Carmen A.

I am a big McCarthy fan but I was not engaged by this story. The writing, as always, is phenomenal. But that wasn't enough to pull the story through for me or keep me interested. It pains me to write this review because I have read some truly great work by this writer. But All the Pretty Horses is not one of his best, not by a long shot.

I cannot recommend this novel.

This is not a John Ford western. The setting could not be more real if you walked or rode a horse through it. McCarthy is a master of subtle nuance in his characters. West Texas and Mexico are hard, unforgiving places and he fully portrays that in his descriptions of the land, not to mention the people. Take a journey with McCarthy in any of his work and you will visit the very heart of life, raw, gritty and dangerous. I dare you to search out and visit the places he writes about, they do exist!