McCARTHY, Cormac. All the Pretty Horses. 320p. Knopf Doubleday. 1993. $15.00. ISBN 0679744398.
Ride with John Grady Cole through pre World-War II Texas into Mexico in McCarthy’s first installment of the Border Trilogy. When sixteen-year old Cole realizes his estranged mother is selling their home and that he is the last of a long line of ranchers, he sets out for a better life in Mexico. Cole and his buddy Rawlins meet a young man of questionable character along the way and disagree about whether this stranger will cause them trouble.
McCarthy has created an original, memorable coming of age story. His lyrical style takes a few pages to adapt to, yet the effort is worthwhile. Not a stickler for proper punctuation, McCarthy often writes in a train-of-thought rather than in complete sentences. He does not quote his dialogue, but readers adapt to his style early on. Descriptions of the Texan landscape and Mexican villages leave readers feeling as if they are riding alongside the characters. “They came up out of the river breaks riding slowly side by side along the dusty road and onto a high plateau where they could see out over the country to the south, rolling country covered with grass and wild daisies” (38). McCarthy’s depiction of old Mexico is harsh and raw, yet also full of beauty. Due to some graphic language (swearing, sexual scenes) and violence, this book is appropriate for older high school readers. The violence seems gratuitous yet fits in with the time period, setting and plot. Readers who enjoyed McCarthy’s The Road or are looking for a memorable series will enjoy this National Book Award winner. ( )

Great coming of age story in the west. Well developed characters and interactions ( )

More user-friendly than The Road and No Country for Old Men ( )

Delusione. McCarthy - a mio parere - è uno dei più grandi scrittori viventi. Nei suoi libri ci sono semptre una padronanza perfetta della materia narrativa, un assoluto controllo del linguaggio, un uso sapiente delle parole, dosate e spesso centellinate ma proprio per questo ancora più incisive. In questo libro queste caratteristiche - invece di produrre un congegno letterario a orologeria - hanno dato vita a una narrazione che spesso mi pare gratuita e priva di mordente. ( )

I first "read" this book as an audiobook years ago. I loved it then, but I have to say, I loved reading it much more. McCarthy has some incredibly large, beautiful sentences throughout this book. His sense of feeling and detail permeates even the most rough scenes in the story. This will truly sit in my rereading list.

A few noteworthy observations (spoiler alert!!): The character Lacey Rawlins clearly holds Jimmy Blevins in contempt at the beginning of the book; this is witnessed repeatedly and John Grady Cole is the voice of reason and caring. It struck me late in the book, after Jimmy is no longer around, how it becomes clear that Lacey really did care and felt the weight of sadness and guilt on the way life unfolded for him. McCarthy captures these feelings with a minimum of text and a maximum of power. ( )