3.5
All the Pretty Horses
ByPublisher Description
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The first volume in the Border Trilogy, from the bestselling author of The Passenger and the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Road
All the Pretty Horses is the tale of John Grady Cole, who at sixteen finds himself at the end of a long line of Texas ranchers, cut off from the only life he has ever imagined for himself. With two companions, he sets off for Mexico on a sometimes idyllic, sometimes comic journey to a place where dreams are paid for in blood.
All the Pretty Horses is the tale of John Grady Cole, who at sixteen finds himself at the end of a long line of Texas ranchers, cut off from the only life he has ever imagined for himself. With two companions, he sets off for Mexico on a sometimes idyllic, sometimes comic journey to a place where dreams are paid for in blood.
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3.5
“Ya this dude knows how to write”
“"All the Pretty Horses" is so distinctly McCarthy.
His use of simple dialogue and detailed landscapes give his novels an atavistic quality that speaks to the core of human relationships with each other and the land. I found this novel's presentation of those relationships very engaging as John Grady yearns to find a place (a "country") where the people share his values and way of life. Grady's sense of alienation within his own country feels increasingly relevant.
The question of where we derive our values from haunts the background of this novel as both country and parentage are simultaneously rebelled against yet clung to. I found there to be a parallel between Blevins' horse (the primary catalyst of most of the novel) and John Grady's internal dissonance over claiming his value system as his own. He may not know where either truly came from, but he ends up accepting both in the end.
This one definitely merits a re-read in the future.”
About Cormac McCarthy
The novels of the American writer, Cormac McCarthy, have received a number of literary awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. His works adapted to film include All the Pretty Horses, The Road, and No Country for Old Men—the latter film receiving four Academy Awards, including the award for Best Picture. He died in 2023.
Other books by Cormac McCarthy
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