All the Pretty Horses (The Border Trilogy, Book 1)

Tam

"Every dumb thing I ever done before in my life there was a decision I made before that got me into it."

Despite the pretty title, this is a tough story. John Grady Cole has lost his grandfather and the ranch will be sold. It's all John has ever known. He's a cowboy and that's all he ever wants to be. So he and his cousin, both about 17 years old, leave Texas and ride their horses across the border into Mexico. It's 1949. In Texas they tie their horses up outside cafes and gas stations. The moment they cross into Mexico, they step back in time. Desert. Cactus. No motor vehicles, few settlements. The people they meet lead them to hard life and hard choices; some of them life threatening.

I am so glad I read this book. There were many things I loved about it but many things I didn't. What did I love? The contradictory nature. The depth of the story and characters yet the direct, no frills conversations with little show of emotion. The action yet the slow pace. The beauty yet the harshness. I loved that once they passed into Mexico, the descriptions of the land and many of the discussions between the characters we given in Spanish. There was a very distinct feel that you were no longer in Texas nor in 1949! I liked the boys and was impressed with their maturity at such a young age.

What didn't I love? The lack of quotations caused a lot of confusion for me about who was speaking. At times the story would jump forward to a new scene, leaving me confused about how we got there. McCarthy offers beautiful language but the story is not a lullaby like the title implies. It's not a happy story and I was I left with a strong hope that John Grady Cole will somehow find his place and his happiness.

Needed a dictionary. The author is extraordinary. An incredible use of vocabulary. First time I’ve read his stuff. Suttree is an exploration of an ordinary decent man. I enjoyed it despite the work required to read it!

The late American Writer Cormac McCarthy’s novel All The Pretty Horses is the story of John Grudy, a Texan teenager who travels to Northern Mexico to find work. The novel takes place post-World War II. Grudy’s father fought in World War II. Grudy is traveling with his cousin and his friend named Lacey Rawlins. While Grudy and Rawlins are traveling from Texas to Northern Mexico, a younger teenage rider falls in with them. The younger teenager is riding a big bay horse. Grudy and Rawlins do not fully trust the teenager on a big bay horse. After the young teenager splits with Grudy and Rawlins, they find work at a ranch in the Mexican state of Coahuila. Rawlins works as a ranch hand. Grudy is promoted to a horse trainer and a horse breeder. Grudy falls in love with the daughter of a ranch owner named Alejandra. This set the plot of the novel into motion. In McCarthy’s novel, All The Pretty Horse, the environment and setting of Texas and Northern Mexico is a character. In the novel, All The Pretty Horses, when McCarthy uses the Spanish language, he leaves the Spanish language untranslated, but the reader can figure out the context of the passages. Cormac McCarthy’s novel, All The Pretty Horses, is a well-done atmospheric novel.

Texas and Mexico terrain and the characters made this a joy to read.