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Ellen Isaacs | |
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All the Pretty Horses is the story of John Grady Cole and his friend Lacey Rawlins, two teenage boys who leave home in southern Texas and cross into Mexico on horseback, seeking adulthood and independence. They find it through a series of adventures that take them deep into Mexico and back again. Skilled with horses, they wind up working at a horse ranch owned by a wealthy family. Cole falls in love with the daughter, but despite the respect he's earned from her father, the family intervenes, and Cole is arrested and put in jail. On his way back to freedom, he has to fight for his life, his love, his friendships, and his horse. This book is more about mood and character than it is about plot. Despite all of Cole & Rawlins' adventures, the book is fairly slow moving. McCarthy writes beautifully, paying attention to the details that make up the simple action of putting a saddle on a horse, for example, or lighting up a cigarette. At times I found this relaxing, but other times it made me restless. I can see why this book received such praise, since the writing does create such a peaceful atmosphere even when talking about violent events. However, it didn't work for me that well. I ended up feeling distant from the events and the people in the story, never understanding their motivations or reactions to events. I suppose I enjoyed the read, but I didn't especially look forward to getting back to it each evening. This book is the first in what's called the Border Trilogy, including The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain. However, I happened to have listened to part of The Crossing on audio tape a few years ago, and it didn't involve any of the same characters, so perhaps it's series only in that it takes place in the same region at about the same time and has a similar mood. On the other hand, Cities of the Plain appears to involve John Grady Cole, or perhaps his son or grandson, so I'm not sure what to make of calling this a trilogy.
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