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LeAnn's review

All the Pretty Horses (Border Trilogy, Vol 1)
by Cormac McCarthy

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469571.All_the_Pretty_Horses?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="All the Pretty Horses (Border Trilogy, Vol 1)" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1204745310m/469571.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469571.All_the_Pretty_Horses?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">All the Pretty Horses</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4178.Cormac_McCarthy">Cormac McCarthy</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4336408?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 5 of 5 stars I confess that I'd heard about this book a while back,but like others on this site, mistook it for a Louis L'Amour kind of book. I'm glad to finally come around and read it, even if Westerns aren't naturally my type of story.
 
 I just finished it, and as with every book I review here, these are my initial thoughts. Sometimes, after some time has passed, I find that I've sifted the story and writing unconsciously and don't like it as well as I did just after finishing. All the Pretty Horses strikes me as the kind of weighty book that I need to reread in order to appreciate the beauty and richness of the writing. The fact that the main character, John Grady Cole, is only 16 and rather mature seems irrelevant. The fact that the 72-year-old Mexican duena he meets speaks for pages in paragraphs also seems irrelevant. My disbelief remained suspended for the entirety of the novel and I wanted to underline segments or pick out salient quotes for my signature line -- but I borrowed the book from the library! I also feel like I need Cliffs Notes or a good book discussion to really appreciate the book.
 
 I loved the dialogue, what there was of it. It's extremely hard to write dialect well—an editing book I have advises against it—but McCarthy's ear is true and I found myself adopting a Texas accent as I read a passage out loud. The characters really stood out once I'd read enough dialogue to distinguish them by their expressions. I also loved how Rawlins, Cole's friend, played the role of guide for me, forewarning Cole and me, the reader, what was going to happen. When he disappears with a third of the story to go, I felt a little worried.
 
 I plan to read more Cormac McCarthy, but I'm a little worried because it sounds like some of his other books, especially the other two in this trilogy, are darker and gorier. That's too bad because I think he's in a league of his own and don't want to find myself unable to read him because he depresses me.
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/158261?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

LeAnn's review
rating:
recommended for: Lovers of finely crafted language

I confess that I'd heard about this book a while back,but like others on this site, mistook it for a Louis L'Amour kind of book. I'm glad to finally come around and read it, even if Westerns aren't naturally my type of story.

I just finished it, and as with every book I review here, these are my initial thoughts. Sometimes, after some time has passed, I find that I've sifted the story and writing unconsciously and don't like it as well as I did just after finishing. All the Pretty Horses strikes me as the kind of weighty book that I need to reread in order to appreciate the beauty and richness of the writing. The fact that the main character, John Grady Cole, is only 16 and rather mature seems irrelevant. The fact that the 72-year-old Mexican duena he meets speaks for pages in paragraphs also seems irrelevant. My disbelief remained suspended for the entirety of the novel and I wanted to underline segments or pick out salient quotes for my signature line -- but I borrowed the...more

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