Scan barcode
canned6677's review against another edition
4.0
never finished it cause my library was threatening me with overdue fees but McCarthys ability to write scenery is just magnificent.
mindofaaronw's review against another edition
5.0
"Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real."
All the Pretty Horses is a deeply thought provoking western. McCarthy's first national breakthrough, it is clear why. The writing is exquisite, detailed, and memorable. If this is your first time reading McCarthy, don't do him a disservice - read every line and do it deliberately or you will miss so much.
All the Pretty Horses is a deeply thought provoking western. McCarthy's first national breakthrough, it is clear why. The writing is exquisite, detailed, and memorable. If this is your first time reading McCarthy, don't do him a disservice - read every line and do it deliberately or you will miss so much.
erickibler4's review against another edition
5.0
I am now officially a member of the Church of Cormac McCarthy, just as I am of the Churches of Steinbeck, of Atwood, of Twain, of Nabokov. Writers who for me can do no wrong.
In this book we meet John Grady Cole, a cowboy of sixteen years. In 1949, his mother has sold off the family ranch, leaving John Grady to his own devices. He sets off from Texas to Mexico with his friend Rawlins, riding their horses through the now fenced and parceled land, carefully dismantling and reattaching fencing as they go. The two end up reluctantly taking on a companion, the younger Jimmy Blevins, a loose cannon, who'll cause them a lot of trouble. South of the border, the country is unfenced and wilder. John Grady and Rawlins end up working as ranch hands. Part of their responsibility is to capture and break wild horses. John Grady ends up in a dangerous love affair, before the two young men run afoul of corrupt officials.
I'd call this a coming of age novel, except John Grady is already as seasoned, decent, and mature as any adult you're likely to meet. It's more a story of how the world itself doesn't measure up to the best of us. How the world is harsh. How it tends to knock the good right out of us. Well, it doesn't knock the good out of John Grady. By the end of the story he's troubled by guilt, though, even though he's blameless. He takes on guilt for the way the world is, how it makes a good man feel uneasy and out of place.
John Grady doesn't talk much. But there are three characters who are given a soapbox to speak fascinatingly for several pages. One is a wealthy man who runs a crime cartel from his prison cell. One is an old woman, a free thinker whose revolutionary ideas about her nation have narrowed into preservation of those nearest to her. The other is a judge who, like John Grady, has taken on guilt for things he shouldn't have, and knows it, but still can't shake it.
Strange to say it, but the best among us are the most troubled. They're the ones that are always second guessing themselves.
In this book we meet John Grady Cole, a cowboy of sixteen years. In 1949, his mother has sold off the family ranch, leaving John Grady to his own devices. He sets off from Texas to Mexico with his friend Rawlins, riding their horses through the now fenced and parceled land, carefully dismantling and reattaching fencing as they go. The two end up reluctantly taking on a companion, the younger Jimmy Blevins, a loose cannon, who'll cause them a lot of trouble. South of the border, the country is unfenced and wilder. John Grady and Rawlins end up working as ranch hands. Part of their responsibility is to capture and break wild horses. John Grady ends up in a dangerous love affair, before the two young men run afoul of corrupt officials.
I'd call this a coming of age novel, except John Grady is already as seasoned, decent, and mature as any adult you're likely to meet. It's more a story of how the world itself doesn't measure up to the best of us. How the world is harsh. How it tends to knock the good right out of us. Well, it doesn't knock the good out of John Grady. By the end of the story he's troubled by guilt, though, even though he's blameless. He takes on guilt for the way the world is, how it makes a good man feel uneasy and out of place.
John Grady doesn't talk much. But there are three characters who are given a soapbox to speak fascinatingly for several pages. One is a wealthy man who runs a crime cartel from his prison cell. One is an old woman, a free thinker whose revolutionary ideas about her nation have narrowed into preservation of those nearest to her. The other is a judge who, like John Grady, has taken on guilt for things he shouldn't have, and knows it, but still can't shake it.
Strange to say it, but the best among us are the most troubled. They're the ones that are always second guessing themselves.
francisco_nolasco's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
alexgreenough's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
cardamommy's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
bonnie6001's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
choptopapologist's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
not my favorite of mccarthy's but beautiful nonetheless
joshua_williams's review against another edition
4.0
Not a outlandish tale of western adventure everything feels grounded and real.
No crazy train robberies or saloon shoot outs just young men riding out to Mexico to find work , and finding trouble as well.( action does find its way into the story)
If I had one critique it's a coming of age story where I'd often forget the main characters age. He acts, like a man , is treated like a man (for the most part) and never seems to go through much growth and always "reckons" to do the right thing and acknowledges its not always the smart thing.
If you pressed me for a second I'd say the setting is just after ww2 and I'd never would, have remembered that if trucks weren't mentioned a couple of times.
I love our main cast and there interactions felt genuine I appreciate that this story doesn't get as dark as some of McCarthy's other works and still has great impact.
I'd suggest this book on its own merits regardless of the trigoly (haven't read the others)
No crazy train robberies or saloon shoot outs just young men riding out to Mexico to find work , and finding trouble as well.( action does find its way into the story)
If I had one critique it's a coming of age story where I'd often forget the main characters age. He acts, like a man , is treated like a man (for the most part) and never seems to go through much growth and always "reckons" to do the right thing and acknowledges its not always the smart thing.
If you pressed me for a second I'd say the setting is just after ww2 and I'd never would, have remembered that if trucks weren't mentioned a couple of times.
I love our main cast and there interactions felt genuine I appreciate that this story doesn't get as dark as some of McCarthy's other works and still has great impact.
I'd suggest this book on its own merits regardless of the trigoly (haven't read the others)