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tomstbr's review against another edition
5.0
Superb. Each book out did the former. Actually indescribable how good it is. The epilogue of Cities will require a re-read...
woody1881's review against another edition
4.0
These three books are quite a good read. I liked the first book better than the second. The third was pretty decent as well. What makes these books great is the characters. Authentic and interesting people throughout the story. The stories are exceptionally detailed and very well set.
The books were excellent but there is a couple of things that made me have to power through certain parts. I took a lot longer to read these than most other books. There are several times in the books where there is a long philosophical aside that can take pages and pages. These don't seem to add to the overall story or understanding of the characters. My biggest complaint is the use of Spanish throughout the first two books especially. There are entire conversations in Spanish that are never translated into English. I spent a lot of time finding translations to avoid missing something. If only there was a glossary or something with the books for quick reference. I liked how the languages were used, adding to the authenticity, but wow did it drag out the time it took to get through to the story.
The books were excellent but there is a couple of things that made me have to power through certain parts. I took a lot longer to read these than most other books. There are several times in the books where there is a long philosophical aside that can take pages and pages. These don't seem to add to the overall story or understanding of the characters. My biggest complaint is the use of Spanish throughout the first two books especially. There are entire conversations in Spanish that are never translated into English. I spent a lot of time finding translations to avoid missing something. If only there was a glossary or something with the books for quick reference. I liked how the languages were used, adding to the authenticity, but wow did it drag out the time it took to get through to the story.
capitanmarkok's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
readmetwotimes's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Devo lasciar sedimentare un paio di giorni questa epopea grandiosa.
Wow.
Paesaggi splendidi, una scrittura scarna e allo stesso tempo intensa, personaggi memorabili.
McCarthy si conferma uno dei miei preferiti di sempre.
http://nonsempreiosonodelmiostessoparere.blogspot.it/2017/06/la-trilogia-della-frontiera-di-cormac.html
Wow.
Paesaggi splendidi, una scrittura scarna e allo stesso tempo intensa, personaggi memorabili.
McCarthy si conferma uno dei miei preferiti di sempre.
http://nonsempreiosonodelmiostessoparere.blogspot.it/2017/06/la-trilogia-della-frontiera-di-cormac.html
nilocennis's review against another edition
4.0
Rating represents The Border Trilogy as a whole, and is mostly brought down by Cities of the Plains, an imperfect synthesis of the thematic material before it. I should get some kind of AP Spanish credit for being able to understand like half of the untranslated Spanish in these books.
All the Pretty Horses is a subversive vaquero romance that introduces us to John Grady Cole and his buddy Rawlins, whose naïve approach to life south of the border brings them into trouble, especially when John Grady begins a flirtation with the daughter of the owner of the ranch where they work. McCarthy depicts the romance between the two as tender, while never forgetting that these are two children in a world that is utterly hostile to that kind of innocence. The romance, and the actions of a dumbass kid cowboy searching for a stolen horse, bring them to peril and nearly to ruin. The book is written in a more tender mode than McCarthy's preceding work, Blood Meridian, but the sweeping language never touches the romance. It can't. McCarthy's strange style, a synthesis of Melville and Hemingway (and a touch of Faulkner, though he's never as opaque), depicts the world as it is. Not as we want it to be.
The Crossing is the one true masterpiece of the trilogy, a book that deserves to stand with Blood Meridian and The Road as McCarthy's finest work. It depicts three separate journeys across the border by Billy Parham, another young cowboy. If All the Pretty Horse was a deconstruction of the cowboy romance, then The Crossing returns to the more general subversion of the Western seen in Blood Meridian, though it never reaches those heights of brutality. Billy's journey is almost picaresque in structure, as each of his trips south find him encountering strangers who either help or harm him, some of whom tell him Dostoevsky-esque stories rich in thematic depth. McCarthy's language is at its most esoteric here, and the ending is haunting.
Cities of the Plains seems almost bound to have been a lesser work; it brings together John Grady Cole and Billy Parham years later as hands on a ranch. Each alludes to their past travels to Mexico at some point but the text does not linger on these references, nor is this treated as some grand team-up; instead, we see John Grady Cole in a different light, believing in romance but without the narrative backing his desire. He wishes to marry a sixteen-year old sex worker from a Mexican brothel. He claims love, but there is the lingering memory of his unrequited romance and a certain sense of heroism behind his actions. Billy attempts to dissuade his younger colleague, but John Grady cannot be dissuaded. It culminates in one of the most harrowing fight scenes I've read in fiction. The book concludes with an epilogue that's probably better than much of what came before it; Cities of the Plains lacks the elegance of the previous two works, which may come from its origins as a screenplay. The style is closer to the sparser style seen in No Country For Old Men, and a certain thematic resonance is lost in the plot-driven narrative.
If it weren't for Cities of the Plains, I don't think these books would be seen as anything more than a continuation of of McCarthy's focus on the Western. Synthesizing the two books by uniting their protagonists lends us to consider the works as a whole, which I don't think is strictly necessary or even fruitful. These books lament the West even as they acknowledge the romance of it to be fictitious. It was what it was and now it is gone.
All the Pretty Horses is a subversive vaquero romance that introduces us to John Grady Cole and his buddy Rawlins, whose naïve approach to life south of the border brings them into trouble, especially when John Grady begins a flirtation with the daughter of the owner of the ranch where they work. McCarthy depicts the romance between the two as tender, while never forgetting that these are two children in a world that is utterly hostile to that kind of innocence. The romance, and the actions of a dumbass kid cowboy searching for a stolen horse, bring them to peril and nearly to ruin. The book is written in a more tender mode than McCarthy's preceding work, Blood Meridian, but the sweeping language never touches the romance. It can't. McCarthy's strange style, a synthesis of Melville and Hemingway (and a touch of Faulkner, though he's never as opaque), depicts the world as it is. Not as we want it to be.
The Crossing is the one true masterpiece of the trilogy, a book that deserves to stand with Blood Meridian and The Road as McCarthy's finest work. It depicts three separate journeys across the border by Billy Parham, another young cowboy. If All the Pretty Horse was a deconstruction of the cowboy romance, then The Crossing returns to the more general subversion of the Western seen in Blood Meridian, though it never reaches those heights of brutality. Billy's journey is almost picaresque in structure, as each of his trips south find him encountering strangers who either help or harm him, some of whom tell him Dostoevsky-esque stories rich in thematic depth. McCarthy's language is at its most esoteric here, and the ending is haunting.
Cities of the Plains seems almost bound to have been a lesser work; it brings together John Grady Cole and Billy Parham years later as hands on a ranch. Each alludes to their past travels to Mexico at some point but the text does not linger on these references, nor is this treated as some grand team-up; instead, we see John Grady Cole in a different light, believing in romance but without the narrative backing his desire. He wishes to marry a sixteen-year old sex worker from a Mexican brothel. He claims love, but there is the lingering memory of his unrequited romance and a certain sense of heroism behind his actions. Billy attempts to dissuade his younger colleague, but John Grady cannot be dissuaded. It culminates in one of the most harrowing fight scenes I've read in fiction. The book concludes with an epilogue that's probably better than much of what came before it; Cities of the Plains lacks the elegance of the previous two works, which may come from its origins as a screenplay. The style is closer to the sparser style seen in No Country For Old Men, and a certain thematic resonance is lost in the plot-driven narrative.
If it weren't for Cities of the Plains, I don't think these books would be seen as anything more than a continuation of of McCarthy's focus on the Western. Synthesizing the two books by uniting their protagonists lends us to consider the works as a whole, which I don't think is strictly necessary or even fruitful. These books lament the West even as they acknowledge the romance of it to be fictitious. It was what it was and now it is gone.
elena_monti's review against another edition
5.0
Cormac McCarthy è un fottuto visionario e una volta terminata La trilogia della frontiera, sono diventata una voyeur della sua vita.
Come fai ad inventarti un modo così, parallelo e distante, profondamente unico e suggestivo, e nello stesso tempo restare umano? Continuare a fare spesa? Leggere il giornale? Pagare le tasse?
‘Sulla superficie ricurva della terra buia e senza luce che sosteneva le loro figure e le innalzava contro il cielo stellato, i due giovani sembravano cavalcare non sotto ma in mezzo alle stelle, temerarie circospetti al contempo come ladri appena entrati in quel blu elettrico, come ladruncoli in un frutteto lucente, scarsamente protetti contro il freddo e i diecimila mondo da scegliere che avevano davanti a sé.’
Il Messico è colore e suggestione, un mondo di pura esteriorità che McCarthy raffigura nelle sue pagine in contrapposizione con il pallido impero degli USA.
Non mi sarei mai aspettata un estetismo estremo da un libro western. Nulla di stucchevole ma tutto ben calibrato, senza eccessi.
Il Messico ha un’anima antica. Oltre ad essere la frontiera, vista come una possibilità infinita di vita, diventa anche una possibilità infinita di morte. Le strade sterrate diventano tombe e il rosso del tramonto prende lo stesso sapore del sangue.
‘Sorrise. Parlava come uno che sembrava ritenere che la morte fosse la vera condizione dell’esistenza e la vita una semplice emanazione di quella.’
E prima di arrivare alla morte si passa per la natura selvaggia di animali poco inclini all’addomesticamento.
In Messico l’unica cosa che si riesce a tenere sotto controllo sono i ricordi, le storie narrate intorno al fuoco da viandanti senza meta. In Messico i ricordi hanno autorità e potere.
‘Come tutte le storie, anche questa nasce da una domanda. Le storie che ci parlano più intensamente hanno la capacità di sopraffare chi le racconta, e cancellare dalla memoria lui e le sue ragioni. Perciò la questione di chi stia veramente raccontando la storia è molto contingente.
Non è vero che tutte le storie nascono da una domanda.
Sì che è vero. Là dove ogni cosa è nota, non si da narrazione.’
Come fai ad inventarti un modo così, parallelo e distante, profondamente unico e suggestivo, e nello stesso tempo restare umano? Continuare a fare spesa? Leggere il giornale? Pagare le tasse?
‘Sulla superficie ricurva della terra buia e senza luce che sosteneva le loro figure e le innalzava contro il cielo stellato, i due giovani sembravano cavalcare non sotto ma in mezzo alle stelle, temerarie circospetti al contempo come ladri appena entrati in quel blu elettrico, come ladruncoli in un frutteto lucente, scarsamente protetti contro il freddo e i diecimila mondo da scegliere che avevano davanti a sé.’
Il Messico è colore e suggestione, un mondo di pura esteriorità che McCarthy raffigura nelle sue pagine in contrapposizione con il pallido impero degli USA.
Non mi sarei mai aspettata un estetismo estremo da un libro western. Nulla di stucchevole ma tutto ben calibrato, senza eccessi.
Il Messico ha un’anima antica. Oltre ad essere la frontiera, vista come una possibilità infinita di vita, diventa anche una possibilità infinita di morte. Le strade sterrate diventano tombe e il rosso del tramonto prende lo stesso sapore del sangue.
‘Sorrise. Parlava come uno che sembrava ritenere che la morte fosse la vera condizione dell’esistenza e la vita una semplice emanazione di quella.’
E prima di arrivare alla morte si passa per la natura selvaggia di animali poco inclini all’addomesticamento.
In Messico l’unica cosa che si riesce a tenere sotto controllo sono i ricordi, le storie narrate intorno al fuoco da viandanti senza meta. In Messico i ricordi hanno autorità e potere.
‘Come tutte le storie, anche questa nasce da una domanda. Le storie che ci parlano più intensamente hanno la capacità di sopraffare chi le racconta, e cancellare dalla memoria lui e le sue ragioni. Perciò la questione di chi stia veramente raccontando la storia è molto contingente.
Non è vero che tutte le storie nascono da una domanda.
Sì che è vero. Là dove ogni cosa è nota, non si da narrazione.’
asadaniels's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
McCarthy's epic is certainly a behemoth to behold, as the reader traverses the landscapes of Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. Readers are greeted with a funeral and this slow-paced trilogy gradually unravels a series of events fitting of a drama and an ensemble of characters who share in flaws and humanity - some more morally good than others but all a product of their world and time.
That was the impression I got from McCarthy, anyway. He presents his characters with a physical description lacking in detail compared to the environments he describes, but no less poetic and even in its paucity, one is able to conjure an image of how the characters may look. Likewise, his practice of describing movement down to the detail allows one to follow the capturing of a wolf or visualize the bloody killing of a character. This gruesome detailing may turn off some readers, akin to a prose-form of Quinton Tarantino's gratuitous gore, but that has not been my experience. For me, McCarthy's violence with its anatomical details seems almost scientifically detached from the violence's emotional force, lending itself to be a presentation of the blind state in which some murders may occur. Even so, the depth of the violence allows the reader to still feel a disgust or awe in what is happening.
Scenes of violence and meandering across the desert are broken up by lengthy monologues by characters, which gives the reader the opportunity to pause and consider some philosophical and theological questions. McCarthy touches on God, mortality, the changing of the American West in the twentieth-century, and, of course, love. Not just romantic love, but that love which young people possess through which they see the beauty of life and think that their time and place in the world is unique to all of those who came before. More than just stating these points, McCarthy presents them as arguments, either of himself or just of his characters. No right answers are presented, arguably, but the points are made for the reader to at least consider.
McCarthy's attention to detail as he describes a scene is quite powerful and leads to the reader being mentally in those spaces, as they can see the desert, the bushes, and the sky. In fact, while I did not do this, one may be aided if they pulled up a map that includes the various towns and mesa's described and they can trace the path of the various characters as they follow along.
A note on narrative perspective. McCarthy uses third-person omniscient, which one would expect to allow the reader to see-all and know-all in terms of what is happening. However, I think McCarthy's writing style, such as dropping readers into the middle of a scene or simply omitting certain details, allows the reader to experience a sense of confusion or mystery while reading his trilogy, instead of feeling their hand is being held. Of course, the usefulness of such a style depends on the subjective opinions of the reader.
I personally choose "The Crossing" as my favorite book from The Border Trilogy. I choose it due to the highlighting of McCarthy's unique prose, the monologue by one of the characters regarding "the cities of the plain", and the fraternal love and drama of the main characters.
That being said, all three books are a great read and each contribute to the rich artistic power of the complete trilogy. I cannot wait to read them all again!
That was the impression I got from McCarthy, anyway. He presents his characters with a physical description lacking in detail compared to the environments he describes, but no less poetic and even in its paucity, one is able to conjure an image of how the characters may look. Likewise, his practice of describing movement down to the detail allows one to follow the capturing of a wolf or visualize the bloody killing of a character. This gruesome detailing may turn off some readers, akin to a prose-form of Quinton Tarantino's gratuitous gore, but that has not been my experience. For me, McCarthy's violence with its anatomical details seems almost scientifically detached from the violence's emotional force, lending itself to be a presentation of the blind state in which some murders may occur. Even so, the depth of the violence allows the reader to still feel a disgust or awe in what is happening.
Scenes of violence and meandering across the desert are broken up by lengthy monologues by characters, which gives the reader the opportunity to pause and consider some philosophical and theological questions. McCarthy touches on God, mortality, the changing of the American West in the twentieth-century, and, of course, love. Not just romantic love, but that love which young people possess through which they see the beauty of life and think that their time and place in the world is unique to all of those who came before. More than just stating these points, McCarthy presents them as arguments, either of himself or just of his characters. No right answers are presented, arguably, but the points are made for the reader to at least consider.
McCarthy's attention to detail as he describes a scene is quite powerful and leads to the reader being mentally in those spaces, as they can see the desert, the bushes, and the sky. In fact, while I did not do this, one may be aided if they pulled up a map that includes the various towns and mesa's described and they can trace the path of the various characters as they follow along.
A note on narrative perspective. McCarthy uses third-person omniscient, which one would expect to allow the reader to see-all and know-all in terms of what is happening. However, I think McCarthy's writing style, such as dropping readers into the middle of a scene or simply omitting certain details, allows the reader to experience a sense of confusion or mystery while reading his trilogy, instead of feeling their hand is being held. Of course, the usefulness of such a style depends on the subjective opinions of the reader.
I personally choose "The Crossing" as my favorite book from The Border Trilogy. I choose it due to the highlighting of McCarthy's unique prose, the monologue by one of the characters regarding "the cities of the plain", and the fraternal love and drama of the main characters.
That being said, all three books are a great read and each contribute to the rich artistic power of the complete trilogy. I cannot wait to read them all again!
helenscheuerer's review against another edition
5.0
One of those books that will stay with you for a lifetime.
clayton_sanborn's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
5.0
Prose achievement of the century