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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
"He said that plans were one thing and journeys another," and for Billy Parham this story is all about the journey crossing the border, or more specifically three crossings. The story is told with a lyrical beauty that wonderfully frames Billy's experiencing life, death, and the struggles in between. At times surreal and at times deliberately questioning the nature (or perhaps the importance and lack thereof) of reality, this novel is evocative, moving, and hypnotic and well worth a read.
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Another high quality offering. Only two pitfalls for me: there are two overlong monologues that don't add anything to the journey, only the page count, and the amount of Spanish used highly outweighed the hints as to what the Spanish meant, so if all that dialogue had value beyond ascetics, I missed out. Still, a really good book.
slow-paced
4? 5? I'm right on the cusp of a 4.5 on this one. Enjoyed it a lot more than Child of God but not as much as either All the Pretty Horses or The Road.
Of the three journeys taken by Billy Parham in the book, I found the first a bit of a struggle but it really improved for me with the fraternal relationship. I really enjoy McCarthy's writing style but this is the first one where I've found the need to stop and translate the Spanish dialogue an imposition.
Minor things perhaps but that's pushes me to err on the side of 4, rather than 5 stars.
Of the three journeys taken by Billy Parham in the book, I found the first a bit of a struggle but it really improved for me with the fraternal relationship. I really enjoy McCarthy's writing style but this is the first one where I've found the need to stop and translate the Spanish dialogue an imposition.
Minor things perhaps but that's pushes me to err on the side of 4, rather than 5 stars.
It had been a very long time since a book made me cry.
A rare example of a "sequel" (or, at least, second entry in a trilogy) that improves upon its predecessor in most conceivable ways while also developing the thematic ethos that defines the series. As with All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing is structurally a compendium of a character crossing borders, both literal and figurative, while simultaneously encompassing the fundamental shifts of the era that more or less parallel said character's irrevocable venture from childhood innocence to adulthood. In spite of the structural similarity, The Crossing's melancholic tone noticably sets it apart from ATPH (which is perhaps an intentional device of thematic progression, as ATPH has already dissected the myth of the american cowboy and set up many themes and societal shifts that The Crossing really delves into the repercussions and concealed darkness of, blah blah blah I could yap about this for ages), and I also found it leagues more captivating. The meandering story occasionally struck me as tedious, yet I imagine the anecdotes that were somewhat lost on me would be much improved by a re-read (which I intend to do soon, especially if I become a bit more diligent regarding translation as a decent amount of the dialogue is in a language I barely know and despite hefty context clues I couldn't discern 100% of the meaning). The remainder of the narrative is absolutely fucking heartbreaking. I found myself devastated by so many moments - sure, there are obvious huge gut-punches, but even a few of the smallest descriptive sentences brought me to tears. There's a lot to be said for how McCarthy emulates the setting and environment through his prose, it's one of my favourite things about his work, and here description is used to absolutely perfect effect, page after page. Just massively impressive utilization of the medium, probably enough to include this among the pantheon of McCarthy's great works, though we'll see whenever I'm done with his oeuvre.
(Speaking of, the current cormac ranking is
1. Blood Meridian
2. The Crossing
3. NCFOM
4. All The Pretty Horses)
(Speaking of, the current cormac ranking is
1. Blood Meridian
2. The Crossing
3. NCFOM
4. All The Pretty Horses)
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Although I didn't go to Duncan HS, I remember once going through county spelling bee (Greenlee), I didn't make it to state tho. Some little 2nd grader did. Duncan has a nice pizza restaurant we frequented called Humble Pie, you could get fried tomatoes 🍅 for a topping. Out in York there was a restaurant called Gimmes I think? Then the point outta there is Three Way, actually a 4-Way intersection with an old drive in theater and a pitstop l. Phelps Dodge of course raised me and paid for my K-12 education. Lordsburg is about an hour from Duncan. We spent lots of time in Lordsburg working for the cage fights. From the east, taking Three Way through the Blackjack Mtns. Will take you to Glenwood if you take a left, and Silver City if you take a right. Glenwood is home of the Catwalk. Silver City is the home of Dirty Harry. The whole layout is shaped like a crescent moon. 🌙
"Men do not turn from God so easily you see. Not so easily. Deep in each man is the knowledge that something knows of his existence. Something knows, and cannot be fled nor hid from. To imagine otherwise is to imagine the unspeakable. It was never that this man ceased to believe in God. No. It was rather that he came to believe terrible things of Him."
Maybe aliens. 👽 That geography lesson just about covers Billy's and his brother Boyd's 'final destination'; I left my phone behind today and went on an adventure across town. Bringing it along was just excessive, and it's not even like I need to keep people updated or to even take pictures. I figure Cormac McCarthy led a mysterious life, I ache to read some biography that tells us what he was up to. There must've been a lot of horseback 🐎 riding. I've been reading words under my breath and what a fun Rabelaisan ilk & ink writer, I mean talk about Logorrheic, every flowery detail is just robust with sagacity. & Just thinking about Cormac saddling through Duncan turns me on.
"She said that to be a woman was to live a life of difficulty and heartbreak and those who said otherwise simply had no wish to face the facts."
Folks back home should read this one. 🤌🏻
"Men do not turn from God so easily you see. Not so easily. Deep in each man is the knowledge that something knows of his existence. Something knows, and cannot be fled nor hid from. To imagine otherwise is to imagine the unspeakable. It was never that this man ceased to believe in God. No. It was rather that he came to believe terrible things of Him."
Maybe aliens. 👽 That geography lesson just about covers Billy's and his brother Boyd's 'final destination'; I left my phone behind today and went on an adventure across town. Bringing it along was just excessive, and it's not even like I need to keep people updated or to even take pictures. I figure Cormac McCarthy led a mysterious life, I ache to read some biography that tells us what he was up to. There must've been a lot of horseback 🐎 riding. I've been reading words under my breath and what a fun Rabelaisan ilk & ink writer, I mean talk about Logorrheic, every flowery detail is just robust with sagacity. & Just thinking about Cormac saddling through Duncan turns me on.
"She said that to be a woman was to live a life of difficulty and heartbreak and those who said otherwise simply had no wish to face the facts."
Folks back home should read this one. 🤌🏻
