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A review by huerca_armada
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
5.0
Ruthless in its execution, McCarthy's evocative prose and death grip-worthy pacing had me hooked from the first few pages. Travelling alongside the young John Grady Cole and his two companions through the wilderness of the Texas-Mexican borderlands, alternatively travelling, hunted, and in chains, All the Pretty Horses captivates with this saga. I have never quite felt connection with characters as I have with those that inhabit McCarthy's books, but above them all, the three companions that define this one are his most electrifying and endearing yet.
While written with more of an acerbic wit around the edges than most of his other works, I would hesitate to call All the Pretty Horses a happy or even a fun book. It is, at its core, a vehicle for some of the most banally nihilistic depictions of human evilness delivered in textual format, with the philosophical trimmings that leave one spinning in their seat and even, uncharacteristically for McCarthy, a love story. But within that core, the very nucleus of it, is a novel that is one of the most moving character arcs I have ever read. I heavily recommend this novel to all interested parties.
While written with more of an acerbic wit around the edges than most of his other works, I would hesitate to call All the Pretty Horses a happy or even a fun book. It is, at its core, a vehicle for some of the most banally nihilistic depictions of human evilness delivered in textual format, with the philosophical trimmings that leave one spinning in their seat and even, uncharacteristically for McCarthy, a love story. But within that core, the very nucleus of it, is a novel that is one of the most moving character arcs I have ever read. I heavily recommend this novel to all interested parties.