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A review by willowbiblio
Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
5.0
"He sat a long time and he thought about his life and how little of it he could ever have foreseen and he wondered for all his will and all his intent how much of it was his own doing."
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This opened with a massive shift in tone; quite jovial men, especially Billy, at the bar. It took me a minute to realize Billy was 28 and John Grady was 19. Billy read like an entirely new character for much of the book, especially when alongside John Grady. He was way more talkative and less contemplative. This shifted as the book went on.
This one struck a perfect balance with the monologues that "The Crossing" just didn't quite manage. Billy's story about why he helped the Mexicans with their tire shows how kind acts reverberate through the world.
McCarthy captured the irrationality of youth in love well. It was like both Billy and John Grady were being given the same challenges from their solo books to see if they had learned. Billy was again left saying he should have protected this younger brother figure better, while John Grady's knife fight left him dead. It raised the question if we can learn from our experiences or if we're just doomed to stay on a loop forever.
The fast forward to Billy at 78 was heartbreaking. How his life and resources shrunk as time went on was incredibly sad. This trilogy was really a remarkable contemplation on human nature and if our lives truly matter, especially once we're gone.
-------
This opened with a massive shift in tone; quite jovial men, especially Billy, at the bar. It took me a minute to realize Billy was 28 and John Grady was 19. Billy read like an entirely new character for much of the book, especially when alongside John Grady. He was way more talkative and less contemplative. This shifted as the book went on.
This one struck a perfect balance with the monologues that "The Crossing" just didn't quite manage. Billy's story about why he helped the Mexicans with their tire shows how kind acts reverberate through the world.
McCarthy captured the irrationality of youth in love well. It was like both Billy and John Grady were being given the same challenges from their solo books to see if they had learned. Billy was again left saying he should have protected this younger brother figure better, while John Grady's knife fight left him dead. It raised the question if we can learn from our experiences or if we're just doomed to stay on a loop forever.
The fast forward to Billy at 78 was heartbreaking. How his life and resources shrunk as time went on was incredibly sad. This trilogy was really a remarkable contemplation on human nature and if our lives truly matter, especially once we're gone.