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finneganswake 's review for:
The Crossing
by Cormac McCarthy
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)