Cormac McCarthy - All the Pretty Horses: Movie Tie-in Edition

Pros: Great saga, superb characterizations, thought provoking

Cons: Style is initially challenging

Review: (This is a review of the complete BORDER TRILOGY, ALL THE PRETTY HORSES is the first book in the trilogy)

I finished Cormac McCarthy's BORDER TRILOGY (ALL THE PRETTY HORSES, THE CROSSING, and CITIES OF THE PLAIN) this afternoon. I knew last...

Pros: beautiful, poetic writing

Cons: ends too quickly

Review: Here's another of my genre book reviews! I must note that I loved this book. If my analysis of ALL THE PRETTY HORSES suggests to you that I think the book failed, then I'm sorry. All I'm saying is that the book failed as a western; it succeeds most...

Pros: writing writing writing

Cons: possibly difficult to read (if you're looking for an excuse to not read it)

The Bottom Line: Highly recommended, especially for those who think American literature has lost its artistic integrity...

Review:
Cormac McCarthy writes likes he doesn't care if you ever read one of his books. Many authors, even the good ones at times, are guilty of pandering to an audience or trying a bit too hard to please others outside of themselves. From the very...

Pros: Amazing prose, stories and characters

Cons: Unusual prose may not be for everyone

Review: When I think of Westerns, I think of John Wayne and maybe Clint Eastwood. I think of hokey films where the only women are prostitutes and the only men who do good are big white guys with strong jaws. It might be a generational thing, but I've never much...

Pros: Great Entertainment

Cons: Bad guys die

Review: I think that all western movies are great for the kids and the whole family! There is something about them that make the movies so great and makes you want to watch them over and over. Now days it seems that everyone has lost touch with the western...

Pros: a good story beautifully told

Cons: deeper characterization desired

Review: I first read ALL THE PRETTY HORSES several years ago. The next thing I did was read it again. McCarthy's language stuns. He is thoroughly original in his presentation, in his voice, in his truths. I have since read other works by him, and his talent...

Pros: Captivating story, Mastery of language.

Cons: No punctuation can be annoying.

Review: Cormac McCarthy pays homage to the American greats with his drawn out sentences and highly sensory descriptions. He also refuses to use any sort of punctuation, a choice that is rather troublesome during long conversations, but overall compliments the...

Pros: Story, characters, setting, strength of style...

Cons: ...But that style is too easy, and sometimes dubious.

The Bottom Line: rode a horse, once. When he was 7.

Review: After reading Cormac McCarthy's stellar T he Road, I immediately felt pressed to pick up the older and more popular All the Pretty Horses. Some might label the author's non-grammatical method as pretentious, but ...

Pros: Incredible descriptions and complex emotions

Cons: Difficult reading because of McCarthy's style

Review: All the Pretty Horses, the first book in Cormac McCarthy's The Border Trilogy, is the kind of book that pushes beyond the boundary of genre. Here, McCarthy sets up a typical western plot. John Grady, a youth, and his friend Blevins ride into Mexico to...

Pros: powerful prose in a simple coming-of-age tale

Cons: some passages may require translation

Review: I love stories of the American West, particularly those with stoic, rugged characters such as in Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove. John Grady Cole, protagonist in All the Pretty Horses, is pretty much a descendant of such characters. A 16-year-old Texan,...