All the Pretty Horses (UK edition)

by Cormac McCarthy

Paperback, 302 pages

Spanish language

Published Nov. 8, 1998 by Pan Books Ltd.

(14 reviews)

All the Pretty Horses is a novel by American author Cormac McCarthy published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1992. Its romanticism (in contrast to the bleakness of McCarthy's earlier work) brought the writer much public attention. It was a bestseller, and it won both the U.S. National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Along with The Crossing (1994), and Cities of the Plain (1998), it constitues McCarthy's "Border Trilogy", an elegy for the American Frontier, written in an unconventional format which omits traditional Western punctuation (such as quotation marks) and makes use of polysyndetic syntax in a manner similar to that of Ernest Hemingway. The book was adapted as a 2000 eponymous film, starring Matt Damon and Penélope Cruz, and directed by Billy Bob Thornton. (main source EN.wikipedia)

26 editions

DaveNash3 reviewed All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (The Border Trilogy, #1)

Review of 'All the Pretty Horses' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

First Cormac McCarthy book I’ve read and his style could not be ignored from page one. First McCarthy writes these long never ending sentences describing the western landscape, which put the reader in the mood of the times. Second his dialog doesn’t have much punctuation and is interlaced with Spanish. I didn’t love the style, but found acceptance.
The story: a different take on the journey motif. The young man left with few choices, decides to go to a foreign country. In the foreign country he faces a series of trails. He consummates with the most desirable female of that land. However, he can’t take her back. There is a consolation prize; horses. He is as infatuation with horses as women. So while he doesn’t get the girl, he gets a horse.
I don’t know how much he really changes. It’s not the classic journey or bildungsroman. There is the Dances with Wolves piece where he takes the foreign woman, which is the same as the Avatar however, there isn’t a lot of reflection on feelings here – these are the last cowboys. There is a story of two friends on a journey, they stick with each other, until they have to split, but reunite.
The story takes place in 1949. So while the west of horses and cattle will disappear in a few years, maybe longer to the south in Mexico, there is no reflection or foreshadowing here.
The author engages the reader in a believable world just to the south of Texas - a gritty reality of cowboys, Mexicans and class consciousness.
I would recommend it.

Eduardo Santiago reviewed All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (The Border Trilogy, #1)

Review of 'All the Pretty Horses' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I can finally understand why people read McCarthy. If you haven't read him before, this might be a good one to start with: beautiful evocative language, memorable setting, not too much violence. But OK, that's it. I don't need to read it again, nor read any more of his books. I get it, and I get that I'm not smart enough to really appreciate his style, and that's fine.

Aside: do any women read McCarthy? And enjoy? I'd love to hear your perspectives if so.

markgalassi reviewed All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (The Border Trilogy, #1)

Review of 'All the Pretty Horses' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Still not quite done, but I had this reflection:

Just came across a very effective turn of phrase in Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses. I have been reading this book very slowly so as to savor all the amazing passages.

Page 226 of this edition, the main character has been riding past the ruins of an old cabin:

"There was a strange air to the place. As of some site where life had not succeeded."