I'm a firm believer in giving up on a book if it doesn't grab you in the first 50 pages. Life is too short, and full of too many great reads, to struggle with a book. When I first picked up All the Pretty Horses I was underwhelmed. Couple of teenage boys leave home to travel down to Mexico for...well, I was never really clear on the reason. Perhaps because they're young they don't need a reason. They find work and one falls in love with the ranch owner's daughter. Naturally, that doesn't go over well yada yada yada. I almost gave up. Almost.

The thing that finally sucked me in was the character development. Our protagonist, John Grady, learns about life in a hard way. It doesn't destroy him or scar him or anything. It just teaches him. He has been one of the most interesting and solid characters I've read in a story in a long time. I look forward to meeting up with him again in Cities of the Plain.