Ratings26
Average rating4.1
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)
Featured Series
3 primary booksThe Border Trilogy is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 1992 with contributions by Cormac McCarthy.
Reviews with the most likes.
The first of a trilogy, but it stands well on its own, and is by far my favorite. A border story, mostly in old Mexico.
I ain't afraid to die.
That's good. Helps you die. Doesn't help you to live.
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.
I hadn't read a McCarthy book since The Road years and years ago and this was terrific. I always thought this was some sort of soapy western based on the the movie adaptation, which I admittedly have not seen. There's a romance aspect to this, and it is indeed a novel with a romantic heart. However, this is a novel more about the love of the West than interpersonal romance.
Great dialog. I'd recommend it if you're already a fan of Westerns.