Define Books To The Border Trilogy: All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, Cities of the Plain (The Border Trilogy #1-3)

Original Title: The Border Trilogy: All the Pretty Horses / The Crossing / Cities of the Plain
ISBN: 0375407936 (ISBN13: 9780375407932)
Edition Language: English
Series: The Border Trilogy #1-3
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The Border Trilogy: All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, Cities of the Plain (The Border Trilogy #1-3) Hardcover | Pages: 1040 pages
Rating: 4.44 | 5449 Users | 309 Reviews

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Title:The Border Trilogy: All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, Cities of the Plain (The Border Trilogy #1-3)
Author:Cormac McCarthy
Book Format:Hardcover
Book Edition:First Edition
Pages:Pages: 1040 pages
Published:September 28th 1999 by Everyman's Library (first published 1994)
Categories:Fiction. Westerns. Literature. Novels. Historical. Historical Fiction. American. Classics

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I have this vague idea of going back and writing reviews of some of my favorite books, read long before I heard of Goodreads. And yet strangely, it’s somehow harder to write reviews of the books I love the best. I’m not sure why that is- maybe it’s because I feel SO MUCH for the books that are like old, beloved friends, that combing through all my weighty feelings and associations with them to find the right words is almost impossible. So there is my disclaimer that this will probably be a rambling, besotted jumble of thoughts, more than a true review.

I have a great deal of respect for Cormac McCarthy’s talent, and have been impressed by everything I have ever read by him. That said, these three books are the only ones that I truly love. I love almost everything about them, the unique, gorgeous poetry of McCarthy’s syntax and the depth of his philosophy, the complexity of his primary characters, who I love dearly. I also love how deeply he draws on numerous archetypes and myths that span almost every era of World Literature. You can delve deep with McCarthy, folks- as deep as any literary-analysis loving English major/book nerd dares to go. Personally, I wrote a 30 page paper on the role of myth and legend in the trilogy for a graduate level literature class, and it was my favorite paper that I wrote in college. There was just SO MUCH to sink my teeth into, and I never enjoyed analyzing literature so much before or since.

The first book in the trilogy is the most famous, winner of the National Book Award, frequently on AP Literature exams, etc. (And also, sadly, the inspiration for an absolutely horrid film version starring Matt Damon.) All the Pretty Horses is the boyhood story of John Grady Cole, a post World War version of a questing knight. His journey into the wild open land of Mexico, in search of a world that no longer exists (if it ever did, outside of stories) is at the simplest level a brilliantly drawn coming of age story. But instead of the clichéd resolution (adolescent loses his innocence and idealism after facing harsh realities/darkness of life) John Grady, the true Quixotic hero, manages to find a path where the idealism and belief in beauty outlives the innocence, and I think that’s a gorgeous thing.

The second book in the trilogy, The Crossing, is my favorite of the three. I love the two young brothers, Billy and Boyd, so very much, and McCarthy’s writing is so raw and beautiful it sometimes physically hurts. I also love his brilliant incorporation of the Corrido (Spanish ballads about oppression, history and tragedy, and often Quixotic reform) and the social bandit/outlaw myth. But it’s Billy’s story most of all, how his deeply sensitive nature is both shaped by and shapes fate, and how he is destined to love and try desperately to save wild, doomed creatures- both human and animal. I really can’t say much more about this one, because I’ll end up either giving copious spoilers or crying, or both.

The third and final book, Cities of the Plain, covers much more time, and completes the stories of the two protagonists from the other books, Billy and John Grady. While in my opinion this is the weakest in the trilogy, McCarthy’s weakest is still better than most contemporary novels I have read. And I love the relationship that develops between Billy and John Grady, and how seamless and authentic their characterization is throughout the trilogy.

While any of the three books can be read alone, in my opinion they shouldn’t be. The full effect of McCarthy’s poignant story about these two young men, and all they loved and lost , only comes from reading all three together.


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Ratings: 4.44 From 5449 Users | 309 Reviews

Write-Up Based On Books The Border Trilogy: All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, Cities of the Plain (The Border Trilogy #1-3)
All the Pretty HorsesMy first impression was that this book just wasnt quite as immediately striking as The Road (one of my two favourite books of all time). That is to say, there were significant pros, but also some cons, which leads me to a good, rather than great, rating. The undeniable and significant pro is that the world McCarthy recreates is captivating and leaves you with a lasting impression and an understanding of its reality. It is a world of men and horses, of grave injustice that is

I first read All The Pretty Horses camping on the beach in Sonora, Mexico. I had never read McCarthy before and it blew me away. The rhythm of the prose mimics the gait of a horse on an open range, the lyrical descriptions of the Southwestern landscape dead-on. Well-crafted (and often humorous) dialogue with a careful ear for cadence and dialect.However upon subsequent readings, and further exploring the Trilogy, I became less enthralled and more conflicted. In The Crossing, the prose becomes

Mar 13 ~~ Wow. Gotta catch my breath. Review coming tomorrow.Mar 14 ~~ First of all, a big Thank You to GR friend Daniel for suggesting I read these books. I would have missed an amazing experience if not for your tip!This particular volume contains the three books of McCarthy's border trilogy: All The Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities Of The Plain. I have been immersed in these books for a month. Was it a good idea to read them one right after the other? In many ways McCarthy's world is

I really liked these books individually, but in that capacity there were things that kept me from absolutely flipping over them. With All the Pretty Horses, I just wasn't that into John Grady Cole's character - a bit too good, too easily admirable. The book gave us two other significant characters so it's not just the "JGC is awesome" show, but he's so obviously the superior product to them that it's hard to fully rally behind them even for contrarians like myself who couldn't fully get behind

totally killer. McCarthy delves into a totally sad time period. You're still riding a horse, but everyone else is driving cars. You become an old man, a migrant worker your whole life, with a dwindling skill-set of dwindling importance in a world being modernized. In your youth you dragged a pregnant wolf all the way to Mexico because you didn't want to kill her, only to have her taken from you and die in a dogfight. "The Crossing" is the saddest book I have ever read. Rape and murder and

Reviews:- All The pretty Horses- The Crossing- Cities of the Plain

All the Pretty Horses:John Grady leaves Texas, knowing that his mother is selling the family ranch. Taking his friend Rawlins, they light out for Mexico, where trouble and passion are as much a part of the landscape as rock, dirt and horseflesh. I dont think there is a writer more suited to westerns; McCarthys dialogue is sparse and dry, yet shot with amusement and even affection. His descriptions are a panorama of vivid and moving immediacy, his narration is pragmatic and immersive, the action