All the Pretty Horses

Rating:
Summary: It could have been better
Review: Im sorry but I cant like this book, it is full of unending sentences, bad grammar and a society domanated by men, where women rareley have name and are only used for the plesure of men. The book is unrealistic and writen like it is a common for an seventeen year old to self cauterize a bullet wound with a burning hot gun barrel. I give MaCarthy credit for trying to make a poetic book but I just dont feel that you can romantasize throwing up, or use the word "blood" so many times. Although I do admit that the book did have many thought provoking conversations between Rawlins and John Grady Cole.

Rating:
Summary: Cowboyism and The American Frontier
Review: This novel is a gem in the shelf of Americana. It requires moderate input by the reader, but I enjoyed how McCarthy contrasts the minimalism of the American cowboy to the multiplicity of Mexicana. McCarthy deftly presents the Cowboy world as rooted in the American frontier, a place where there are few or no political boundaries and a lot of open space. Just the right amount of humor balanced out the violent descriptions of the rough cowboy life. This is a wonderful tribute to Americanism.

Rating:
Summary: On the 'favourite' bookshelf. .
Review: Before I start I want to say I loved this book. It was enjoyable and profound and I will recommend it to nearly everyone. However some of the sentences were too long, I think someone counted 40+ ANDS in one sentence? and it was difficult to read at times. This was not necessary in my opinion. I am a fast reader and I sometimes overlooked the meaning of whole paragraphs because of this problem. It meant that a lot of backtracking was necessary. Hemingway used long sentences as well, leading one reviewer to call it deceptively simple writing. I would call it unnecessarily complicated. The best books should be a pleasure to read. I would say easy to read, but then I would need to define 'easy'. No, writers write for people to READ, and they read not because they have to , but because they want to, where it is an enjoyable pursuit. I did enjoy this book. McCarthy is very good at his craft. But I cannot resolve this issue of over long sentences. Can someone explain why they NEED to be this long???? Another thing. . On the front of my version was a review by the Guardian (quality newspaper in UK) declaring this book to be one of the greatest works of american literature ever or something. And then looking at the reviews within this site, I cannot help my distasteful feeling at the pomposity with which some people approach commentary. YES, YES, YES, YES this is a good book, but so is Catch 22, and Catcher In The Rye etc etc Hearing what people have to say about Cormac McCarthy's writing is like listening to sycophantic supporters at a radical politics rally. Its not the only book in the world you know. .

Rating:
Summary: An excuse for a book
Review: There are several books which I recall reading, being an english professor, none of which are this aggrivating. There are several objects of my disliking contained in the composition: nullified usage of quotations, run-on sentences, and the overwhelming ammount of conjunctions. Did this fellow fail English 101?

Rating:
Summary: simply beautiful
Review: cormac mccarthy's striking, bleak story of john grady cole's maturation is a marvel in both language and storytelling that is most certainly for the mature reader, and one who loves reading at that. This is not a light tale, and the violence is often excruciatingly graffic, and his unusual lack of punctuation (there's not a quotation mark to be found) can put off a reader who is not willing to look past this. In fact, the lack of quotation marks in conversations has the interesting effect of making the blend almost seemlessly with the descriptions... speaking of which, there are some truly beautiful passages in this book, worth quoting for the masterful pictures they paint. This magnificent book should be read by anyone who's mature enough to handle it's unconventionalism, and it's violent themes.

Rating:
Summary: Slow down and linger in the Dreamscape
Review: For all of you who are worried about the aforementioned spanish content - give in to it. I read the book with zero knowledge of spanish and loved every minute of it. McCarthy understands lyrical novel writing and is in the same league as Ondaatje when it comes to letting words play music upon the inner voice. The very clip and melody to the spanish conveys its meaning. To dissuade yourself from this novel because of some spanish would be to dissuade yourself from one of the seven wonders of modern literature. Fierceness, Love, Courage, and Truth - these are the concerns of McCarthy's characters, and with their integrity, we can glimpse what is possible in our own lives when we are true.

Rating:
Summary: unexpectedly mesmerizing
Review: I picked up this book, having seen it listed for readers who enjoyed "Cold Mountain". I was stunned by what I consider pretty lush prose, considering the barren landscape and lifestyle McCarthy is trying to describe. The stylistic choices in this novel (the use of Spanish, no quotations) that seem to have bothered others (and in "The God of Small Things" drove me batty) seem perfectly matched to the story itself; the starkness of the very appearance of the page matches the story. McCarthy did a wonderful job, in my opinion, of showing us people who just manage to keep going - they persever in spite of all the obstacles. I loved this book, and plan to follow up with the other two volumes in the trilogy.

Rating:
Summary: A Simply Amazing Novel
Review: Never have i felt more in touch with a novel than with this one. Though on surface i would seem to have nothing in common with the charecter John Grady, his feelings about life and his struggle with inescapable hope are relatable for just about anyone. McCarthy's style flows much more than most contemporary writers' do, and his words do complete justice to the beauty of the terrain of Mexico and Texas. A wonderful read, easy to understand and extraordinarily influencing.

Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable, shades of "Lomesome Dove"
Review: I struggled initially with the author's style. But after a few pages, I was so caught up in the story that the writing style was no longer noticeable and came to realize that it was an important contribution to the tone of the book. It was a great adventure that caused me to put aside my current Tom Clancy and spend the weekend with "All The Pretty Horses." It was good enough that I have ordered the second and third books in this triology.

Rating:
Summary: Aggrivating, to say the least
Review: This is a unique book, to say the very least. It is also HIGHLY overrated. It is NOT as good as the fantastic reviews of it would have you believe. It's very aggrivating and confusing to read. To begin with, all the Spanish is aggrivating to wade through, especially when you do not speak the language. (I've been told it's all meaningless by people that have translated it all, but it's still aggrivating.) The dialogue is hard to follow, and the complete lack of punctuation makes me wonder if McCarthy failed freshman English in high school. (Throughout the entirety of the book, I kept thinking that if I wrote a paper as grammatically flawed as this novel for school, I would fail miserably, and I sure wouldn't win any awards.) The one saving grace of the novel comes with Alejandra, and she is the only interesting character as far as I'm concerned. Her final scenes are emotional and painful to read, and it's impossible not to feel the same emotions John Grady feels. This is the one good point to the novel, but it's not enough to save the 200+ below-parr pages that comes before and after it. Personally, I'd much rather have read a novel about Rawlins than John Grady.