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Liked It “If you don't mind translating a bit of Espanol, this book combines the raw naturalism of the south with sprinkles of the surreal. A love story for guys who don't like love stories.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“If you don't mind translating a bit of Espanol, this book combines the raw naturalism of the south with sprinkles of the surreal. A love story for guys who don't like love stories.”
Joe B wrote this review 12 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I wasn't as confident with this one until about 1/2 way through. McCarthy might be one of my favorite authors, definitely one of the best alive. ”
phi g wrote this review Wednesday, November 25 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The two protagonists finally meet for a great, but sad finale.”
Leif wrote this review Tuesday, September 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Another classic Cormac McCarthy tale of sweeping action where the border is the Rio Grande River and the land wears its geologic character like a well-worm hair shirt. The totally believable characters step off the page, they live and breathe. This book, much more than the first two of this trilogy, has a primitive humor that had me laughing out loud in conversations among the young cowboys and in some of the events. Although a good read on its own, the book is much more meaningful for a reader who has familiarity with All the Pretty Horses and The Crossing. This reader loved the book. It is NOT for the weak of heart. If you want a gentle romance, this is not it.”
Pete F wrote this review Wednesday, August 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Strangely, while I love Cormac McCarthy's later work ("No Country For Old Men," "The Road") and his early work ("Child of God" is a classic), I found The Border Trilogy to be tedious, boring, and even a bit forced. There are moments in each of these books--"All the Pretty Horses," "The Crossing," and "Cities of the Plain"--that stand out in the lyricism of the prose, the depth of the characterization, and even the height of their drama and conflict. The dog-hunting scene, for instance, is incredible and excruciating, all at once.
nholic wrote this review Tuesday, May 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
But too often in this trilogy, McCarthy drifts into extended stories within stories, and the themes just feel too blatant, too (as I said above) forced. We'll veer off course from the narrative to listen to some old man in Mexico talk about the spiritual nature of this or that, and ten pages later, we'll wonder why we're still reading about it. It's almost like the U.S.S. Indianapolis story from "Jaws," but replayed every fifteen pages or so.
"Cities of the Plain," I thought, was the best work in the trilogy, if only because it took two unconnected narratives (Billy Parham and John Grady Cole, from the first two books) and found a way to weave them together, ultimately showing the heartbreaking end for both characters, and for the way of life that they had always wanted to pursue (but never really could). When it's moving, really rolling, we start to make the sort of grandiose statements that you see on book jackets ("McCarthy is a genius!"), but when it's stalled, we wonder why we would ever proclaim the man a genius.
He's a great writer, and "Cities of the Plain" is worth reading, but I still get the impression that he could have made them a lot more streamlined, a lot more coherent, and the awards McCarthy reaped from the Border Trilogy are less a reflection of these particular works, and more a sort of lifetime achievement award, a "Sorry we didn't appreciate your earlier stuff!" consolation prize.”
“I bought this book because first, the author is famous for his work on All The Pretty Horses and, second, it's adapted into a movie..”
drol o wrote this review Wednesday, April 29 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The third book of McCarthy's Border Trilogy brings together the protagonists of the first two, John Grady Cole and Billy Parham, as they try to wring the last out of the dying cowboy lifestyle.
Paul wrote this review Tuesday, February 17 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The story itself is simpler, and easier to follow than the twists and turns of the first two books.
Getting resolution for this characters is nice, if bittersweet. Overall, however the book affected me less than the first two.”
“I liked that it brings the main characters from All the Pretty Horses and The Crossing together. A "quieter" book than those two.”
Andrew S wrote this review Friday, December 5 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I'm reading the border trilogy backwards, so this was my first taste of McCarthy's western setting. Stylistically the book sticks to the terse McCarthy formula; laconic descriptions and conversations say more by saying less. This seems more realistic with cowboys in a bleak western setting here than in his other world of appalachia, but it is good writing either way.
Joe C wrote this review Wednesday, July 23 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
It is interesting to note elements that McCarthy carries over from novel to novel, such as the wise blind man, the drinking cup at the spring, the wanderer, etc. It gives the comfort of familiarity, perhaps the only comfort one can truly derive from McCarthy.
Here, it was nice to have more of a traditionally recognizable plot progression-which would explain the trilogy's popularity. However, his epilogue was diffuse and unnecessary. It served more to insult the reader's intelligence than anything else, something like beating a dead horse. If you've read McCarthy, you already know what he's rambling on and on about at the end. But still, very good book.”
