The book I chose to start the summer off with was All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. I had not read any of this author's work until one of his novels was suggested to me by Greg Froese and it was introduced into our Honors curriculum. The author has an incredibly unique style, and three of his novels are my summer reading list. All the Pretty Horses was my first because I found a copy of it at a garage sale in May. Sometimes I use such incredibly deep and meaningful methods of selecting literature to explore.
All the Pretty Horses is a somewhat modern-day Western that follows two teenagers from Texas as they run away from home and search for adventure and meaning while riding across the sunbaked frontier of Mexico. They are joined by a third kid who rounds out their little riding party. The primary protagonist, John Cole, as to talk his best friend and riding companion into letting the kid, named Blevins, ride with them. Cole is a good person at heart, not because he is trying to be one but because he simply is by nature. He also seems to value the fact that Blevins rides a massive bay horse. Throughout this novel, we see decisions made and actions take, both honorable and despicable, based on the feelings the characters have for horses. I am not a cowboy, and my riding days ended when I was in middle school and Grampie sold Prince. Blaze, and Scout, the gelding, mare, and Shetland pony that we rode on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at the farm east of Ellsworth. However, I found interesting the passages in the novel when Cole would speak softly to an unbroken mare or calm him mount during a thunderstorm. Cole was a master when it came to horses, despite his youth.
It was his connection to horses that earned him favor on the hacienda where he and his friend Rawlings found work. It was also what allowed him to fall into favor with the ranch's owner, and eventually, with that proud man's teenage daughter. I am not going to ramble on through a plot summary, but I will say that this novel has a Huckleberry-ish air about it for me, with Old Muddy replaced by the dry and dusty of the frontier. It offers adventure, romance, and suspense. The protagonist must not only explore an unknown land that seems created as a perfect place for him to spend his life, but also his own morality and conscience in a society full of prejudice, racism, and social bias, a world where morality seems to shift depending on who you are, what you can do for those in power, and who your ancestors might have stood with. There is cold-blooded murder and family vengeance There is a prison fight scene that would make Kurt Sutter proud. There is human decency and compassion. There is young love that challenges society. All of this is connected by the horses, animals that offer Cole a purity that society does not seem to hold. They are honest in their reactions, in their demeanor, and in their attitudes; no bias or prejudice creeps into their actions. In that sense, Cole is much like those horses he values and loves so much. He seems to have found a kindred spirit, one which resides within a raven-haired angel who finds freedom atop a stallion and in the arms of a gringo. Seems to have found.
This novel was different, It was odd in the sense that the first part of the book was rather "slow" as the characters developed and the plot unfolded. Despite this quality, which fit perfectly with the plot fo the time and the realism of the work, I continually found myself draw pack to the text. I wanted to know what would happen to Cole, Rawlings, and Blevins. I wondered where they would settle, and if Rawlings would allow the nuisance Blevins to remain a part of their group. One evening, I rode with the boys for from early in the evening until the sun set. It was during that passage that the mood of the novel shifted to more harrowing and violence became more prevalent. Oddly enough, it was also during this passage that loyalty, love, and morality gained prominence. One of the qualities that I love about McCarthy is his presentation of the "adult" aspects of his writing. His violence is never gratuitous. He and Sutter share that quality. Violence is a part of the world in which these people exist and grow, and the violence drives the characters' development and plot's advancement. So much of today's popular literature simply uses violence, sex, or course language simply for shock value. Sometimes, that is needed, but to use it in isolation from any higher literary purpose is cheap and lazy. That is one reason why I love McCarthy and Sutter. Everything has a higher purpose. That purpose may take time to present itself, but the payoff is usually worthwhile.
In the end, I would say I truly enjoyed this novel. For some, the laid-back ride through the desert into the thunderstorm that ignites the conflict with its lightning and thunderclaps may seem somewhat dry, but it is both necessary and worth the ride. The sprinkling of Spanish into the dialogue might frustrate some readers, but it is easily overcome and plays a part in the realism. McCarthy's omission of some basic punctuation, especially quotation marks, may become a stumbling block for readers who let it. However, it also forces McCarthy to create stronger characters who are easily identifiable through their words and how they use them. Amazingly, what initially appears to be a weakness of the writer eventually proves an asset and tool that allows him to set himself and his writing apart from other pieces of literature.
So, as summer begins to roll, as it always does, I recommend you take a moment and pick up a book. If you do not know which one and no garage sales are handy, snag a copy of All the Pretty Horses. Give it a chance, and enjoy the ride. I definitely did.
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