All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

I have read all sorts of books over the years, and very few of them have stuck in my memory, but the two that I had read by Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men and The Road), remain in my head. There is something about his story telling that is so compelling, that it's very hard to put the book down, even when the text makes for uncomfortable reading.

McCarthy's books are earthy and raw and All the Pretty Horses is no exception. It's the first book of a trilogy, and just a few days after starting it I was heading back to the library to pick up volumes 2 and 3 to make sure I could read them all back to back.

The story is set in the early 1930s and sixteen year old John Grady and his friend Rawlings secretly leave their comfortable homes in Texas and set off across the open country heading for Mexico. They are both experienced with horses and have a level of maturity that helps them manage the challenges of the terrain, but everything changes when a young lad called Blevins appears to be following them along the path. Blevins is a few years younger than they are but the horse he is riding is clearly a quality animal and it is unlikely that he came by it through legal means. John Grady and Rawlings have a hunch that Blevins will bring trouble if they let him ride with them, and they are not wrong.

The story covers a period of just a few months and McCarthy makes the whole experience of the journey on horseback come to life. Once they reach Mexico there are many lines spoken in Spanish, and there are no word for word translations, although the general meaning can often be guessed. John Grady speaks Spanish as his family back in Texas has always had Mexican workers on their ranch, and he hopes this skill will help them find work where they can be involved with horses.

Now that I have finished the first book, I am really looking forward to seeing what happens in the next two, but the story works exceptionally well as a stand-alone novel if anyone reads it in isolation. I think this is another book that is going to stay in my mind long after I take it back to the library.

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