All The Pretty Horses

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Cormac McCarthy was raised in a Catholic home and even attended a Catholic school. Being a part of that denomination, it is no wonder that his novels incorporate a dark themes and ideas that suggest harmonious living between all human beings is impossible, as we all possess aggressive instincts and have lived in such a way that suggests life cannot be achievable without bloodshed. In McCarthy’s first instalment of the Border Trilogy, All The Pretty Horses features characters that live their life in a hurricane of evil that is only escapable in death.

The novel opens with the death of the grandfather of John Grandy Cole, a sixteen year old boy who grew up on said grandfather’s ranch in Texas. After the funeral, John discovers that his mother plans on selling the ranch to allow her to move to the booming city. Because the ranch and the ‘roughing it’ lifestyle is all John knows, he chooses to leave Texas with his friend Lacey Rawlins, and go to Mexico in search for adventure and hopefully a better life than his mother planned on giving him in Texas.

John and Rawlins find work on the ranch of Don Hector, and John soon proves himself a remarkable hand and shows a great deal of understanding for horses. Impressed by his knowledge, Don Hector puts him in charge of breeding the ranch’s horses. While on the job, John is introduced to and becomes infatuated with Hector’s daughter Alejandra.

When Hector finds out, he sends John and Rawlins to jail. After being bailed out by Alejandra’s aunt, Alfonsa, Rawlins returns to Texas, while John stays behind to reunite with Alejandra even though he has been warned about the dangers of seeing her. He finds Alejandra, but finds that she does not love him as he loves her. ...

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...re what essentially make the world go around. It’s the hideous truth about humanity.

Basically, John and Rawlins, John especially, are simply playing the role of cowboys. They are possessed by ideas and illusions of romance. It can be compared to the stories of knights battling all odds to find the princess locked in the tower. They go in search for a magical kingdom, Mexico, which is like a blast to the past, because during this time ,America is modernizing and becoming more industrial, and John is not ready for a world with fences.

Highly recommended for anyone wanting to visit the world of the wild west in the early fifties that is about to be lost to the new world of machinery and urban lifestyles. Also recommended for those who enjoy quality writing that engages you sense of relatability to characters that seem as tangible as the book itself.

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