All the Pretty Horses

- Cormac McCarthy

Part one of Cormac McCarthy’s The Border Trilogy is the tale of John Grady Cole, a man of few words but with a strong moral code (much like those good ol’boys of Hemmingway’s), who heads ‘down Mexico way’ with his friend Rawlins on horseback after eviction from the Texas ranch where he grew up; spoiling the life he had imagined for himself. McCarthy explores this loss and that of innocence. Whilst not as grim as The Road, long pallid and rambling sentences detract from possible enjoyment and the overwrought patriotism was difficult to bear. I shan’t read Parts two and three.

Rating **