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From:Cormac McCarthy , Vintage International ,
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User Rating: Amazon Sales Rank:#6684 |
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 Great language, not necessarily great story, 2008-09-30
I read this final volume of the "Border Trilogy" because I had read the first two. I was massively disappointed with the plot. It is far more pessimistic and dark than the first two volumes, and can leave the reader depressed. Yes, indeed, the language is as outstanding as ever, and one can hear the authentic speech of people in the particular place and time, but personally, I found that to be another reason to find the plot depressing: the more you feel for the characters, the more you want them to come out of the story at least somewhat intact.
All I can say without giving away too much is that those of us who feel compelled to finish this set of books need to get ready for a serious downer.
The Ending Of Two, 2008-06-28
It's been a while since I've read good fiction, and it seems I've read some stinkers of late.
But I went back to McCarthy and was welcomed back to his violent Texas border town world with open arms.
John Grady and Billy Parham were each the focus in their respective narratives about them, The Crossing and All The Pretty Horses, and here's where they story ends, or what comes to be of these two cowboys.
They're together on a ranch, working as hands, and John Grady falls in love with a young Mexican prostitute, and this sets the back drop of what happens in the novel.
It's rare to laugh out loud at a book, but I did this several times while reading the exchanges between the two main characters and the other ranch hands. There' s a love between them, for what they do and what they are, and you can see in the wording.
As much as I laughed at the dialogue, these books are never an easy pill to swallow with Cormac, as he takes you to places you don't want to go, and people die who you don't want to die. But isn't that a way to show how powerful his writing is?
In other stories, in most pop fiction, I'm not going to lose sleep over who is killed and who is let to live, but McCarthy connects you with his characters, with their flesh, weaknesses and flaws, and also with their more honorable sides. He makes you give a hang.
John Grady Cole wanted to take a girl who was in trouble, and give her a good life, not even mentioning that he loved her, and that is such a good sentiment and a powerful gesture. Everyone was against it but her and him, and he goes for it anyway.
This wasn't my favorite out of the Border trilogy. Most would pick All The Pretty Horses, but my heart places The Crossing above the rest.
That being said, this is a great read, and I highly recommend picking it up if you are a fan of modern day Westerns (set in the 30's or 40's), or if you are a fan of McCarthy.
Gripping, 2008-01-04
The conclusion of Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy is a solemn and beautiful exploration on the erosion of the classical west. McCarthy's dialog is truly masterful and naturalistic-the swing of the interactions paints a remarkably vivid picture of friendship and trust. We are also fed typical McCarthy elements: horrendous violence, prostitution, dog fights, horses, and sun-baked malaise. I found that the guarded and impenetrable nature of the protagonist's stoicism made them even more intriguing, and the climactic sequence demonstrates an impressive ability to manipulate tension. Cities of the Plain is a very fine aesthetic accomplishment, even if the concluding sequence is overly self-conscious and postmodern.
1 of 1 customers found the following review helpful:
 Omit epilogue, 2007-09-05
I think the epilogue adds nothing to the novel, unless somehow I missed the point entirely. C. M. has elsewhere more skillfully put forth his theme that our destinies are predetermined practically from the "big bang" and that, appearances to the contrary, we really have no choices. The last thirty pages get to sound like a harangue.
Besides, I would have welcomed a novel about Billy's later life. I love C. M.'s beautifully descriptive language, and the series is ending too quickly for my taste.
My first Cormac McCarthy book, 2007-07-22
I am enjoying the book. Shipping was so-so but that is what they told me up front so I'm satisfied.
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