All the Pretty Horses and Cities of the Plain stand out as by far the most lucid and thus tolerable novels within the trilogy. In contrast, The Crossing is nearly insurmountably tedious. It abounds with the very worst aspects of all three novels and, in my view, of Cormac McCarthy's style in general. There is the laughably pretentious, brooding, and self-serious prose that seems to try too hard to be profound. Then there are the noxiously ponderous casts of needless characters who drone on for page after page about the souls of men, wolves, and horses. And all of this is presented within a sort of vague, parochial pseudo-spiritualism that lacks true depth and substance.

Really, it remains a mystery to me how he is considered a serious novelist by anyone other than himself. His works seem to be more about style over substance, with an excess of pompous language and convoluted ideas that often fail to resonate or engage the reader on a deeper level.

Nachtrag. Meisterwerke sind wie kostbare Schätze, die uns immer wieder neue Inspiration und Einsichten bringen. Ich möchte 2025 zumindest diese drei Werke von McCarthy erneut lesen.

Es sind Werke, die mich schon einmal fasziniert haben und die ich gerne nochmals genauer betrachten möchte. Hoffentlich schaffe ich es zeitlich, diese Lektüre zu absolvieren.

Jetzt habe ich es mir hier ja versprochen

Mar 13

Wow. I really need to catch my breath. A review will be coming tomorrow.

Mar 14

First of all, a huge Thank You to my GR friend Daniel for suggesting that I read these books. If it weren't for your tip, I would have missed out on an amazing experience!

This particular volume contains the three books of McCarthy's border trilogy: All The Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities Of The Plain. I have been completely immersed in these books for a month. Was it a good idea to read them one right after the other? In many ways, McCarthy's world is raw, brutal, violent, and bloody. Over 1000 pages worth of his type of realism could be overwhelming for some people.

But I think this was the best way for me to read these books. I can't say that I completely understand all the messages McCarthy was sending, not after just one reading. But I did get completely lost in the stories. It helped that I am very familiar with the areas of the two countries (USA and Mexico) where these books take place. When he mentions the Animas Valley, the Guadalupe mountains, Fabens, Janos, Torreon, El Paso, and nearly every place our cowboys went through, I have either been there myself or know enough about it to easily 'be there' while reading.

I also was familiar with the type of man the main characters were. I used to work with such men, and I have yet to meet their equals. The conversations and the relationships between the various men all rang true and reminded me of times (and people) from my past. I was lucky to have known certain people, lucky to have shared a bit of time in life with them. Riding along with John Grady Cole and Billy Parham reminded me of those magical years. Not because of the violence of the adventures they had, but because of the down-to-earth way they faced each moment. There is a certain honesty and integrity here, just like there was around my old friends.

I was surprised at being so personally touched by this book. I was not expecting that to happen. All I was expecting was some good writing about horses, and that only because friend Daniel had mentioned it. I had never read McCarthy although I had heard a little bit about him. But while I read, I laughed, I cried, I was shocked and awed, I was eager to keep turning pages and sad to reach the end.

One tiny nit I have to pick comes from The Crossing, where Billy Parham and his brother Boyd are riding from Lordsburg New Mexico to Douglas Arizona, planning to head down into Mexico. They could have saved a lot of miles if they had just turned left at Rodeo and gone from there to Douglas, but McCarthy has them ride through another mountain range and then go south through McNeal and Elfrida. That seemed to be the long way to skin that particular cat, but maybe McCarthy felt that traveling through the fairly rugged Silver Creek area would have been too hard for a horse carrying two men, I don't know. I just know that I would have turned left a whole lot sooner if it had been me.

I haven't said much about the plots of these books. Basically, in All The Pretty Horses, we have a young man who is feeling a bit lost in the world ride to Mexico to try to find himself, going through hell while there. In The Crossing, we meet two brothers who go through hell trying to find something they have lost. And in Cities Of The Plains, the young man and one of the brothers are working together on a ranch near El Paso. But do they go through hell together? You'll have to saddle up and ride along to decide for yourself.

Overall, I highly recommend these books to anyone who enjoys a good story, well-written characters, and a sense of adventure. They are not for the faint of heart, but if you're willing to take the ride, you won't be disappointed.

Cormac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy is a remarkable literary achievement. It consists of three novels: All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain. Together, these works top out at over 1,000 pages.

Far from being discouraging or boring, this substantial length only made me crave more. I wanted more of the captivating characters like John Grady Cole and Billy Parham, as well as more of their relatives, friends, and loves. But it wasn't just the characters that drew me in; it was also McCarthy’s wonderfully economical, precise, and evocative writing.

I had no particular interest in the fading days of cowboys in the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico before reading this trilogy. However, The Border Trilogy centers less on the Southwest itself and more on timeless questions of friendships, loyalty, and growing up.

While I enjoy McCarthy’s prose, I’m often leery of reading a McCarthy novel new to me,担心 there might be more violence than I can stomach. But with The Border Trilogy, there was no such issue. It is truly an American classic that I look forward to reading again and again.