All the Pretty Horses is a novel set in southern Texas and Mexico in the 1950s.\u00a0\u00a0 It is the story of John Grady, a 16 year old who has become disconnected from his ranch home and family.\u00a0\u00a0 He was raised by a Mexican family and he and his friend Lacey Rawlings decide to look for work as cowboys rather than move into town.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They ride south into Mexico.\u00a0\u00a0 The author tells the journey of the cowboy life in detail, slowly, with great craftsmanship and passion.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The boys get jobs on a large ranch because of John Grady’s ability to break and care for horses.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Their connection to horses is an important part of the novel and about half of the book follows their lives as cowboys.<\/p>\n
In all of Cormac McCarthy’s novels, violence and anarchy is out there, and a wrong decision can lead to disaster.\u00a0\u00a0 John Grady falls in love with a girl and faced with an ultimatum, he follows his heart, resulting in a series of deadly consequences.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe saw very clearly how all his life led only to this moment and all after led to nowhere at all. He felt something cold and soulless enter him like another being and he imagined that it smiled malignly and he had no reason to believe that it would ever leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
The book won the National Book Award (1992)and the National Book Critic’s Award.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It is the first book in a trilogy and it was made into a movie in the year 2000.\u00a0 It is widely acclaimed, but it is not an easy read.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The language is plain and the story is simple, but it has an unsettling tone.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The peace and harmony of life on a horse on the plains is contrasted with the turmoil of communities, and the conflicts of class society, poverty, corruption, greed, power, anger, and betrayal.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The prose is simple, but elegant.\u00a0\u00a0 The story is rewarding, but dark.\u00a0\u00a0 Recommended – 4.6 stars of of 5.<\/p>\n