All the Pretty Horses

Cormac McCarthy

"I'd heard the title of the book, and I was wary for a long time because I figured it would be just kind of like a corny best seller. So I was really hesitant to read it for a number of years, and then I had heard that actually — a close friend of min said, "Ignore that. It's actually one of the best pieces of contemporary fiction."

The story is kind of like about these two young men that go into — down into Mexico. They kind of leave their hometown, I believe, in Texas for various reasons. I think they're unhappy getting older, just kind of getting restless; and they go down into Mexico to sort of have some adventures or try to make some money or something. All kinds of complications ensue.

I'd say it's a book that is less based around a really dramatic plot but more just about the style and quality of the writing. The protagonist in the story is kind of carried — he has this overriding love and sort of obsession and fascination with horses, which for me is like, I was one of those kids that was totally obsessed with horses. Like just the archives of any of my child drawings are just stacks and stacks and stacks of drawings of horses.

I did really like the writing, but at times I felt like it was a little bit too dramatic and caught up in its own poignancy. I think this book can have appeal to a variety of audiences if you need a lot of twists and turns and drama and action. Maybe I wouldn't recommend it, but there's enough to kind of keep you satiated. I would give it — well, I'm a teacher, so 3½ stars makes it 70%. It's not a C book. I guess it's a B. I guess I'd give it a B, which is four stars."

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