HiSorry for the massive delay in updating this blog. I've had a lot on over the last few weeks, including moving out of my flat, seeing friends and doing a lot of work, which hasn't left me with a whole lot of time for either reading or writing about reading. Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of it now, though no promises.
In any case, I've finally finished McCarthy's trilogy and I thoroughly enjoyed it; though as a whole, rather than the individual books. The second, 'The Crossing', sees young Billy Parham mercifully escorting a pregnant wolf he has captured back to the Mexican mountains from whence it came, rather than shooting it. That's merely the tip of the iceberg though, and a chain of events begins that sees Billy and his brother Boyd making several trips across the US/Mexican border and meeting seemingly everybody in Mexico, each of whom has a deeply philosophical story to tell.
It's one of those books where seemingly everything and nothing happens at the same time. Honestly, it was somewhat of a slog (not helped by the lengthy breaks I took in reading it), but it is certainly good enough to see through to completion. There's some fascinating ideas espoused in the narrative (the meeting with the blinded revolutionary perhaps showcsing the vest of them) and Billy is a strong protagonist, if a little similar to John Grady of the previous book, 'All the Pretty Horses'. Unlike that book though, is the greater sense of scale. Whilst John Grady's journey took place over a few months, Billy's story is spread over years and covers a wider amount of territory.
The effort put into 'The Crossing' was paid off in 'Cities of the Plain', which takes place some years after the first two books and unites the two protagonists. John Grady is now nineteen and Billy is in his late twenties. Both work on a ranch and are good friends. Trouble begins when John Grady falls in love with a prostitute with a cruel pimp and Billy is forced to help his friend get the girl out of the brothel.
The plot is perhaps a little less original than in the previous books, but it is very rewarding to see the two young men united. There's also a great deal of amusing banter in this book and the cowboy's simplistic, yet philosophical vernacular is pleasing to read. I found some of the themes and settings of this (and the preceding novels) very Springsteen-like in their telling (especially in his darker songs), which as a big Boss fan, I enjoyed very much. Like the rest of the trilogy, the book is very bleak and offers little in the way of redemption, but is well worth the investment of time and emotion required to enjoy it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the moment, I'm living out of a bag of clothes at my girlfriend's house. As such, I've only brought a couple of books with me, so I've made a couple of changes to my reading list, including a new addition: The next book I'm going to start will be Stephen King's 'The Stand'. I've never read any Stephen King, but I got the book with a voucher because I heard 'Lost' ripped it off, and I love Lost.
Bye for now,
Jack
No comments:
Post a Comment