Right now, I have read a whopping 7 pages in All The Pretty Horses (ATPH) by Cormac McCarthy and quite frankly, I'm feeling a mix of confusion and irritation.
I think these feelings started with the monster sentence on pages 1 and 2 and the lack of quotation marks on the second page. Although I do applaud McCarthy for his unconventional take on the rules and conventions of grammar, I have to admit I am getting rather frustrated with it.
So if you haven't noticed, I'm not liking the book so far, but you never know - I may start liking it; I'm only on the 7th page.
Anywhoo... there is one paragraph that intrigued me. The first full paragraph on page 7 gave a snapshot into the cliched life of a Westerner. Out of all of the mystery protagonist's grandfather's siblings, the grandfather was the only one to live past 25. The ones who unfortunately died seemed to die rather violent deaths (i.e. by drowning or shooting). I loved the line "They seemed to fear dying in bed." It made me giggle a bit. I guess it just highlights the "rough and tough" nature of the Wild West. I suppose it could also suggest that the Western life was a competition where one had to "out-tough" the other; if someone "died in bed," then that person probably had the stigma of taking easy way out by not putting themselves on the edge. I also enjoyed the inventive use of the word "borning, " which, after I looked on Marriam-Webster, isn't actually a real word. Lastly, I like the last two sentences of the paragraph. "... Cole. John Grady Cole." I found it entertaining because I was reminded of "Bond. James Bond." From McCarthy's writing style, I always think he is an 19th century writer. I don't know why. But the way he referenced James Bond kind of reminded me that he is still very much alive today.
These are my thoughts so far in the book. Hopefully after I read a bit more my thoughts will change. (:
~xE_Ax
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