All the Pretty Horses

The Border Trilogy, Book One

By: Cormac McCarthy

Narrated by: Frank Muller

Cormac McCarthy is a quiet, unassuming presence in American fiction today, but like the slow, measured voices of many of his characters, he speaks with an authority and conviction that demands an audience. All the Pretty Horses, McCarthy's sixth novel, is a cowboy odyssey for modern times. Set in the late 1940s, it features the travels and toils of a 16-year-old East Texan named John Grady Cole, caught in the agonizing purgatory between adolescence and adulthood.

At the start of the novel, Cole's grandfather has just died, his parents have permanently separated, and the family ranch, upon which he had placed so many boyish hopes, has been sold. Rootless and increasingly restive, Cole leaves Texas, accompanied by his friend Lacey Rawlins, and begins a journey across the vaquero frontier into the badlands of northern Mexico. In spite of its hard realities and spare telling, All the Pretty Horses is a lyrical and richly romantic story, chronicling - along with the erosion of the frontier - the loss of an era.

©1992 Cormac McCarthy (P)1992 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

National Book Award, 1992

"This is a novel so exuberant in its prose, so offbeat in its setting and so mordant and profound in its deliberations that one searches in vain for comparisons in American literature." (Publishers Weekly)

Classic Cormac McCarthy, horrible narration

This is a wonderful Cormac McCarthy classic that really doesn't need another review. I'll focus on the narration which at times ruined the experience. First of all, the narrator uses too much dynamics in his presentation. If you want to listen to this in your car (which I bet applies to most) you will need to crank it to maximum volume because the narrator uses heavy fluctuation in his voice. This is very frustrating because you want to hear every word but you will be constantly fiddling with your volume knob trying to keep up.

Second, in my opinion the narrator needs to dial back the character dramatics a bit. He over does it with the Texas drawl and the Mexican accents. At first it is distracting but after a while you get used to it. However, for whatever reason whenever he uses his Mexican voice it is his quiet voice which sometimes you can barely hear in the car. SUPER FRUSTRATING!!

5 stars for the story, 1 star for the narration.

simply wonderful

Both the story and the narration were wonderful. I haven't listened to many books, I think I prefer reading, but this may be one case where listening is better! The writing was so beautiful it brought me to tears.

Enjoyable story & great voice acting.

Something about the way McCarthy describes setting and actions, blending it into the emotion of the moment, really strikes s chord with me.

The narration of this book is also excellent. From the female voices (acted by a man) to the Spanish, which in context is still understandable to a gringo like me, the actor did a fantastic job.

just listened again. sheer poetry.

This book is a wonderful combination of story performance by the narrator . While I'm not from Texas, I am a Midwestern boy and this story resonates with me and makes me think a lot of my family.

best of McCarthy

love the story. Love the way it unfolded and loved the narration. it was one of those suspensions and beauty that keep you spell bound to the end.

Give it Some Time

This wasn't terribly interesting or original but damn McCarthy could write about paint drying and make it tolerable. The last 2 hours really pick up and make it worth the journey

excellent narration, volume is too light.

the story is great, the narrator does a good job, but whoever was responsible for sound levels, dropped the ball.

All the Pretty Words

Cormac McCarthy writes beautifully and many passages will leave you going back to listen again, so as to fully appreciate them.

Best country western ever!

I’m not a huge fan of westerns but the pros and the story and the characters are outstanding. I think he is one of the great authors of our time. And the narrative on the audio is also outstanding.

Cormac never fails.

Cormac novels never fail to deliver. Keeps you drawn into the story every second of the recording.