MindMap Gallery All the Pretty Horses Story Summary
All the Pretty Horses, set in 1949 in west Texas and northern central Mexico, is subtitled "Volume One, The Border Trilogy," indicating that it is the first of three volumes in a trilogy. The story follows two young men, John Grady Cole and Lacey Rawlins, who ride their horses across Texas and northeastern Mexico to flee their birthplace. They begin in San Angelo, Texas, and proceed 130 miles to Langtry, Texas, where they bridge the Rio Grande River into Mexico. They ride about 180 miles from there to a well-positioned ranch, where they find work as cowboys. The story is a search for the romantic cowboy life that leads John Grady and his companions into Mexico; it is the romantic pursuit of forbidden love that ends in John Grady's. John Grady's mother describes him as "just sixteen," so we may presume that his dear friend Rawlins is around the same age. Both lads are mature for their age and navigate their journey south well. The novel begins with John Grady Cole's grandfather's funeral and follows the two friends' exploits from start to finish when they return to San Angelo from Mexico. McCarthy includes a love tale between John Grady and Alejandra, which is evocative of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and account of the lads' voyage.
Edited at 2022-08-23 08:06:32