Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses

by Harold Bloom, Amy Sickels

Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses, part of Chelsea House Publishers' Bloom's Guides collection, presents concise critical excerpts from All the Pretty Horses to provide a scholarly overview of the work. This comprehensive study guide also features "The Story Behind the Story" which details the conditions under which All the Pretty Horses was written. This title also includes a short biography on Cormac McCarthy and a descriptive list of characters.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction

126 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Harold Bloom was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world." After publishing his first book in 1959, Bloom wrote more than 50 books, including over 40 books of literary criticism, several books discussing religion, and one novel. He edited hundreds of anthologies concerning numerous literary and philosophical figures for the Chelsea House publishing firm. Bloom's books have been translated into more than 40 languages. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1995.
Bloom was a defender of the traditional Western canon at a time when literature departments were focusing on what he derided as the "school of resentment" (multiculturalists, feminists, Marxists, and others). He was educated at Yale University, the University of Cambridge, and Cornell University.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

We listened to all 10 hours of this audio book as we crossed the mountains and plains of Utah and Colorado. It is terrific to listen to, and a beautifully written novel about horses, men, and romance set in Texas and Mexico. Nobody does it better than Cormac McCarthy.

[Cheryl Schibley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A study on Cormac's work. If you read nothing else you should read this author.

[Joanna S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting commentary on All the Pretty Horses. Better than Cliff's Notes

[Ed Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent basic guide to Cormac McCarthy’s All The Pretty Horses.

[Nikolas Lyhne-Knudsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

sindsygt god. Jeg bliver nødt til at læse og genlæse meget af det langsomt og igen. Fordi det er så roligt og dybt, at man ellers misser det.

[Timothy Youngs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just about as perfect as a novel can get. Wow!

[Arlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this first volume of the Border Trilogy more than two years ago, and decided that I needed to read it again since I used this book to make comparisons to my last-read Western (The Sisters Brothers). I still found this adventure of the three "youngins" to be beautifully presented but this time I found myself focusing more on the characters and their life-learning experiences than on those beautifully written long descriptive paragraphs which make you take a deep breath and reflect. This book was just as enjoyable the second time around. If you read Westerns, this should be on your to-read list.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this story. Disliked the author's style. He doesn't use apostrophes or quotations for conversations. It's like your English teachers always told you: when you're a famous author you can do whatever you want.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one almost didn't make my 100-page cut. I was simply bored with the endless descriptions of the horses and the ride to Mexico. It got better after that.

[Giselda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, some real nostalgia for a masculine, American west that never existed, and a prose style that was lovely but didn't seem to work for such a character-driven piece.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

lyrical. impossible to put down. transports you into the world of the prairie circa 1940. wide open spaces, horses, dust and thunderstorms. Romatic and real-men relationships... totally absorbing

[Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me want to move out of the city and ride horses. I am sure I am not the first person who has felt like that from this book, but it felt like I was. So many feelings.

[Cheryl Renouf scheer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing writing.