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Cry Macho
A Texas rodeo star, a Mexican street urchin and a fighting cock are the main characters in a fascinating novel that combines strong action with strong compassion.
302 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
54 people are currently reading
459 people want to read
About the author
N. Richard Nash
40 books12 followersNathan Richard Nusbaum , known as N. Richard Nash, was an American writer and dramatist best known for writing Broadway shows, including "The Rainmaker".
Through the course of his lifetime, he wrote four plays, twelve screenplays, eight novels, two books on philosophy ("The Athenian Spirit" and "The Wounds of Sparta") and a book of poetry ("Absalom").
"The Rainmaker" was adapted into the 1956 film "The Rainmaker" starring Burt Lancaster and Katherine Hepburn. His 1975 novel "Cry Macho" was adapted to film in 2021 and starred Clint Eastwood and Dwight Yoakam.
He passed away on December 11, 2000 at the age of 87.
Through the course of his lifetime, he wrote four plays, twelve screenplays, eight novels, two books on philosophy ("The Athenian Spirit" and "The Wounds of Sparta") and a book of poetry ("Absalom").
"The Rainmaker" was adapted into the 1956 film "The Rainmaker" starring Burt Lancaster and Katherine Hepburn. His 1975 novel "Cry Macho" was adapted to film in 2021 and starred Clint Eastwood and Dwight Yoakam.
He passed away on December 11, 2000 at the age of 87.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
July 22, 2021
2.5/5
Read for work, this is being reprinted by Penguin Press in conjunction with the Clint Eastwood movie by the same name coming out this fall. It's a pretty typical Western with the added caveat that it was written almost 50 years ago and it reflects that. While it had exciting moments and grappled with the concept of machismo both in Mexican and Texan culture, it is certainly not the most nuanced. Perhaps the biggest issue I had is the complete lack of depth of any female character. There is a lot of questionable sex: A woman who feels both "virtuous" and "over-sexed" wants to remain a virgin until marriage yet is deeply attracted to our protagonist, which culminates in her asking him to rape her AND he keeps having sex with a woman who doesn't speak English (he doesn't speak Spanish), which is fine except then in the sex scenes the main character is like "is she moaning or in pain? Oh well, let's keep this going!" So yeah, not great if you're looking for a refreshing feminist read.
Read for work, this is being reprinted by Penguin Press in conjunction with the Clint Eastwood movie by the same name coming out this fall. It's a pretty typical Western with the added caveat that it was written almost 50 years ago and it reflects that. While it had exciting moments and grappled with the concept of machismo both in Mexican and Texan culture, it is certainly not the most nuanced. Perhaps the biggest issue I had is the complete lack of depth of any female character. There is a lot of questionable sex: A woman who feels both "virtuous" and "over-sexed" wants to remain a virgin until marriage yet is deeply attracted to our protagonist, which culminates in her asking him to rape her AND he keeps having sex with a woman who doesn't speak English (he doesn't speak Spanish), which is fine except then in the sex scenes the main character is like "is she moaning or in pain? Oh well, let's keep this going!" So yeah, not great if you're looking for a refreshing feminist read.
September 21, 2021
A Macho Story
I enjoyed reading this book in spite of the slowness in places. It’s really a sad story and I prefer uplifting stories. I wanted to read it before I saw the movie. I can’t imagine Clint Eastwood as Mike due to the vast age difference than the story. However I know how screen writers take liberties with a story. As far as the dialogue in the book, it’s a perfect fit for Mr.Eastwood and Dewight Youkam as the boys father is another perfect fit. I’ll look into other books by this author and quite possibly read another of his. I can’t honestly say I’d recommend Cry Macho for reading but I’m sure I’ll check out the movie if for no other reason than I’m a fan of Clint and Dewight.
I enjoyed reading this book in spite of the slowness in places. It’s really a sad story and I prefer uplifting stories. I wanted to read it before I saw the movie. I can’t imagine Clint Eastwood as Mike due to the vast age difference than the story. However I know how screen writers take liberties with a story. As far as the dialogue in the book, it’s a perfect fit for Mr.Eastwood and Dewight Youkam as the boys father is another perfect fit. I’ll look into other books by this author and quite possibly read another of his. I can’t honestly say I’d recommend Cry Macho for reading but I’m sure I’ll check out the movie if for no other reason than I’m a fan of Clint and Dewight.
October 5, 2012
It was quiet entertaining. Kept me busy during my free time at college. Was fun to read, the way Nash is so descriptive really helped trigger my imagination and I almost imagined everything to be happening like a movie inside my head while reading. I heard Arnold Schwarzenegger was gonna make this into a movie, would be fun to check it out if he made it.
January 29, 2022
3,5 stars.
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!
This book was the first one to read in the reading project with my fiance. In 2022, we decided to read one book per two months (so at least 6 mutual books in one year) and each one of us can choose the book by turns. This first book was chosen by my fiance and I would probably never have chosen and read it on my own. And I almost gave up after reading only the first chapter, I was feeling desperate but I think it was mostly because of my prejudices towards this book - western stories aren't really my favorites to read or watch (not that I've read/seen many lol). But in the end, I am glad that I finished this book.
The characters weren't likeable at first. But when you follow just a few important characters - Mike and Rafo - during this short book you get attached to them. Mike's life hasn't been dancing on roses and he has pretty much lost everything. So he has nothing more to lose when he agrees to go to that trip to Mexico to get Rafo to his father. But, of course nothing goes as planned.
The horse scenes were beautiful. I still really don't know what I think about the fact that Mike was trying to tame the wild horses and sell them. Maybe he should just have kept the horses in the tableland because they are not used to riding and got stressed. But there is something about this book that makes the nature feel a significant part of the story, an important part to Mike and Rafo because they - especially Rafo - like animals. Animals always make me feel things in books and that's the case with this book too. The dying cow scene was sad.
It was interesting to follow the growth and progress of the characters. Mike's way of thinking is pretty toxic: a man has to be strong and not show his emotions and be able to protect himself and others. But as the journey to Mexico and back to Texas goes forward, Mike's character starts to feel more close and the reader is symphatizing him.
And when it comes to Rafo, it's just sad. Neither of his parents seem to care about him - the reason why his dad, Howard, wants him back to Texas is for the ransom money, not because he loves his son - and that's probably the reason why he's gotten into the alley making petty crimes and fighting, in the age of 11. So, in a way, Mike becomes as a father figure to Rafo, a father he never had. And Mike experiences what it would be like to be a dad, to love a child, a child he never really had. They hate each other at first but then start to care about each other, even tho Mike disapoints Rafo and lost his confidence towards Mike.
Marta gave me a nice emotional attachment to the story. But she was a part of the story for a short period of time and came to the scene pretty late so she felt a bit separate. I was still rooting for her because her life was so difficult. The love between her and Mike also felt a little unreal. I mean, it still was beautiful, no denying that.
I don't really know what else to say about this book. But it was a positive surprise. I'm not sure if I would recommend this to people, maybe yes if you like western stories. This book is quite masculine and it is about masculinity. That may bother some people - and it did bother me in the beginning. But then I started liking this story and the characters so I hope that happens to you too if you decide to read this book. Cry Macho feels a solid and complete story that is not too long. I think I won't ever be a fan of these types of books but maybe, in the future, my prejudices are little lower.
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!
This book was the first one to read in the reading project with my fiance. In 2022, we decided to read one book per two months (so at least 6 mutual books in one year) and each one of us can choose the book by turns. This first book was chosen by my fiance and I would probably never have chosen and read it on my own. And I almost gave up after reading only the first chapter, I was feeling desperate but I think it was mostly because of my prejudices towards this book - western stories aren't really my favorites to read or watch (not that I've read/seen many lol). But in the end, I am glad that I finished this book.
The characters weren't likeable at first. But when you follow just a few important characters - Mike and Rafo - during this short book you get attached to them. Mike's life hasn't been dancing on roses and he has pretty much lost everything. So he has nothing more to lose when he agrees to go to that trip to Mexico to get Rafo to his father. But, of course nothing goes as planned.
The horse scenes were beautiful. I still really don't know what I think about the fact that Mike was trying to tame the wild horses and sell them. Maybe he should just have kept the horses in the tableland because they are not used to riding and got stressed. But there is something about this book that makes the nature feel a significant part of the story, an important part to Mike and Rafo because they - especially Rafo - like animals. Animals always make me feel things in books and that's the case with this book too. The dying cow scene was sad.
It was interesting to follow the growth and progress of the characters. Mike's way of thinking is pretty toxic: a man has to be strong and not show his emotions and be able to protect himself and others. But as the journey to Mexico and back to Texas goes forward, Mike's character starts to feel more close and the reader is symphatizing him.
And when it comes to Rafo, it's just sad. Neither of his parents seem to care about him - the reason why his dad, Howard, wants him back to Texas is for the ransom money, not because he loves his son - and that's probably the reason why he's gotten into the alley making petty crimes and fighting, in the age of 11. So, in a way, Mike becomes as a father figure to Rafo, a father he never had. And Mike experiences what it would be like to be a dad, to love a child, a child he never really had. They hate each other at first but then start to care about each other, even tho Mike disapoints Rafo and lost his confidence towards Mike.
Marta gave me a nice emotional attachment to the story. But she was a part of the story for a short period of time and came to the scene pretty late so she felt a bit separate. I was still rooting for her because her life was so difficult. The love between her and Mike also felt a little unreal. I mean, it still was beautiful, no denying that.
I don't really know what else to say about this book. But it was a positive surprise. I'm not sure if I would recommend this to people, maybe yes if you like western stories. This book is quite masculine and it is about masculinity. That may bother some people - and it did bother me in the beginning. But then I started liking this story and the characters so I hope that happens to you too if you decide to read this book. Cry Macho feels a solid and complete story that is not too long. I think I won't ever be a fan of these types of books but maybe, in the future, my prejudices are little lower.
October 5, 2024
3.9/10
I was a tad bit frustrated with the pacing of the movie adaptation, but oh heck, Eastwood just distilled what worked in the book, cut out what didn't (pages and pages and pages of really gross sex stuff), and made a really overall beautiful movie. The endings are slightly different, although I think I... partially prefer the ending of the book, and given how much I didn't enjoy most of what the book did, I'm not super happy about that. 😂
Also, Clint Eastwood didn't make the Cry Macho movie until he was 90. Mike in the book isn't even 40 yet. And I gotta say, for the theme that's here (weirdly a lot less theme in the book, but also gross sex stuff watered everything down so freaking much), the Very Old Mike Milo is so much stronger. Ironically.
I was a tad bit frustrated with the pacing of the movie adaptation, but oh heck, Eastwood just distilled what worked in the book, cut out what didn't (pages and pages and pages of really gross sex stuff), and made a really overall beautiful movie. The endings are slightly different, although I think I... partially prefer the ending of the book, and given how much I didn't enjoy most of what the book did, I'm not super happy about that. 😂
Also, Clint Eastwood didn't make the Cry Macho movie until he was 90. Mike in the book isn't even 40 yet. And I gotta say, for the theme that's here (weirdly a lot less theme in the book, but also gross sex stuff watered everything down so freaking much), the Very Old Mike Milo is so much stronger. Ironically.
February 13, 2022
What a wallop from a book! If you take out the first few chapters of the MC's history, which gives you an idea of his past, this would be a great book. Most women don't read Westerns because of the depiction of women in the writing, and this book is no exception. The way the author tell of Mike's wife wanting to be raped for their first time is over the top or the scene where the bronc guys try to get a horse to attack a woman who later is "lost" mentally or, lastly, the lady in the lake scene, just skip those parts cause the writer isn't writing for women readers. Take those first 5 chapters and just chuck them, because you'll enjoy the story more, seriously, don't really start reading till he takes the truck and heads south. This must have been cutting edge in 1975 because of the setting and inclusion of Spanish words, but in 2022 this book hit my sights because it was recently made into a movie with Clint Eastwood. I read before viewing, and honestly, Clint wouldn't have been cast in mine because of his age, the MC of the book is like 38. Also, since I was born after '75, did 11 year olds really talk the way this one does? He sounds much older, cocky, and broken. Being from a family where he doesn't matter and running away to the streets of Mexico where he participates in cockfighting might have made him tough, but doubtful still that any 11 year old would have his charisma that isn't a trained actor. These slights aside, the book is fast paced ride, one you'll need to hold on and pray you don't lose the reins.
January 21, 2022
What a gem of a book. It's easy to see why it was rediscovered and made into a movie. Poignant and well written. My only issue, and this is fairly inexcusable with a publisher such as Penguin, is that there are tons of errors that weren't caught on this republishing.
January 14, 2025
authors writing was okay, thing is,
I was actually fucking gullible enough to delude myself into thinking that the female characters and comments on sex and breasts and rape fantasy and cissys ordeal (and the more i think abt it the weirder it seems - what was the point of cissy asking if mc likes thay she "li**** his as*****" after her experience when he went to visit her???? It seems so out of place whats the symbolism behind it???? why would she say it??? theres sort of feeling that writing her to say was kind of wrong....) that was some self aware philosophical commentary on society bcos of the detached way of writing and the books description of questioning what its like to be "macho" but the comment on pg 99 descriving, non-satiracally, lexa's breasts as "as high as a girl's" (girl: 18yo and below: underage:child) really snapped me out of it. and i just got really fucking bored and could not make myself continue to listen to authors ramblings. disappointed but expected. just going to skim through the rest of the pages bcos im still slightly curious about rafo and mcs interaction but god if i read one more description of a womans breast.
i could have enjoyed this book, i really could have. In the first 99 pages while i was still in my delusion, i was growing attached to mc bcos i believed him a layer of self awareness about sexualisation of women and oversaturation of gratuitous sex in media (the cock comment at the front misled me further) and wanted to keep going on this journey with him, but it was just too good to be true for a 1975 book written by a man.
friends, if its too good to be true, it probably is.
I was actually fucking gullible enough to delude myself into thinking that the female characters and comments on sex and breasts and rape fantasy and cissys ordeal (and the more i think abt it the weirder it seems - what was the point of cissy asking if mc likes thay she "li**** his as*****" after her experience when he went to visit her???? It seems so out of place whats the symbolism behind it???? why would she say it??? theres sort of feeling that writing her to say was kind of wrong....) that was some self aware philosophical commentary on society bcos of the detached way of writing and the books description of questioning what its like to be "macho" but the comment on pg 99 descriving, non-satiracally, lexa's breasts as "as high as a girl's" (girl: 18yo and below: underage:child) really snapped me out of it. and i just got really fucking bored and could not make myself continue to listen to authors ramblings. disappointed but expected. just going to skim through the rest of the pages bcos im still slightly curious about rafo and mcs interaction but god if i read one more description of a womans breast.
i could have enjoyed this book, i really could have. In the first 99 pages while i was still in my delusion, i was growing attached to mc bcos i believed him a layer of self awareness about sexualisation of women and oversaturation of gratuitous sex in media (the cock comment at the front misled me further) and wanted to keep going on this journey with him, but it was just too good to be true for a 1975 book written by a man.
friends, if its too good to be true, it probably is.
November 10, 2024
I chose to read Cry Macho by N. Richard Nash for the forty-first prompt of the 52 Book Club 2024 Reading Challenge.
Prompt Forty-One: A sticker on the cover
Favorite Quote: N/A, I'm bad at notating on my physical books vs. e-books
What was the sticker for? The book is now a major motion picture. I will be watching it, and my husband is ecstatic that I'm showing interest in a Clint Eastwood Western.
Why I chose this book: There were not a lot of books at the library with stickers on the cover. After a couple laps of the fiction section, this was the one I settled on.
Review: I gave this book a 3 out of 5 stars. This book started out rough. I feel like I did not need any of Mike's backstory, and like a couple other reviews thought they did women dirty. We didn't really need to hear about anyone but Mike's daughter to understand his perspective. If I could have just read about Mike and Rafo's adventures it would have been such a better book. I enjoyed watching the two grow to trust each other and learn more about themselves in the process. I thought there was decent action, and once I got past the first few chapters, I flew through the rest of the book.
Prompt Forty-One: A sticker on the cover
Favorite Quote: N/A, I'm bad at notating on my physical books vs. e-books
What was the sticker for? The book is now a major motion picture. I will be watching it, and my husband is ecstatic that I'm showing interest in a Clint Eastwood Western.
Why I chose this book: There were not a lot of books at the library with stickers on the cover. After a couple laps of the fiction section, this was the one I settled on.
Review: I gave this book a 3 out of 5 stars. This book started out rough. I feel like I did not need any of Mike's backstory, and like a couple other reviews thought they did women dirty. We didn't really need to hear about anyone but Mike's daughter to understand his perspective. If I could have just read about Mike and Rafo's adventures it would have been such a better book. I enjoyed watching the two grow to trust each other and learn more about themselves in the process. I thought there was decent action, and once I got past the first few chapters, I flew through the rest of the book.
January 21, 2024
Wanted to read this before seeing the film entertaining and slow moving at times I preferred Cormac mc Carthy border trilogy to this one but I did enjoy it .
It occured to him that not once since he had left Texas had it mattered to him what day of the week it was .
It passed through his mind that days and dates had only to do with fitting ones life to the calendar of other people, with belonging somewhere, and being there at the same time with others ..... And that this afternoon -only this afternoon he belonged here ,
There's a lot of the sad cowboy cliche in this book similar to Larry mc Murty .
It occured to him that not once since he had left Texas had it mattered to him what day of the week it was .
It passed through his mind that days and dates had only to do with fitting ones life to the calendar of other people, with belonging somewhere, and being there at the same time with others ..... And that this afternoon -only this afternoon he belonged here ,
There's a lot of the sad cowboy cliche in this book similar to Larry mc Murty .
September 23, 2021
Thanks to PRHAudio for this complimentary audiobook!
Even with this book being written so long ago it hits pretty hard. I don't read a lot of western books but I feel like this fits the genre and kept me at attention the entire book. Obviously I found out about this from the upcoming Clint Eastwood movie that recently came out and can't see a movie adapted from a book without reading the book! I think what I liked about the book was it's character growth of it's main character Milo. This book could literally have just kept on going and I would have been their for the ride out.
Even with this book being written so long ago it hits pretty hard. I don't read a lot of western books but I feel like this fits the genre and kept me at attention the entire book. Obviously I found out about this from the upcoming Clint Eastwood movie that recently came out and can't see a movie adapted from a book without reading the book! I think what I liked about the book was it's character growth of it's main character Milo. This book could literally have just kept on going and I would have been their for the ride out.
September 16, 2023
Best word to describe this book is "bleak". Intentionally so but it's still for me a difficult slow read. The "macho" dynamic between a rodeo gringo and boy with rooster in an unforgiving land of constant danger, duplicity, mishaps, cons, police, and poverty is pretty much continuous in its austere mood. I can't say its badly written or unrealistic. Definitely not escapism. Reminds me a bit of Graham Greene novel "The Power and Glory" in tone.
October 18, 2021
I did this one backwards. I watched the movie then I read the book. Quite a startling difference. The movie VERY loosely follows the book. While I realize not everything written in a book can also be in a movie I was surprised how drastically different they were. I would rate both a 3 and would not want to see the movie or read the book again.
May 7, 2024
Originally released in 1976. A broken down rodeo star is tasked by his former boss with traveling to Mexico to kidnap the boss' son from his ex-wife and bring him back to Texas. Along the way, the two with form a bond. Decent book that Clint Eastwood made significant changes to for his movie adaptation of the same name earlier this year.
November 2, 2024
Definitely not a book “in my comfort zone”, but another one I’m glad I read. It started a bit slow, I had a little trouble getting into it, but once I did it was very good. The only complaint I have is that the ending was a bit ambiguous, but I guess I’ll read into it the way I want whether it’s what the author intended or not, lol.
September 20, 2021
This book was just terrific, in a dark and tragic way. Great storytelling by a no-nonsense, gritty narrator you can believe. Where has Richard N Nash been all my life? I will be buying more books from this late author.
October 17, 2021
He does an excellent job of capturing the essence of love and loss in so many of its forms between people and the situations and circumstances we all find ourselves in to varying degrees throughout our lives. I’m looking forward to the movie.
October 23, 2021
I'm reading this book because of the movie that is due out. I'm sure that I will see it as I am a big fan of Clint Eastwood.
The story is a good one. once you get into it. It does start out really slow.
The story is a good one. once you get into it. It does start out really slow.
November 1, 2021
Clint Eastwood's movie of the same name led me to special order the book. Movie has different plot twists than the book, but general plot intact. Loved the movie although it received mostly lousy reviews. Book good as well.
March 30, 2022
I liked it but like most of the reviewers said, the first chapters were awful. I actually set the book down and stopped reading it for awhile. Once he meets up with Rafo, I couldn't put the book down, it was that good.
June 5, 2022
Loved the film; the book is better!
Nash has woven a story filled with tragedy, humor, and fundamental truths. I started reading in the early morning hours of a long night and scarcely put it down until I had finished it. A great story from a highly talented writer.
Nash has woven a story filled with tragedy, humor, and fundamental truths. I started reading in the early morning hours of a long night and scarcely put it down until I had finished it. A great story from a highly talented writer.
March 1, 2024
I was disappointed with this one. I kept waiting for something to happen and it never did. And it's obvious that the author has not had much experience with horses. I'll likely drop this off at my local Little Free Library. It's not a keeper for me.
June 11, 2024
Although I know this story was written in the 70s It didn't feel outdated. There were some references to small things that many people may not understand but overall not bad. The style of writing was easy to follow but my big gripe was the ending. I just feel like there should be more.
November 20, 2024
I watched the movie a few years back and wondered why Clint Eastwood thought he could be in this movie so when I saw this book on sale for a dollar I thought I’d read it and find out for myself. Now I have and I still don’t have the answer.
May 25, 2025
I actually don’t know how I finished this… It wasn’t even bad it was just not really something I was interested in at all but I had to finish it. The whole falling in love with Janasco felt very abrupt and rushed but overall not bad.
September 24, 2021
Not what I expected. But I know Eastwood will take this plot and make it a much better movie.
September 26, 2021
Saw the movie, liked the book better-of course.
October 7, 2021
Fair, a little slow in the end.................
October 9, 2021
This is basically me reading the movie because I didn’t know it was based of a book. That said, Unlike most, I understand why this wasn’t a typical Clint Eastwood movie.
October 10, 2021
Hate I wasted the money on this one. If the movie fellows the story line I am not interested. Will not be reading another book by this author. Book had to many shock and awes for my likening.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews