“All the Pretty Horses” is the book that made its author, Cormac McCarthy, popular after its publishing in 1992. This book is about becoming independent – from your parents, from your own insecurities, from the society that entraps you. It has been nominated and won numerous book awards.

Who didn’t try or at least dreamed of running away from parents in the childhood years? The protagonist of the story, John Grady Cole, managed to do it for real. His mother was about to sell their family ranch where he grew up and spent all his childhood. It was a place where he first learned to walk, to ride horses, to express his feelings… So he decides to escape the overwhelming feelings and went to Mexico with a loyal friend.

Being in another country always means being confronted by foreign cultures and outlooks. Especially if we are talking about such exotic place as Mexico. The adventures are overwhelming. Here the two young men will meet a boy who is too annoying to keep, but it’s a pity to get rid of him. They will care for the horses of a Mexican landlord, and they will meet the love for the first time in their lives.

“All the Pretty Horses” is a book about growing up. It’s about being confronted with life as it is and adopting a strategy that will later become a character. In the end, the reader will get to know the naïve and secure young boys who will turn into full-grown men, capable of brave actions and serious decisions. On their way to maturity they will gain knowledge and lose dear things, and following this process is the main lesson of this story.

Of course, the end of the book is only the beginning of life for them and it’s the beginning of food for thought that the reader will be left with after the last page of the book.

Author: Cody Owens