Cities of the Plain (by Cormac McCarthy)
Years ago, I was browsing in a used bookstore with my husband. He discovered this copy of Cormac McCarthy’s novel, Cities of the Plain. He quickly realized it’s a first edition and was on sale for $5. At the time, I had no interest in reading what I perceived a western novel and wasn’t inclined to purchase it even though I was well aware of Cormac McCarthy’s reputation. My husband enabled my love for collecting books and encouraged me to buy it. He was better at appreciating how special this book is. He thought it would be nice to own and I didn’t need much convincing. I love the red colored edges on the top of the book and I like the cover image.
Cities of the Plain is the final installment of The Border Trilogy. I read the first book, All The Pretty Horses about a year ago and the second book, The Crossing a couple of weeks ago. I enjoyed The Crossing so much, I wanted to finish the trilogy sooner rather than later. I tend to spread out series of books and seldom read them this closely together. Why? I have no sensible idea. Maybe it’s to make the experience last longer? To procrastinate the finality?
John Grady Cole and Billy Parham exist together in this final story, working on a ranch in New Mexico. 1952, the two young men are enjoying life on the ranch. It’s a rather simple life, but yet daily hard work. They realize the world is changing and their lifestyle is vanishing. John Grady falls in love with a young Mexican girl working as a prostitute. He enlists Billy’s help to free her from her pimp, which is extremely complicated and dangerous. Meanwhile, there are many interesting characters introduced throughout the story: a blind musician, a pack of dogs, fellow ranch workers, and a clever shoe shine boy.
Cities of the Plain left me feeling much the same emotions as The Crossing. There are moments of heart wrenching despair and utter sadness. McCarthy knows how to build hope for the reader, but I wasn’t fooled this time. I knew any moments of joy or excitement were going to be met with devastating grief. And still, I loved McCarthy’s writing and talent to create authentic characters. I am a huge fan of his sarcastic humor. Only McCarthy can make me laugh in the middle of an argument or stressful event.
I loved John Grady Cole and Billy Parham. They are two down to earth cowboys I am grateful to have met and will miss. I suppose they will come to mind the next time I see a question about which characters you would like to have over for dinner. I think they would be satisfied with just about any measly meal I could create. Or, I could take them out to a Mexican restaurant.
Even though I own a beautiful hard cover copy of this book, I listened to the audiobook I acquired from Audible. Frank Muller’s narration was exceptional. It’s interesting how sometimes I will be browsing my Audible wishlist and notice I can add some audiobooks directly to my library as part of my membership. That’s how I got my hands on this audiobook.
You’re welcome to read my review for the previous books in The Border Trilogy linked below.
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