readers of the first two pieces of the trilogy will like thi

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	• Cities of the Plain Cormac McCarthy Vintage International, 1999 - 292 pages average customer review:based on 103 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

McCarthy continues the excellence of the trilogy.

Though perhaps not the equal of some of his previous works, Cities on the Plain is pure McCarthy. The wild dog chase and the knife fight are two of the strongest sections when the reader will watch with a morbid fascination as Billy and John Grady complete the third of the Border trilogy. McCarthy is the finest writer in the U.S. today and stands well with the finest of any generation.

readers of the first two pieces of the trilogy will like thi

This book was a good finish to the border trilogy. McCarthy has portrayed the loss of the old west in devestating fasion. The men in his world are no longer desperat boys, but men desperate for more out of life. The west as they knew it is ending in front of their eyes and their desperation about this fact leads them to desperate acts. His two characters learn in hard fasion that "you can't go back again." Once again, McCarthy has painted the beauty of the landscape in his words intertwined with the violence of life. This is an emotionally exhuasting book well worth the read.

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As part of a trilogy, this is great writing.

In my humble opinion, Mr. McCarthy is our greatest living writer. "Cities" is the weakest of the three, but it's still darned good. The epilogue puzzled me, but I was probably teary-eyed and not seeing too well. Mr. McCarthy pays homage to a mythical West that has been an important, formative part of our national character. He is the best. Flat-out, he's the best we have. Read this book, but more importantly, read every book this man has written.

Happy endings are overrated.

Of the trilogy, this is for certain the weakest. I did get a 'warm-fuzzy' seeing John Grady Cole and Billy Parham brought together for a proper closing. McCormac presents excitemen during a wild dog hunt, full of graphic intensity and perfectly paced. The dialogue was weak at certain points and the interwoven romance didn't captivate. Overall, well written, and full of quality prose; though, short on impact.

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Strong, but weakest of the trilogy...

Make no mistake on Cities: It is the weakest of the Trilogy... But owing to McCarthy's writing it is still a wonderful journey. Watch out as you read, because at least 200 of the 292 pages are simply three or four ranch hands bullshitting about everything from the best rifle for coyote to how to make fence to how to get howlin'-at-the-moon drunk to how best get a piece of tail in a cat house. Believe me, I've heard plenty of cowboys shooting the breeze and the IQ level is no better than room temperature - the topics about as appealing. What I'm trying to say is this: 200 pages of bunk house batter gets real old, real quick. You find yourself screaming, "When in hell am I going to get some story here?!" I wanted plotting like Horses and Crossing... I would venture to guess that McCarthy fell prey to what got Hemingway in the end: He wrote several real great books loaded with wonderful dialog and people swooned all over him telling him how great it w! ! as. And I'd bet too that writing dialog for McCarthy was real easy. You can guess the rest: He over wrote dialog on this book much like Hemingway did with Trees later in his career. Now don't get me wrong, there are excellent passages in the book. Most notable is the knife fight in the end - haven't read better violence in quite some time. My stomach felt ripped open and my leg hurt for the rest of the night... Bravo on those pages. The Epilogue was wordy, impossible - a failure... I felt like a prisoner on those pages - much like I feel when Faulkner takes me on a flowery ride in Go Down Moses or something. Now don't get me wrong, Cities is worth a read and when coupled with the Trilogy, strong. Make no mistake, it is the Weak Sister of the litter, but such a wonderful departure from his early works where the main character kept dead bodies in a cave and buggered them regularly... I'll take a knife fight in a whore house alley any day over that....

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reviews: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, page 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

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