The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy is June 2011 BOM

[neilgee]

and my copy has actually arrived, earlier than the estimated delivery date e-mailed me by the sellers, so that's put me in a good mood. I'll be looking to make a start tomorrow.

For anybody new to the thread this is McCarthy's sequel to All the pretty Horses which was a book of the month earlier in the year, or late last year, not sure now, but that thread is still around if anybody wants to check it out. :good:

[Winifred]

Found my copy when I organized my new bookcase :) Still plugging away at The Idiot, will be aboard in a bit.

[neilgee]

I was immediately surprised by the fact that one of the main 'characters' (I don't think that this qualifies as a spoiler) isn't human at all but infact a wild wolf. Extraordinary stuff. McCarthy takes me off gaurd again!

Alot of the same scenery is there, but then we are on the border of Mexico and America again (and it is called the border trilogy), early on I thought it was getting abit like Jack London's The Call of the Wild, which was disappointing for me as I'm not really into wholesale animal stories, but McCarthy quickly becomes absorbing again as human contact reasserts itself in the novel, which is about where I'm at now, still a few hundred pages to go. :)

[neilgee]

Finished this novel yesterday and I have to say I thought it was brilliant!

Some of the same themes are there, the main protagonist is sixteen years old at the beginning of the novel so you have the same sort of innocence and the raw expectation of justice that was there in All the pretty horses and the story is in part about what happens to those expectations as they encounter the real world and a pretty much lawless country.

I love McCarthy's writing, he is so fresh and original, just a joy to read for me. I do hope somebody else reads this book. It is worth the effort.

[Winifred]

Happily reading The Crossing, at last. Agree with neilgee, McCarthy's prose is extraordinary. Plot is surprising, too: who would have thought that 75 pages of wandering across even striking landscapes with a wolf with a stick in her mouth could remain so engrossing?

Still reading.

[cafolini]

I agree. Brilliantly opaque and succulent.

[neilgee]

Yesss, at last a couple of members reading this neglected book of the month, using August as a catch-up month was worthwhile then!I'm thinking about starting the third part of the trilogy soon so maybe we can put that one up as a bom too! :good:

[Winifred]

Finished The Crossing. I'm wondering why his formula for writing works so well for me. It's almost trite: laconic cowboys and Mexicans with terse dialogue; Spanish (I only speak TV Spanish from old cowboy programs during the early 60's - kept a dictionary nearby, although most of it is understandable without); striking descriptions of the landscape which contain all the emotion left out of the conversations; philosophical monologues by wise old folk; a shy and distant view of women, except as nurturers, or the unattainable female (Kali the storm goddess in Volume I, and the evocative Gypsy Queen in this one); indifferent Fate and Injustice. I wonder what's going to happen in part 3 of the trilogy?

Still, for me the richness of McCarthy's descriptions of landscape and those comfortable in the landscape - horses, wolves - act as a sort of reassurance beyond the grim losses and pain which McCarthy's characters endure. One haunting image which I'm still thinking about is the poor mangled dog at the end of the book - a symbol of what life can do to you if you do not fight back, stand firm? Such a contrast to the wolf at the beginning. Curious what others made of that.

[neilgee]

Hi Winifred, I finished the third part of the trilogy yesterday, and as usual it's absolutely spell-binding stuff, but i won't spoil it for you by revealing any of the plot here. I'll just say that the two surviving, young protagonists meet up in part 3 and become friends...

That's the trouble though, it's awhile since I finished the second part, and when you mentioned the mangled dog at the end I realised I'd forgotten all about that, so it's difficult to give a reaction without reading back over it. Let's hope we find ourselves in the same time zone as regards next month's winner.

[Star_Anise]

Finished The Crossing yesterday - I came late to these BOMs:-)

I was entranced by the beginning of the story, the tale of the wolf; the boy and the wolf; and the wolf, the boy and Mexico. However, once the wanderings across Mexico began, it started to lose me a bit. The rest of the story seems to switch between meanderings (both physical and philosophical) and small chunks of narrative. I quite struggled with the various tales told by characters along the way, the twisting reasoning of their stories, and trying to follow stories within stories. The themes, so similar to those in All the Pretty Horses, were not so pure, not wound together so cohesively.

I certainly enjoyed the book, but beyond the story of the wolf, found it less spellbinding than I wanted it to. Still looking forward to getting in to the third in the trilogy...though I might take a break first!

[neilgee]

Yes, Star, I took a break and read other stuff between all 3 parts so I'm totally with you on that, and part three is well worth reading and arguably slightly more enjoyable than part two, maybe part two went on slightly longer than it might have done, but what an author, let's hope he brings something new out soon.