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.

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A Book And A Dog ( )

Cities of the Plain concludes McCarthy’s The Border Trilogy. It brings together the protagonists from each of the previous two volumes. John Grady Cole from All the Pretty Horses is now nineteen years old and nine years the junior of Billy Parham from The Crossing. John and Billy share an loving bond and a deep passion for riding horses and living off the land. They work as ranch hands for a respected landowner on his farm not far from the Mexican border. Yet, when John Grady tumbles helplessly in love with a sixteen-year-old Mexican prostitute, Magdalena, from across the border, he provokes the ire of the girl’s pimp. John’s relentless desire to marry the girl leads him down a dangerous and fateful path. Billy’s attempts to protect his friend draw him into the violent turmoil where there is no turning back. The violence quickly boils to an all out blood bath as Billy confronts the pimp in a battle that reminds one of the ill-fated meeting of Macbeth and Macduff in its poetic grandeur. The anguish that Billy Parham feels for his lost friend is heartbreaking.

The end of book focuses on Billy and his wanderings. On his journey, he meets a mysterious man who tells him about a convoluted dream. Though the man denies it, Billy suspects he is Death. However, Billy survives the meeting with the man and finds shelter and a new life with a family who takes him in. The book ends with Billy, it seems, putting his restless and sometimes violent past behind him, with a new lease on life. It would seem that the "romance" of the cowboy way of life has faded for Billy, and the reality and harshness of the world has taken root. And that he has achieved some sort of wisdom from it.

Cities of the Plain is a melancholy story, deftly told in poetic grandeur, about American violence, idealistic romance, and a fading way of life ( )

Loved the knife fight.

Hated the epilogue. ( )

Dos héroes, antihéroes, que arrastran un pasado de desarraigo y verdadero exilio interior en un mundo en que su forma de vida, individualista e independiente, se ve marginada por la aparición del mundo moderno: autovías, moteles, automóviles.

This is the third book in McCarthy’s Border Trilogy. While the first two, All the Pretty Horses and The Crossing, can be read in either order, this one should come last. It brings together the protagonists of the first two novels, John Grady Cole and Billy Parham.

It is set in the early 1950’s in the plains around El Paso, Texas and across the border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The plot revolves around John Grady’s romantic interest in Magdalena, a sixteen-year-old Mexican prostitute. Nineteen-year-old John Grady is devoted to Magdalena to the point of obsession. He exhibits a strong-willed personality and the brashness of youth. Billy and ranch owner Mac serve as his mentors.

It is written in McCarthy’s signature style with short, direct dialogue. He realistically portrays the Southwestern desert, and the setting becomes, essentially, another character. I particularly like the indelible connection McCarthy establishes between the land and the people who traverse it. Themes include the inevitability of fate and good vs. evil. I doubt anyone that has read McCarthy would expect anything cheery, and this one is no exception. I am glad I read the trilogy. All three books are solid.
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