All The Pretty Horses- pg. 1-30

The first thing I generally notice about a book is how well it is written by my own standards. The use of figurative language, imagery, narrative style, etc., all play into my critique. For example, Huckleberry Finn is in my opinion very well written because the narration is consistent with the character of Huck Finn, and the language used provides vivid (sorry Mr. Hill) imagery of the Big Muddy and the surrounding scenery. Conversely, the Twilight series does not provide these things, although I suppose it does appeal to the more... emotion-oriented audience (sorry, Twilight fans).

With this in mind, I believe All the Pretty Horses has come off to a good start. Not only does the story line provoke questions that I feel I must be answered, but McCarthy's figurative language and imagery place me in that  psychological state where nothing is happening except the events in the story. A bit melodramatic on my part? Possibly.

One line that I especially enjoyed epitomizes the language that keeps me reading:

"He took the spoon and laid it smoking on the paper napkin and raised the cup and looked at it and drank it."

Now, I come from a long line of hot beverage drinkers, so I consider this my field of expertise. This image is precisely what it looks like when my father has just finished stirring his spoonful of sugar into his tea. And as such, I believe McCarthy's grasp on the visual part of this world is enough to keep me away from Sparknotes for yet another novel this year.