Cormac McCarthy's West
Allusive density is the term Patrick W. Shaw uses for Cormac McCarthy's evocation of Western places, history, and culture in his Border Trilogy. The abundance of allusive details, all historically precise, challenge the reader already grappling with the other complexities of McCarthy's work, and yet these details--of topography, horse breeding, weather, prison, landmarks, wolf trapping, Mexican cultural propriety, graveyards, particular bars on particular streets in particular towns -- tease, intimate, and finally tell much of the stories in the Border Trilogy.
James Bell's thorough annotations will assist the casual reader as well as the literary scholar in attaining a more comprehensive understanding of Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy, comprising All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain. A chronology, character index, and index of place names for each book, as well as chapters on cultural and historical allusion in the trilogy, help to demystify and crystallize McCarthy's forceful writing.
James Bell received his doctorate from Texas Tech University and is currently assistant professor of English at College of the Ozarks in Lookout, Missouri.
ISBN 0-87404-302-6 Paper $18.00
To order, write: Texas Western Press,
University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968-0633—or use the Texas
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6x9, 154 pp., biblio. 2002