Cities of the Plain

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cities of the Plain
Author	Cormac McCarthy
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Border trilogy
Genre(s)	Western novel
Publisher	Alfred A. Knopf
Publication date	May 12, 1998
Media type	Print (Hardcover)
Pages	304 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0-679-42390-7
Preceded by	The Crossing

Cities of the Plain is the final volume of American novelist Cormac McCarthy's "Border trilogy."

[edit] Plot introduction

Part 3 of the trilogy that includes All the Pretty Horses and The Crossing, Cities of the Plain takes place on both sides of the United States-Mexico border. The novel brings together John Grady Cole, protagonist of the first book of the trilogy, with Billy Parham, the young cowboy introduced in the second book.

[edit] Plot summary

The story begins in 1952 with both John Grady and Billy working together on a cattle ranch near the border cities of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. We learn of their life and work on the ranch. The owners are kind, but small cattle ranches of this kind are not thriving. Although the cowboys barely eke out their living, it is clear that John Grady and Billy love this harsh life -- close to the land, their horses, and the wild creatures that live in the desert. After a visit to a brothel in Juárez, John Grady falls in love with a fragile young prostitute, Magdalena. His destiny is to rescue her. Billy knows his younger friend is altruistic to a fault, but helps him in his mission. The brothel is run by Eduardo, a formidable adversary, and the opposite of John Grady in every way. Their meeting leads inevitably to a duel.

As in all of McCarthy’s novels, there is a sorrowful end for the characters, the animals, even the place; however, in the epilogue, there is a glimmer of mercy, at least for one man.

[edit] External Links

http://www.cormacmccarthy.com/works/citiesoftheplain.htm

v • d • e Works of Cormac McCarthy Novels The Orchard Keeper (1965) • Outer Dark (1968) • Child of God (1974) • Suttree (1979) • Blood Meridian, Or the Evening Redness in the West (1985) • All the Pretty Horses (1992) • The Crossing (1994) • Cities of the Plain (1998) • No Country for Old Men (2005) • The Road (2006) Screenplays The Gardener's Son (1976) Plays The Stonemason (1995) • The Sunset Limited (2006) Adaptations The Gardener's Son (1977) • All the Pretty Horses (2000) • No Country for Old Men (2007)