"Cities of the Plain" by Cormac McCarthy

"Cities of the Plain" was first published in 1998.  It is the last book in McCarthy's Border Trilogy.

I cannot really put into words how much I liked this book, and how much more I liked it than its predecessor, "The Crossing."  Compared to "The Crossing," which is a bleak novel about existential cowboys, "Cities of the Plain" is much more concise, much less philosophical, and much more human.  This might seem a strange thing to say of a novel that is essentially about predestination, but compared to "The Crossing," this novel is a vast improvement.

The plot of the book centers around John Grady, a New Mexico ranch hand in love with an epileptic Mexican prostitute.  Billy Parham from "The Crossing" is also present, as his best friend and voice of reason.  The novel resembles Romeo and Juliet in many respects, though McCarthy takes the story to places that even Shakespeare could never have anticipated.

It's a great book.  One of the best I've read in a long time.  And no, this one didn't remind me of Faulkner.