The Crossing

The Border Trilogy Book 2

By: Cormac McCarthy

Narrated by: Richard Poe

Length: 14 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Sixteen-year-old Billy and his brother Boyd are fascinated by an elusive wolf that has been marauding his family's ranch. Billy captures the animal - but rather than kill it, sets out impulsively for the mountains of Mexico to return it to where it came from.

Billy returns, finding himself and his world have irrevocably changed. His loss of innocence has come at a price, and once again the border beckons with its desolate beauty and cruel promise.

©1994 Cormac McCarthy (P)2016 Recorded Books Inc

Critic reviews

" The Crossing...towers over most contemporary fiction. An American epic infused with a grand solemnity." ( Sunday Times)

"McCarthy speaks to us in the thrilling, apocalyptic tones of an Old Testament prophet. We must treasure him." ( Sunday Telegraph)

"McCarthy writes prose as clean as a bullet cutting through the air and constructs tales as compelling as any you will read." ( Daily Telegraph)

A Hypnotic Masterpiece

The story begins on a cattle ranch in 1949. I don't want to reveal the plot, so instead I'll just say that it's brilliantly written, and hypnotic to listen to as an audio book. (and to read)
The narration was top-notch, especially the spanish segments. It involves the love of two brothers, a wolf, travels through a lawless area of Mexico, and a heartbeakingly faithful horse, with many other memorable characters. This is not a book to breeze through. Read it, consider it and savor it instead. Cormac McCarthy is one of a kind. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Great listen beautiful prose rich characters

A passage from my book "the crossing" by Cormac Mcarthy. Conversation between a young man and an old man.

No one can really tell you what your life is going to be like can they?

"No. It's never really like what you would have expected. If people knew the story of their lives, how many then would elect to live them. Many people talk about what is in store for them but there is nothing in store. The day itself is made of what has come before. The world must be surprised to the shape of that which appears. Perhaps even God."

A couple of things...

After listening to the first book, I'm not sure why this is a trilogy. Maybe they will come together in the third book. I don't speak Spanish so there is a lot of dialogue that I didn't understand. Having said that, I love the way Mr. McCarthy writes. His writing is amazing. He will go down as one of the greatest authors ever. I have listened to others works of his, and I mean WORKS. He doesn't write fiction. He writes incredible stories. Don't pass up his work!

A western Faulkner

It would be a five star if the narrator could speak Spanish better. I have always loved anything Cormick McCarthy writes; however the border trilogy is my favorite because I was born in Uvalde, and lived in Mexico and I know that way of life. This author not only is a talented writer, he is almost journalistic In reporting detail.