To begin, I echo Matt's thoughts regarding the western genre a story of horses and cowboys is no way to win my heart, but from the onset and the first glimmer of an intro to John Grady as a character it appears that this will be more than a western. The story as introduced is clearly focused on JGC and his relationship with his family, which appears to be strained although not clear why. In fact I read the first 12 pages twice. John Grady Cole also appears to be what the hippies refer to as an old 'soul.' This becomes more apparent as we figure that his dad is a gambling drinking delinquent and mother appears to have separated and found love elsewhere because of it. JGC also appears to be slightly tormented as well, he is quiet and reserved, but appears to have a lot on his mind. This is perhaps what spawns the trip to mexico with Rawlins, his best friend and his only friend? Rawlins seems to be a bit of a fool, but not in a dangerous way; it is my opinion that when the going gets tough Rawlins will desert JGC, because he is weak. The trip could be a part of a scheme to get the family's 18k acre ranch profitable or it could be JGC's search for himself. I am not sure what to make of Blevins as of yet, he appears ambivalent to both the two boys and the trip they are taking, but is going along all the same. Blevins could also be a liability on this trip, in a dangerous way. I am interested in what comes next for the trio in Mexico as it appears that Blevins can shoot a handgun (not a bad guy to have around) and JGC is the only one who appears to speak any Spanish.
After reading Matt's post I think the lack of punctuation is a little annoying, but not too disturbing. I did find that after the ambiguity of the first handful of pages the following pages were much more clear. I think that McCarthy's lack of clarity in the onset of the book helps to define the mind set of the young JGC, he is only 16.
-Jake
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