Cormac McCarthy

mickoregan

I've been working my way through his books for the past year or so. Incredible writer who I've really only just discovered after all these years.
His characters and their stories seem to exist in their own dark otherworldly atmosphere. Their world is almost nightmarish but it's also a world of deep truths. His prose is exceptional.
At face value the subject matter can sometimes be off-putting - incest, rape, murder, infanticide... but his prose just keeps me hooked.
I'm just into Blood Meridian at the moment.
Thus far, Outer Dark and Child of God stand out as stunning works.

Bodhidharma

Child of God is the single most disturbing book I've ever read. He's a fantastic writer. His work is really intense and drags you in.

He is one of my favourite writers, I've read everything he's done, but in saying all that he is very difficult to read, and I can easily imagine people hating his books.

mickoregan

Yeah, I agree he can be difficult. Perseverance pays off though.
The first book of his I read was Suttree which I wish I'd read having read some of his other work first.
I felt immediately that I was reading something important but I wasn't quite "getting it". Now having figured his style and settling into it I look forward to rereading Suttree in the future.

Maximum 40 Characters

I came to him fairly late too.Blood Meridian is terrifyingly brilliant.Some of the goriest descriptions you will ever read.Ya would wonder what goes on in McCarthy's head.

guyserious

Glad to hear people sharing the love for McCarthy. I read The Road when it came out (2006 I think?) and was absolutely blown away by it. It was dark and genuinely horrifying but I loved it.

I've since read through an number of his other books and I am still blown away by how McCarthy writes. I've since looked for other writes like him, but I think his far too unique to ever have any really accurate comparisons. He has indeed got a very twisted imagination.

Something I'd reccomend everyone to check out is The Sunset Limited. A "Novel in dramatic form" the entire thing takes place as a conversation between two men in a New York apartment. It is on the surface a very simple theme, but manages to work a powerful discourse on morality, religion, philosophy, death etc. I picked it up in the library a few weeks ago and read through the whole thing in one go (its only around 100 pages). Well worth the read if anybody hasn't read it yet.

Ormus

My favourite living writer.

Blood Meridian is bloody intense.

The Border Trilogy are probably his best.

longshanks

I could've written the above post.

Sergeant

He's a remarkable writer. Blood Meridian is one of the most visceral and haunting books I've ever read.

mickoregan

I have to say I'm not enjoying BLOOD MERIDIAN at all as much as the previous books.
It's brilliantly written - no question about that - but, it's tending to drag on a bit. Next town, next bit of violent mayhem.

mickoregan

Having finished BM, I have to say the ending made sense of the whole book. I find myself left with images imprinted in my mind that will last awhile.
What a writer!

Giruilla

BM was a great but very tough read. McCarthy's view of the world is hard to figure out though. Does he feel that nihilism mixed with evil is an unstoppable force?

ush

I persevered with Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West for about 70-odd pages. It felt like a very deliberate attempt at writing the "Great American Novel". Even the full title of the novel was trying too hard and forcing it.

He's a fantastic writer though. Should get the Nobel Prize in Literature before he pops his clogs. The Road sums up our dependence upon the environment and our ability to mess everything up. He did our species a great service writing that.

Paddy Samurai

Maximum 40 Characters wrote: »

I came to him fairly late too.Blood Meridian is terrifyingly brilliant.Some of the goriest descriptions you will ever read.Ya would wonder what goes on in McCarthy's head.

I enjoyed Blood Meridian ,but I prefer" In the Rogue Blood" by Blake.Its an easier read overall,but considered more bloody by many.

In the Rogue Blood is generally regarded as one of the most compelling works in recent American literature to treat violence as a primary engine of U.S. history. It has been widely compared to Cormac McCarthy’s savage masterpiece, Blood Meridian.[

Blake offers a virtual encyclopedia of graphic violence. People are shot, clubbed, knifed, eviscerated, castrated, decapitated, impaled, flayed alive, hanged, scalped, dismembered, blown up, and immolated. And sexual perversions run the gamut from rape to sodomy to incest and necrophilia

http://www.amazon.com/Rogue-Blood-J-Blake/dp/0380792419

Loved "The Road ",still think about it,and what I would do in similar circumstances.

igorbiscan

ive only read the road so far,is there any particular order you would recommend to read his other books?

mickoregan

Start with the first - The Orchard Keeper and read them in order. That makes most sense to me even though I read SUTTREE first.

tyler71

Sorry to disagree, but I think if you're going to start reading McCarthy, 'All the Pretty Horses' is the place to start - it's the perfect mix of his downbeat style combined with a bit of optimism. Personally my favourite is 'The Crossing', a beautiful book that I can't quite explain. I love it so much, but it's the second in the trilogy so you sort of have to read the first one but not really. Blood Meridian was the first I read, and is an amazing book - well it was when I read it but I think the likes of 'Unforgiven' and westerns afterwards were heavily influenced by it's unromantic take on that history so not so shocking these days. 'Suttree' and his other books are VERY downbeat, but once you're hooked, that won't be a problem, so you should really start on the more upbeat ones first. Won't comment on the more recent ones, but definitely a writer you really should have a go at, he's just remarkable.

mickoregan

That's fair comment.
I tend to enjoy following a writers development as a writer through his work, which is why I suggest starting at the beginning.

tyler71

Interesting approach, never actually tried that, I tend to be a bit scattergun in my choice of reading! What sort of development would you say you've seen in McCarthy's work?

mickoregan

Geez, I had to go think about it. I've only read the first five thus far.
There was a huge leap in scope I felt with SUTTREE. I felt that in this and also in BLOOD MERIDIAN which followed, the characters were more developed as individuals rather than as "slaves" to a theme.
He started out as a very brave, unflinching writer and hasn't mellowed at all. He's not afraid of taboos - in fact, he seems to relish them but not in a sensationalist way. That's been in evidence through the first five.

tyler71

So you're just about to start the Border Trilogy? You're a lucky man! Be interested to know your opinion when you've finished them, which I'm guessing will be pretty quickly. Enjoy.

mickoregan

Thanks, man. I'm looking forward to them but I've got a stack of other stuff to read first.

nc6000

If you are about to start the Border Trilogy it may be handy to have a print out of the translations from the below link. There is a quite a bit of Spanish in the three books and of course I found out about the translations when I was finished reading them.

http://www.cormacmccarthy.com/Resources.htm#Translations

mickoregan

Hmmmm....ALL THE PRETTY HORSES did nothing for me. That's two in a row now. I'm a bit disappointed.
Nothing has matched OUTER DARK, CHILD, or SUTTREE for me.

igorbiscan

Yeah,All the pretty horses was ok-ish for me,liked the writing style but wasn't exactly gripped by the story in the same way as The Road.Still having said that I would go for another one of his books,whats the next one of the border trilogy?

mickoregan

Well, THE CROSSING is next but I'm not too eager following BLOOD MERIDIAN and HORSES.
Neither of these were even half as powerful as OUTER DARK or CHILD.
I reckon I'll give him a break for a while.

Incidentally, how are the Border trilogy linked? Same characters or just all set along the US/Mex border country?

marienbad

been reading his books for years and as they came out, I stumbled on him long before all the fanfare and it has been a fantastic journey with hopefully a few more years still to go. Blood Meridien is just an astonishing book with a central character of biblical proportions, I just could'nt put it down.

And we have the Ridley Scott/Michael Fassbender film of The Counsellor in production soon

Bobby42

To be honest I'm finding Blood Meridian hard to read. It's fantastic but it's heavy going. Can anyone recommend another book that would get to you used to his style of writing before I give Blood Meridian another go?

grohlisagod

guyserious wrote: »

Something I'd reccomend everyone to check out is The Sunset Limited. A "Novel in dramatic form" the entire thing takes place as a conversation between two men in a New York apartment. It is on the surface a very simple theme, but manages to work a powerful discourse on morality, religion, philosophy, death etc. I picked it up in the library a few weeks ago and read through the whole thing in one go (its only around 100 pages). Well worth the read if anybody hasn't read it yet.

I've seen the TV movie starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson which was superb. A really thought provoking well acted and beautifully written piece. I expect the book is equally good, if not better.

nc6000

mickoregan wrote: »

Well, THE CROSSING is next but I'm not too eager following BLOOD MERIDIAN and HORSES.
Neither of these were even half as powerful as OUTER DARK or CHILD.
I reckon I'll give him a break for a while.

Incidentally, how are the Border trilogy linked? Same characters or just all set along the US/Mex border country?

Both. All three are set along the border and the characters from All The Pretty Horses and The Crossing meet up in Cities Of The Plain.

patff

The Road was brilliant for it's continuous threat of violence, but with very little violence actually occurring.

Child of God is disturbing but comical in parts.

Blood Meridian portrayed an element of American history that's hard to find elsewhere in fiction. The Southern Gothic type characters, eg Judge Holden, didn't fit for me, but overall a masterpiece.

The Border Trilogy, mixed reaction. Probably could have edited the three books into one John Wayne movie. :rolleyes:

berettaman

The guy is a genius, simple as that. The pacing, the characters and the atmosphere that seeps through the pages...and the dark humour.."If it ain't a mess it'll do till a mess gets here..." When you think about something you read for days afterward...you know he is special. it just blows you away..

Six of One

I loved The Road, really loved it. But I couldn't enjoy Blood Meridian at all. I tried but eventually abandoned it about half way through- so now I'm not sure if I like Cormac McCarty at all!

mickoregan

Six of One wrote: »

I loved The Road, really loved it. But I couldn't enjoy Blood Meridian at all. I tried but eventually abandoned it about half way through- so now I'm not sure if I like Cormac McCarty at all!

You gotta read CHILD and DARK before you make your mind up, I think. A lot of people read The Road because of the movie and came to it with those images already in their minds - never a good idea in my opinion.

Try those two books and see what his prose (which is indeed special, even in the books I didn't like) conjures up for ya.

Six of One

Will do, thanks for the tips! Have never seen the film The Road, loved the book and I usually like to avoid films of books I've enjoyed.

Blood Meridian was just so dense and bloody, I couldn't enjoy it. But I will try your suggestions before I give up on McCarty!

Naughtius Maximus

How bleak is Child of God? Going by the back cover it seems like dark stuff.

mickoregan

Naughtius Maximus wrote: »

How bleak is Child of God? Going by the back cover it seems like dark stuff.

Well....my opinion is it's as bleak or dark as you want it to be. That's not the point of the piece, at least not what I got from it. It is a pretty unique experience, I found.

mickoregan

Six of One wrote: »

Have never seen the film The Road, loved the book and I usually like to avoid films of books I've enjoyed.

Hi
I wasn't specifically referring to yourself there - just generally speaking.

Psychedelic

Six of One wrote: »

Will do, thanks for the tips! Have never seen the film The Road, loved the book and I usually like to avoid films of books I've enjoyed.

You should watch the film, it's faithful to the book, brilliantly recreates the apocalyptic, bleak world of the book with outstanding performances by all the actors.

Ormus

If someone didn't like Blood Meridian, I don't see there being a great chance of them enjoying Child of God or Outer Dark more.

Also, while the movie of the Road was a very good adaptation of the book, it didn't add anything, so if someone doesn't usually like to watch movies of books they have read, I wouldn't see any reason to break that habit.

Just my opinion.

mickoregan

Ormus wrote: »

If someone didn't like Blood Meridian, I don't see there being a great chance of them enjoying Child of God or Outer Dark more.

Totally different books in my opinion - no comparison.

Child and Outer D blew me away. Blood M, I found ponderous.

LiamMc

Thought Blood Meridian was very good. As good as the western Novellas/Pulp Fiction I read as a kid, that good.

wandatowell

The scene from Blood Meridian when

(I think) One of the Delaware brothers grabbed two infant children by their ankles and smashed their skulls into rocks really hit me for 6, nasty but extremely readable piece of work

--Kaiser--

Blood Meridian, for me, is a life-changing book, but I didn't enjoy the The Road nearly as much, it's a bit monotonous and there's not enough chance for his poetic touches to emerge. That said, the conversation with the wandering man ('There is no god and we are his prophets') is astounding

ush

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Blood Meridian, for me, is a life-changing book, but I didn't enjoy the The Road nearly as much, it's a bit monotonous and there's not enough chance for his poetic touches to emerge. That said, the conversation with the wandering man ('There is no god and we are his prophets') is astounding

Check out The Sunset Limited. The HBO production is on youtube.

Paddy Samurai

patff wrote: »

Blood Meridian portrayed an element of American history that's hard to find elsewhere in fiction.

Might have mentioned it previously,but if you like Blood Meridian,give In The Rogue Blood by James Carlos Blake a try.

The offspring of a whore mother and a homicidal father, Edward and John Little are driven from their home in the Florida swamplands by a sching parent's treacheries, and by a shameful, horrific act that will haunt their dreams for the rest of their days. Joining the swelling ranks of the rootless--wandering across an almost surreal bloodland populated by the sorrowfully lost and defiantly damned--two brothers are separated by death and circumstance in the lawless "Dixie City" of New Orelans, and dispatched by destiny to opposing sides in a fierce and desperate territorial struggled between Mexico and the United States. And a family bond tempered in hot blood is tested in the cruel, all-consuming fires of war and conscience.With soaring and masterful prose, James Carlos Blake brings to life an enthralling historical time and place--and a cast of memorable characters--in a stunning tale of dark instinct, blood reckoning, and fates forged in the zeal of America's "Manifest Destiny."

Blake is capable of descriptions as lush and elegaic as anything Cormac McCarthy, to whom he is often compared, has ever written. But his work is more reminiscent of Larry McMurtry's Western novels -- only harsher and bloodier. Like ''Lonesome Dove'''s creator, Blake favors straight-talking, unschooled narrators who speak in a vivid, salty vernacular, and his fiction is so readable -- so folksy, action-packed, and earthy -- it's easy to miss the fact that it is also, frequently, brilliant.

Markcheese

Have only read the road...and even though I enjoyed it ( ? ) it was so bleak that it put me off reading his other stuff... Maybe I'll have another look.

WatchWolf

Is it just me or was "No Country For Old Men" a very well-written screenplay wrote in the past tense?

mickoregan

I just finished THE ROAD - a wonderful, very moving piece of work.

I really do need to get into the remaining two of the Border Trilogy but, I'm thinking that the Spanish passages will be a bit of a nuisance.

nc6000

mickoregan wrote: »

I just finished THE ROAD - a wonderful, very moving piece of work.

I really do need to get into the remaining two of the Border Trilogy but, I'm thinking that the Spanish passages will be a bit of a nuisance.

Have you downloaded the Spanish translations from his website?

http://www.cormacmccarthy.com/resources/translations/

candlegrease

Absolutely cannot stand Cormac McCarthy.

Just my opinion.

Tom Joad

Loved The Road and the Border Trilogy but absolutely detested Blood Meridian - its still sitting unfinished somewhere in my bookshelves.