Cormac McCarthy

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.

mickoregan

I found Blood Meridian hard going, but....it's drawing me back for a second go!! McCarthy's style and imagery is VERY compelling.

mickoregan

nc6000 wrote: »

Have you downloaded the Spanish translations from his website?

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

No, I have not. I didn't know about them. I'll take a look.
I wonder why he wrote these passages at all, assuming that the majority of his readers would not speak Spanish. I understand the need for authenticity, but it struck me as strange just the same.
Are these passages crucial to the story and/or characters or are they passages that are more for authenticity alone. I'm curious.

nc6000

mickoregan wrote: »

No, I have not. I didn't know about them. I'll take a look.
I wonder why he wrote these passages at all, assuming that the majority of his readers would not speak Spanish. I understand the need for authenticity, but it struck me as strange just the same.
Are these passages crucial to the story and/or characters or are they passages that are more for authenticity alone. I'm curious.

Not sure to be honest, I only discovered the translations after I finished The Border Trilogy.

Honey-ec

candlegrease wrote: »

Absolutely cannot stand Cormac McCarthy.

Just my opinion.

What a worthy contribution to the thread.

I've no issue with anyone disliking an author, but if they're posting on a thread about said author, I'd expect them to at least elaborate a bit on why.

I'm on the fence about McCarthy, still. I enjoyed The Road, I still have no idea whether or not I liked No Country for Old Men, and I only started Blood Meridian last night.

I just think his style of writing is a bit, I don't know, sterile. I know a lot of people would say that's the point, but I don't know. I'm just very ambiguous about him.

Dirty Dingus McGee

I don't think it is necessary to get translations on the spanish pieces in the border trilogy, I don't speak Spanish but i didnt feel I was missing out by not knowing what was being said.All The Pretty Horses is my favourite book of all time it is such a great story and the writing is beautiful.I am a fairly slow reader but I read All The Pretty Horses over 3 days staying up till 3 in the morning a copuple of nights, a book that size would normally take at least a couple of weeks for me.I envy the people who have yet to read All the Pretty Horses

ThirdMan

Honey-ec wrote: »

I still have no idea whether or not I liked No Country for Old Men

You're jumping on Candlegrease because he won't elaborate on why he dislikes McCarthy, yet you don't know whether or not you like a book that you've read. Maybe you're both just lost for words.

ThirdMan

I read the Border Trilogy while I was in Barcelona. I was staying in a windowless hostel, with dodgy air conditioning. The sweat was literally dripping onto the book. I remember reading certain passages of The Crossing, with those long, drifting sentences. The rhythm of the prose and the scorching heat were pulling me into a kind of trance. It was agonising, but I'll never forget it.

mickoregan

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

I don't think it is necessary to get translations on the spanish pieces in the border trilogy, I don't speak Spanish but i didnt feel I was missing out by not knowing what was being said.All The Pretty Horses is my favourite book of all time it is such a great story and the writing is beautiful.I am a fairly slow reader but I read All The Pretty Horses over 3 days staying up till 3 in the morning a copuple of nights, a book that size would normally take at least a couple of weeks for me.I envy the people who have yet to read All the Pretty Horses

Good to know about the Spanish passages. However, I wasn't all that taken with "Horses"...

dr gonzo

Honey-ec wrote: »

I'm on the fence about McCarthy, still. I enjoyed The Road, I still have no idea whether or not I liked No Country for Old Men, and I only started Blood Meridian last night.

I just think his style of writing is a bit, I don't know, sterile. I know a lot of people would say that's the point, but I don't know. I'm just very ambiguous about him.

This is me exactly. Enjoyed the road, NCFOM was good but remain unsure about whether or not it was enjoyable, and have to return to BM.

I understand theres a lot to be said for pushing yourself to read what is considered to be high quality literature, but I think back on reading NCFOM and I just cant say that it was terribly enjoyable, for large sections at least. Certainly the characters were excellent, and some of the scenes were too, but the rest was a bit dull...

I think I'm doing the man an injustice now!

Mindfulness

While I can say that I enjoyed 'The Road' I felt that it was nowhere near as god as the reviews made out. Yes it was bleak, post-apocalyptic stuff but overall I found it lacking and I'm not sure why.

It's not as though I couldn't empathise with the main protagonist, I have a child myself but there was something about either the dialogue or the telling of the tale that left me unsure of the book as a great piece of writing.