Cormac McCarthy

[cmcgarvey]

I think he deserves a thread of his own.

[DREKTUNES]

And perhaps where to start? Have as yet to read anything by him.

[NewMarketSean]

Check out The Road. It's a quick read and they are making a movie based on the book which is to come out this winter. It's probably also his best book.

[Lucky Jim]

Check out The Road. It's a quick read and they are making a movie based on the book which is to come out this winter. It's probably also his best book.

Frankly, I think we're too close to it (time-wise) to know for sure. I have a hard time believing that it'll pass Blood Meridian.

Here's a smart review (which ends with No Country For Old Men) that commits many of the sins it accuses McCarthy of:

James Wood on Cormac McCarthy (http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/07/25/050725crbo_books?currentPage=2).

All of his newer work to men seem like pre-fab movie scripts. I'm throwing my lot in with Blood Meridian.

He's a powerful writer, nonetheless. But his excesses of violence have become oddly de-contextualized and aesthetic. I don't like his didactic nihilism all that much.

[sakata_catching]

All of his newer work to men seem like pre-fab movie scripts. I'm throwing my lot in with Blood Meridian.

He's a powerful writer, nonetheless. But his excesses of violence have become oddly de-contextualized and aesthetic. I don't like his didactic nihilism all that much.
You're sayin' what I'm thinkin', LJ. His recent genre exercises seem to me exactly that — exercises, as well as a concession — if not to a paucity of new ideas, then to the marketplace. (That's not a criticism of genre, but of McCarthy, by the way.)

I admire Blood Meridian, but I prefer McCarthy before he went SxSW, the chronicler of backwoods Southern degenerates and self-ruined gentry. Suttree remains for me his best novel — one of the best American novels I've ever read, and certainly on a par with Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! or Light in August.

[Lucky Jim]

You're sayin' what I'm thinkin', LJ. His recent genre exercises seem to me exactly that — exercises, as well as a concession — if not to a paucity of new ideas, then to the marketplace. (That's not a criticism of genre, but of McCarthy, by the way.)

I admire Blood Meridian, but I prefer McCarthy before he went SxSW, the chronicler of backwoods Southern degenerates and self-ruined gentry. Suttree remains for me his best novel — one of the best American novels I've ever read, and certainly on a par with Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! or Light in August.

Did you like my Freudian slip of me/n? Because we all know that McCarthy's turned the old adage "never met a woman he didn't like" into "never met a woman..."

I haven't read Suttree. I've heard great and awful things about. So, obviously, it's sublime. Now, whether it's actually good...I can only determine on my own.

That said, only those who've read it know that American Pie completely ripped it off.

[sakata_catching]

Did you like my Freudian slip of me/n? Because we all know that McCarthy's turned the old adage "never met a woman he didn't like" into "never met a woman..."
You sly boots!;)


That said, only those who've read it know that American Pie completely ripped it off.
You'll never look at a pumpkin quite the same way.:eektf:

Still and all, it has nothing on the 20-page cow scene in Faulkner's The Hamlet!

[DurbBird]

Cormac McCarthy is my favorite modern American author, and Blood Meridian is one of the best books written by an American. I also belong to the Cormac McCarthy Society (http://www.cormacmccarthy.com/).

I met Cormac McCarthy three years ago. Michele and I were killing time one evening in a chain bookstore in Santa Fe (this was before we bought Otowi Station (otowistation.com/)), and as we were leaving, a man held the door open for us. I hissed, "Michele! That's Cormac McCarthy!" I went back in and, knowing how he values his privacy, asked as quietly as possible, "Sir, are you Cormac McCarthy?" He said, "Yes, I am. Who are you?" I introduced myself and said that I admired his work very much. He asked, "What do you do when you're not admiring my work?" At the time, I was working on the ARIES Project (http://www.lanl.gov/natlsecurity/threat/nonprolif/materials.shtml) at Los Alamos National Laboratory, so I told him about that. His eyes lit up. He loves science and scientists, which is why he hangs out at the Santa Fe Institute (http://www.santafe.edu/). We chatted for about 10 minutes and then shook hands, and I left.

He is a nice man and a national treasure.

[PeteCanes]

Only McCarthy novel that I've read is The Road. It was pretty grim but a very fast and enjoyable read. Reminded me a lot of Stephen King's Dark Tower series as far as the plot is concerned.

[DREKTUNES]

Ok, LJ, Sakky, the rest - pick one of his books and I'll go buy it and read it. Far too many holes in my reading history. Whether you consider it a good in for him, or just his best book, let me know why I should get it.

[sakata_catching]

Ok, LJ, Sakky, the rest - pick one of his books and I'll go buy it and read it. Far too many holes in my reading history. Whether you consider it a good in for him, or just his best book, let me know why I should get it.

Either one is well worth your time. It really comes down to whether you're more in the mood for a dark Southern picaresque (Suttree) or an astonishingly gruesome metaphysical Western (Blood Meridian). I'd recommend skimming a few pages of each on Amazon* and seeing whether you're down with McCarthy's particular brand of purple prose before committing to either.

(*then purchasing from your local independent bookseller, of course — that's for you Durb Bird;))

[DREKTUNES]

Either one is well worth your time. It really comes down to whether you're more in the mood for a dark Southern picaresque (Suttree) or an astonishingly gruesome metaphysical Western (Blood Meridian). I'd recommend skimming a few pages of each on Amazon* and seeing whether you're down with McCarthy's particular brand of purple prose before committing to either.

(*then purchasing from your local independent bookseller, of course — that's for you Durb Bird;))

Actually, I just reupped for QPB (Black Lizard Pulp Collection!!) and ordered a copy of The Road. Will look those two over at the B&N, and then, of course, order them online. ;)

[sakata_catching]

Actually, I just reupped for QPB (Black Lizard Pulp Collection!!) and ordered a copy of The Road. Will look those two over at the B&N, and then, of course, order them online. ;)

Your proclivity for blowing off solicited recommendations is second only to your thread-jacking skills. Kudos, sir.:p

[Lucky Jim]

Your proclivity for blowing off solicited recommendations is second only to your thread-jacking skills. Kudos, sir.:p

Don't you love that? I had a girl I know ask for new music recommendations the other day and I told her I didn't have any - but recommended she listen to the Flirtations song (Nothin' But a Heartache) I linked in the music thread the other day. "It's amazing," I said.

She said that she already "60s girl group" music that she liked. That "Be My Baby" - now THAT was amazing. That my suggestion wasn't amazing.

Of course, she listened to it on her computer (when the production is the key). Still, who solicits suggestions, then puts them down?

That's the last one she ever gets.

(My excellent threadjacking is dedicated to Drek.)

[DREKTUNES]

Don't you love that? I had a girl I know ask for new music recommendations the other day and I told her I didn't have any - but recommended she listen to the Flirtations song (Nothin' But a Heartache) I linked in the music thread the other day. "It's amazing," I said.

She said that she already "60s girl group" music that she liked. That "Be My Baby" - now THAT was amazing. That my suggestion wasn't amazing.

Of course, she listened to it on her computer (when the production is the key). Still, who solicits suggestions, then puts them down?

That's the last one she ever gets.

(My excellent threadjacking is dedicated to Drek.)

Man, nothing like stereo hammering from the OH resident book snobs. :D

And, for the record, I never said I wouldn't get the books you rec'd; just that I grabbed The Road. And perhaps in there was the nod that you were a bit slow, Sakky. You know, in giving a title.

[Scrat1]

Blood Meridian is by far my favorite, but I also really like Outer Dark and Child of God. Haven't read The Road yet, but I've heard good things.

I have to admit that I wasn't a huge fan of Suttree. Some parts of it were great but I think it needed some more editing. You can tell he wrote that thing over 20 years; it's all over the place.

[DuffMan]

I just finished The Road and have read that and No Country For Old Men. While I enjoyed reading both of these (I liked The Road better though) I have to ask does he have any books that aren't so bleak?

[sakata_catching]

I just finished The Road and have read that and No Country For Old Men. While I enjoyed reading both of these (I liked The Road better though) I have to ask does he have any books that aren't so bleak?
Try Child of God.

(I kid. Child of God makes the titles you mentioned read like Jonathan Livingston Seagull.)

The short and simple answer to your question: nope. Though All the Pretty Horses is less bleak than the others, I guess.

[DuffMan]

Try Child of God.

(I kid. Child of God makes the titles you mentioned read like Jonathan Livingston Seagull.)

The short and simple answer to your question: nope. Though All the Pretty Horses is less bleak than the others, I guess.

Did someone steal this guys puppy or spit on his cupcakes or something??

[Lucky Jim]

Nah, he just confuses violence and bleakness for "serious" and "literary." He's got a fetish for the nihilistic.

[OrangeJerseys]

I love McCarthy's books.
Blood Meridian
The Border Trilogy
No Country for Old Men
The Road

[DREKTUNES]

So - does the book No Country For Old Men make any more sense than the film? Goodness, what a disjointed letdown.

[DurbBird]

For fans of Blood Meridian, John Sepich's Notes on Blood Meridian is now back in print ($21.95 at your local independent bookstore). With used copies of the original edition going for upwards of $300.00, I had despaired of ever seeing a copy.

You can also get A Reader's Guide to Blood Meridian for $26.00 (instead of $100.00 on the secondary market) directly from the Cormac McCarthy Society (http://www.cormacmccarthy.com/). I was sort of disappointed in it; it's mainly glossary, but some of it was interesting and useful.

[Lucky Jim]

For fans of Blood Meridian, John Sepich's Notes on Blood Meridian is now back in print ($21.95 at your local independent bookstore). With used copies of the original edition going for upwards of $300.00, I had despaired of ever seeing a copy.

You can also get A Reader's Guide to Blood Meridian for $26.00 (instead of $100.00 on the secondary market) directly from the Cormac McCarthy Society (http://www.cormacmccarthy.com/). I was sort of disappointed in it; it's mainly glossary, but some of it was interesting and useful.

Count me in as a fan of annotations. McHugh's Annotations to Finnegan's Wake was - without exaggerating - the only reason I got through it.

[OrangeJerseys]

So - does the book No Country For Old Men make any more sense than the film? Goodness, what a disjointed letdown.

I think it does.