RIP Cormac McCarthy

[BWV 1080]

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jun/13/cormac-mccarthy-dead-novelist

[San Antone]

Very sad news.  One of my two favorite writers.   

[Spotted Horses]

I've read a few of his novels and found myself pretty disturbed at the level of violence. It is not clear to me what overall "theme" infuses his fiction, except that the heart of the United States is senseless brutality.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

I've read a few of his novels and found myself pretty disturbed at the level of violence. It is not clear to me what overall "theme" infuses his fiction, except that the heart of the United States is senseless brutality.

I've skipped most of his work largely because of that. Blood Meridian is supposed to be a masterpiece, but descriptions of it make it sound like a more literate version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

I did read The Road. Not bad, but I've read better post-apocalyptic stuff.

I've given Suttree a couple of shots. This is supposed to be McCarthy in more friendly, less bloodthirsty mode. The problem is that he can't resist showing off his vocabulary, which results in a sluggish reading experience. Maybe if I can get past those first couple of chapters I will be able to enjoy it.

[Spotted Horses]

I've skipped most of his work largely because of that. Blood Meridian is supposed to be a masterpiece, but descriptions of it make it sound like a more literate version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

I did read The Road. Not bad, but I've read better post-apocalyptic stuff.

I've given Suttree a couple of shots. This is supposed to be McCarthy in more friendly, less bloodthirsty mode. The problem is that he can't resist showing off his vocabulary, which results in a sluggish reading experience. Maybe if I can get past those first couple of chapters I will be able to enjoy it.

I've read Blood Meridian, which is striking, and the Border Trilogy (which I don't remember much of). It is a unique body of work, but not something I plan to revisit.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

BTW my favorite fun fact about Cormac McCarthy. He was born Charles McCarthy, but he changed his name because he didn't want to be confused with a notorious ventriloquist's dummy:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_McCarthy

[Spotted Horses]

BTW my favorite fun fact about Cormac McCarthy. He was born Charles McCarthy, but he changed his name because he didn't want to be confused with a notorious ventriloquist's dummy:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_McCarthy

Only to be confused with John Carson's Carnac character.

[Karl Henning]

I've read a few of his novels and found myself pretty disturbed at the level of violence. It is not clear to me what overall "theme" infuses his fiction, except that the heart of the United States is senseless brutality.

Even just the trailer for The Road was so oppressively bleak, I've come away with the feeling that I'll only seek his work out if I have an appetite for oppressively bleak. Hasn't happened yet.

[BWV 1080]

Outer Dark is a good Southern gothic horror tale - so dark, but largely within the constraints of genre

[Luke]

Even just the trailer for The Road was so oppressively bleak, I've come away with the feeling that I'll only seek his work out if I have an appetite for oppressively bleak. Hasn't happened yet.

And yet... all that Pettersson! 

[Mandryka]

I've read a few of his novels and found myself pretty disturbed at the level of violence. It is not clear to me what overall "theme" infuses his fiction, except that the heart of the United States is senseless brutality.

You'd better not read the Iliad then.

[Karl Henning]

And yet... all that Pettersson! 

Hah! My Pettersson listening has been selective and broadly spaced. For instance, although I've bookmarked the Viola Concerto, I've not set to listening, yet ....

[Spotted Horses]

You'd better not read the Iliad then.

I've read it more than once. I don't live in Ancient Troy and don't have to worry about being disemboweled in my sleep by Agamemnon.

[BWV 1080]

I've read it more than once. I don't live in Ancient Troy and don't have to worry about being disemboweled in my sleep by Agamemnon.

You likewise do not have to worry about Glanton's gang scalping you then claiming it came from an Apache so they could claim a Mexican bounty

[San Antone]

I've skipped most of his work largely because of that. Blood Meridian is supposed to be a masterpiece, but descriptions of it make it sound like a more literate version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

I did read The Road. Not bad, but I've read better post-apocalyptic stuff.

I've given Suttree a couple of shots. This is supposed to be McCarthy in more friendly, less bloodthirsty mode. The problem is that he can't resist showing off his vocabulary, which results in a sluggish reading experience. Maybe if I can get past those first couple of chapters I will be able to enjoy it.

Different strokes ...

I find his writing deeply evocative, endlessly fascinating, and ultimately, persuasive.  I rank him with Faulkner.  The violence does not bother me, and in BM, is a theme of man's nature.  The book opens with three quotes, one of which describes a prehistoric murder: "Clark, who led last year's expedition to the Afar region of northern Ethiopia, and UC Berkeley colleague Tim D. White, also said that a re-examination of a 300,000 year old fossil skull found in the same region earlier shows evidence of having been scalped." The Yuma Daily Sun, June 13, 1982.

Maybe one has to have grown up in the South to appreciate that violence is simply a fact of life.

Blood Meridian is my favorite book of his, but I have enjoyed all of his novels, until The Road.  I much prefer his novels placed in the 19th century, or early 20th century, South or West, and am not a fan of any futuristic apocalyptic fiction.

[BWV 1080]

Different strokes ...

I find his writing deeply evocative, endlessly fascinating, and ultimately, persuasive.  I rank him with Faulkner.  The violence does not bother me, and in BM, is a theme of man's nature.  The book opens with three quotes, one of which describes a prehistoric murder: "Clark, who led last year's expedition to the Afar region of northern Ethiopia, and UC Berkeley colleague Tim D. White, also said that a re-examination of a 300,000 year old fossil skull found in the same region earlier shows evidence of having been scalped." The Yuma Daily Sun, June 13, 1982.

Maybe one has to have grown up in the South to appreciate that violence is simply a fact of life.

Blood Meridian is my favorite book of his, but I have enjoyed all of his novels, until The Road.  I much prefer his novels placed in the 19th century, or early 20th century, South or West, and am not a fan of any futuristic apocalyptic fiction.

Although the sort of lawless violence described in Blood Meridian would have been very familiar to anyone on the frontiers North of the Mason Dixon line in the 18th century

[Spotted Horses]

You likewise do not have to worry about Glanton's gang scalping you then claiming it came from an Apache so they could claim a Mexican bounty

Correct, I live in Chumash territory.

Maybe one has to have grown up in the South to appreciate that violence is simply a fact of life.

I grew up in The Bronx.

I knew someone who was pals with him when she was a fellow at the Santa Fee Institute (a scientist). Apparently he was a charming guy, despite the dark stuff that was rattling around in his brain.

Maybe I'll put McCarthy in my BookBub list and see if any irresistible bargains pop up...

[vers la flamme]

Correct, I live in Chumash territory.

I grew up in The Bronx.

I knew someone who was pals with him when she was a fellow at the Santa Fee Institute (a scientist). Apparently he was a charming guy, despite the dark stuff that was rattling around in his brain.

Maybe I'll put McCarthy in my BookBub list and see if any irresistible bargains pop up...

You could try All the Pretty Horses. It's got all the McCarthy trademarks but is somewhat less overwhelmingly bleak and violent than, say, Blood Meridian. A beautiful book.

[Spotted Horses]

You could try All the Pretty Horses. It's got all the McCarthy trademarks but is somewhat less overwhelmingly bleak and violent than, say, Blood Meridian. A beautiful book.

As I wrote somewhere above, I've also read the border trilogy, but had no recollection of it. Reading the wikipedia entry, the plots outlines seem familiar. I was thinking of trying the Border trilogy, but I got rid of the hardcopy version I had (Hardcover "Everyman Edition" donated to Good Will, probably). I'm not anxious to pay full price. As I said, if BookBub turns up a deal I may spring for it.

[vers la flamme]

As I wrote somewhere above, I've also read the border trilogy, but had no recollection of it. Reading the wikipedia entry, the plots outlines seem familiar. I was thinking of trying the Border trilogy, but I got rid of the hardcopy version I had (Hardcover "Everyman Edition" donated to Good Will, probably). I'm not anxious to pay full price. As I said, if BookBub turns up a deal I may spring for it.

As much as I love McCarthy, I'm not sure the Border trilogy really works as a trilogy. But that first book is amazing.