Cormac McCarthy

[AntD919]

Maybe I missed it, but I just scanned all the topic threads here and I'm a little upset to not see a McCarthy thread. I think he is one of the best writers of true modern American Literature of this era. I realize his writing style is a love/hate type of thing, but you have to admire the boldness of it. I have read 6 of his books to date (The Border Trilogy, The Road, No Country..., Blood Meridian) and have thoroughly enjoyed all of them. Ok, "Cities on the Plain" of the Border Trilogy was so-so, but no one can tell me this man is not one of the best writers of our time. I wish more authors today were willing to take chances and explore new avenues of literary style as McCarthy has. It's a throwback to the Faulkners and Melvilles of long ago, and we need more courageous writers like him now and in the future to inspire the creative minds of tomorrow.

[Gannon]

I agree with you, McCarthy is a brilliant writer. I have only read "The Road" and "No country for old men". I think both are fantastic reads. I don't know why I have not read more of his books, I will have to add some of them to my TBR list. Which one would you suggest to start off with?

[AntD919]

I would definitely recommend Blood Meridian. It's easily my favorite of his works but be prepared for extremely graphic violence. It's based on actual events during the mid 1800s, about the scalphunting Glanton gang who collected Indian scalps for bounty in Old Mexico but devolved into a bloodlusty band of marauders who would massacre everything in their path. It's a quick read and well worth it.

[StephenKingman]

There is a very old thread on Cormac so its reasonable to start another one, Yes, he is a fantastic writer and his book The Road rates as one of my favorite books of all time. I have not read much of his other work yet though

[Fran]

IMO 'The Road' is easily his best book & I loved it.

I read All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing & Cities of the Plain but did not like them at all in actual fact I found them boring & really an effort to finish reading them. I think his books are very much a 'male' interest & he is definitely very popular with my male book reader friends.

[StephenKingman]

Didnt he also write No Country For Old Men? I could never understand the adulation around that movie, yeah it was good but not worthy of all the gushing, back-slapping praise it received at the time. It was almost a sin to admit you didnt like it but i personally found it very middle of the road and far too serious for its own good..

[Fran]

Didnt he also write No Country For Old Men? I could never understand the adulation around that movie, yeah it was good but not worthy of all the gushing, back-slapping praise it received at the time. It was almost a sin to admit you didnt like it but i personally found it very middle of the road and far too serious for its own good..

Absolutely agree with you Mike ... apart from Tommy Lee Jones who I consider a much underrated actor ..... I couldn't see what it was really about
and certainly don't think it deserved all the praise it got

[StephenKingman]

Didnt he also write No Country For Old Men? I could never understand the adulation around that movie, yeah it was good but not worthy of all the gushing, back-slapping praise it received at the time. It was almost a sin to admit you didnt like it but i personally found it very middle of the road and far too serious for its own good..

Absolutely agree with you Mike ... apart from Tommy Lee Jones who I consider a much underrated actor ..... I couldn't see what it was really about
and certainly don't think it deserved all the praise it got

I wasnt aware of his other works until very recently actually, seems his earlier work has been overshadowed by The Road. I am curious though to try one or two more of his books, he seems to specialise in setting his stories in isolated and barren environments..

I think maybe the movie of No Country for Old Men came out at a time when Oscar potentials were a bit thin on the ground so it got more praise than it deserved.

[AntD919]

Sorry, I did scan through all the older posts in the authors section. Must've missed it.

[StephenKingman]

Sorry, I did scan through all the older posts in the authors section. Must've missed it.

No problem, some threads are quite old and its reasonable to start a new thread in that case.

[Gannon]

I would definitely recommend Blood Meridian. It's easily my favorite of his works but be prepared for extremely graphic violence. It's based on actual events during the mid 1800s, about the scalphunting Glanton gang who collected Indian scalps for bounty in Old Mexico but devolved into a bloodlusty band of marauders who would massacre everything in their path. It's a quick read and well worth it.

I will add "Blood Meridian" to my TBR list as it sounds very interesting and something I would like thanks AntD919.

Hey StephenKingman even though I loved "The Road" as a film I must admit that I did enjoy "No country for old men" better. I actually saw it before it became really popular. The main character, the hitman, makes the whole movie. He is just so sinister and has his own warped morals. I love the scenes how he flips the coin to decide someones fate. I really think that the actor who portrayed him should have got an oscar. Hang on maybe he did, I will have to look it up.

[Bmsb6f]

Great writer.


Old stuff's iffy (save for Child of God, Suttree, and Blood Meridian)


The Road could easily be his best.



Cormac's at his finest when he writes minimally, eschewing erroneous blather.

[SpecialAgentCooper]

Blood Meridian was the book that awakened me to reading in my late 20's. I could easily say it's McCarthy's "best".

But I most enjoyed Suttree, I found the book to be magical and near perfection.

At the risk of sounding blasphemous, I found The Road to be more mediocre by his standards. Child of God was fantastic, and even though I had seen NCFOM prior to reading the book, I loved it. All the Pretty Horses was a joy as well.

[AntD919]

Hey StephenKingman even though I loved "The Road" as a film I must admit that I did enjoy "No country for old men" better. I actually saw it before it became really popular. The main character, the hitman, makes the whole movie. He is just so sinister and has his own warped morals. I love the scenes how he flips the coin to decide someones fate. I really think that the actor who portrayed him should have got an oscar. Hang on maybe he did, I will have to look it up.

He did win best supporting actor that year. Coincidentally, since you were addressing "StephenKingman", that same actor (Javier Bardem) was just offered the lead role in Stephen King's opus "The Dark Tower". Not my first choice for one of my most beloved characters ever but they could do a lot worse.

[Gannon]

Hey StephenKingman even though I loved "The Road" as a film I must admit that I did enjoy "No country for old men" better. I actually saw it before it became really popular. The main character, the hitman, makes the whole movie. He is just so sinister and has his own warped morals. I love the scenes how he flips the coin to decide someones fate. I really think that the actor who portrayed him should have got an oscar. Hang on maybe he did, I will have to look it up.

He did win best supporting actor that year. Coincidentally, since you were addressing "StephenKingman", that same actor (Javier Bardem) was just offered the lead role in Stephen King's opus "The Dark Tower". Not my first choice for one of my most beloved characters ever but they could do a lot worse.

Thanks for that AntD919, I thought he did. He was soooooo good, I don't think that the movie would have been half as good as it was if he was not in it.