rough edges
Sapere Aude
Very sad news. Died of natural causes at 89. Rest In peace Child of God.
The Border Trilogy is very strong, if somewhat “mainstream”, for a writer of McCarthy’s style.There’s ample darkness and depravity in those three works to support the author’s world view, but IMO, the real gems are Child of God, Outer Dark, and his magnum opus Blood Meridian.
FWIW, literary critics and distinguished authors have categorized Blood Meridian as being of the same stature as Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying”, and Melville’s “Moby Dick”. That’s fairly lofty company, to state the all too obvious.
A movie deal has recently been made for Blood Meridian. Not bad for a novel that sold only 1883 original copies…
Blood Meridian leaves a mark, for sure.
I’m going to put in a word for Suttree, one of the saddest books I’ve ever read.
Blood Meridian leaves a mark, for sure.
I’m going to put in a word for Suttree, one of the saddest books I’ve ever read.
Indeed, never read any, but might add one to the Kindle for the holiday. Sounds like that might be enough to start.
FWIW, I started with “All the Pretty Horses”, as it was fairly new and had won the National Book Award. It’s a phenomenal read, and then you can progress through the rest of the trilogy if you want more. There is a fair bit of McCarthy darkness in “All the Pretty Horses”, but it’s balanced out by compassion , kindness, and humanity. And it’s a great love story.
Whichever McCarthy work you start out with, though, you are in for a real treat. McCarthy is by far my favourite novelist, and his novels are all of the caliber that you may read them multiple times. Hope you enjoy…