Author Topic: Cormac McCarthy (Read 44072 times)

Wigwamdelbert · « **Reply #160 on:** February 11, 2010, 11:35:20 am »

Quote from: DowntheLine1981 on February 11, 2010, 11:18:40 am

Fair enough, but after The Road I really want to give McCarthy a proper whirl and I reckon if I plough through the trilogy it'll give me a real introduction to his work. Basically, I'm not all that keen on westerns as a genre, so if I get those three books out the way I reckon I can make my judgement then (and buy all his books).

Well, they're not so much westerns as intertwining life stories which just happen to be set in the time of the great frontier.

John C · « **Reply #161 on:** February 11, 2010, 06:25:43 pm »

Quote from: DowntheLine1981 on February 11, 2010, 10:48:38 am

Just bought the whole Border Trilogy off Amazon for £5.49 (does anyone else ever feel guilty when ordering books off the Internet?)

I still haven't got round to starting that and I've had it since last April!

Red Viper · « **Reply #162 on:** February 13, 2010, 02:56:19 pm »

Quote from: John C on February 11, 2010, 06:25:43 pm

I still haven't got round to starting that and I've had it since last April!

My brother got it me for Christmas but I've not started it yet. Loved The Road and NCFOM though. Just need a bit of time free to get into it.

hassinator · « **Reply #163 on:** February 13, 2010, 03:15:44 pm »

i've read 'the road' - fuck me its amazing - and have the border trilogy but should i read that next?

all mccarthy advice gratefull received as i feel another obsession coming on

Yorkykopite · « **Reply #164 on:** February 13, 2010, 03:44:30 pm »

Blood Meridian mate. Then All the Pretty Horses.

hassinator · « **Reply #165 on:** February 14, 2010, 12:28:10 pm »

Quote from: yorkykopite on February 13, 2010, 03:44:30 pm

Blood Meridian mate. Then All the Pretty Horses.

roger that yorky. will snap them up and report back.

DowntheLine1981 · « **Reply #166 on:** February 17, 2010, 05:57:50 pm »

Halfway through Blood Meridian and its fantastic! Still waiting on The Border Trilogy to arrive from Amazon.

Cormac's use of imagery is second to none:

"Dark of the invisible moon. The nights now only slightly less black. By day the banished sun circles the earth like a grieving mother with a lamp."

Fuck.Me.

Withnail · « **Reply #167 on:** February 17, 2010, 06:38:08 pm »

Just finished Blood Meridian. Fuck, thats some heavy shit !
Its more like reading one massive poem. I amigine the judge to be like Pierluigi Collina on steroids

Rotation · « **Reply #168 on:** February 20, 2010, 07:26:36 am »

Just read "The Road". Very moving, brilliantly written.

Rotation · « **Reply #169 on:** February 21, 2010, 03:44:15 am »

Should I read the Border trilogy, or is there something else I should get stuck into before that?

Veinticinco de Mayo · « **Reply #170 on:** February 21, 2010, 10:43:40 am »

All the Pretty Horses is a great book mate. It's a good next step

hooded claw · « **Reply #171 on:** February 21, 2010, 11:53:18 am »

Having done with The Road, I am just starting Blood Meridian.

gomez · « **Reply #172 on:** February 26, 2010, 09:07:14 pm »

I said in the book thread that All the Pretty Horses was one of the best books that id ever read, but on reflection it is my favorite book of all time.

Can't believe that I only discovered Cormac McCarthy last year (thanks to RAWK), absolutely loving his work. The only downside I find to reading one of his books is that whatever novel I read after it tends to seem dull and unfulfilling.

rob1408 · « **Reply #173 on:** February 26, 2010, 10:10:37 pm »

Quote from: gomez on February 26, 2010, 09:07:14 pm

I said in the book thread that All the Pretty Horses was one of the best books that id ever read, but on reflection it is my favorite book of all time.

Can't believe that I only discovered Cormac McCarthy last year (thanks to RAWK), absolutely loving his work. The only downside I find to reading one of his books is that whatever novel I read after it tends to seem dull and unfulfilling.

Unless you read Blood Meridian.

eitzel · « **Reply #174 on:** February 26, 2010, 10:20:36 pm »

Quote from: gomez on February 26, 2010, 09:07:14 pm

I said in the book thread that All the Pretty Horses was one of the best books that id ever read, but on reflection it is my favorite book of all time.

Can't believe that I only discovered Cormac McCarthy last year (thanks to RAWK), absolutely loving his work. The only downside I find to reading one of his books is that whatever novel I read after it tends to seem dull and unfulfilling.

Try Richard Ford, John Fante, William Maxwell, Raymond Carver, Richard Yates, Bukowski, Miller, Burroughs, Kerouac, Salinger, Gnsberg, Pynchon.....

USA!

Veinticinco de Mayo · « **Reply #175 on:** February 26, 2010, 10:23:25 pm »

Quote from: eitzel on February 26, 2010, 10:20:36 pm

Try Richard Ford, John Fante, William Maxwell, Raymond Carver, Richard Yates, Bukowski, Miller, Burroughs, Kerouac, Salinger, Gnsberg, Pynchon.....

Don't you be invading the McCarthy thread with your impressive canon of America's great novellists

eitzel · « **Reply #176 on:** February 26, 2010, 10:25:12 pm »

Quote from: Veinticinco de Mayo on February 26, 2010, 10:23:25 pm

Don't you be invading the McCarthy thread with your impressive canon of America's great novellists

Sozz la

saoirse08 · « **Reply #177 on:** February 27, 2010, 12:00:07 pm »

I'm scouring second hand bookshops/charity shops for some more McCarthy texts after finishing No Country For Old Men. Thought The Road a far better book than No Country. Although, I preferred the Cohen brother's film ending better than the book's. Still worth a read though. Looking forward to seeing film version of The Road too.

gomez · « **Reply #178 on:** February 27, 2010, 01:27:30 pm »

Quote from: saoirse08 on February 27, 2010, 12:00:07 pm

I'm scouring second hand bookshops/charity shops for some more McCarthy texts after finishing No Country For Old Men. Thought The Road a far better book than No Country. Although, I preferred the Cohen brother's film ending better than the book's. Still worth a read though. Looking forward to seeing film version of The Road too.

Ive been purposely avoiding the film version of the road because I think it's absolutely impossible to convey the utter sense of dread and desperation that you get from the book on to the screen.

Driver 8 · « **Reply #179 on:** February 27, 2010, 02:10:45 pm »

Quote from: gomez on February 27, 2010, 01:27:30 pm

Ive been purposely avoiding the film version of the road because I think it's absolutely impossible to convey the utter sense of dread and desperation that you get from the book on to the screen.

I was talking to a friend about this the other day, neither of us has seen the film yet, and he made a really good point - the book's descriptions of locations and events are so vivid that it might be a shame to see the film, it would compromise the vision we as individual readers have of the book in our heads. An issue with any adaptation, I guess, but I thought it seemed a particularly true for The Road.

hassinator · « **Reply #180 on:** February 27, 2010, 03:31:26 pm »

Quote from: gomez on February 27, 2010, 01:27:30 pm

Ive been purposely avoiding the film version of the road because I think it's absolutely impossible to convey the utter sense of dread and desperation that you get from the book on to the screen.

i haven't seen it yet but mcarthy seems to like it. there was a nice piece in the guardian about him going to see it with the director john hillcoat:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/jan/04/the-road-cormac-mccarthy-viggo-mortensen

still i agree that i don't think i'm ready to give up my own internal vision just yet.

picked up the border trilogy when i was visiting my dad but haven't started yet as re-reading 'any human heart' but that's for another thread

kavah · « **Reply #181 on:** March 5, 2010, 05:08:42 pm »

Quote from: hassinator on February 27, 2010, 03:31:26 pm

Good interview

Quote

McCarthy revealed that No Country for Old Men was first written as a screenplay

Quote from: kavah on August 1, 2007, 06:40:37 pm

... it reads to me like a film script ...

Get me on the late show !!

Corkboy · « **Reply #182 on:** March 5, 2010, 08:21:46 pm »

Quote from: kavah on March 5, 2010, 05:08:42 pm

Good interview

Get me on the late show !!

Not the first time you´ve been spot on on this thread, Kavah!

DowntheLine1981 · « **Reply #183 on:** May 20, 2010, 10:01:21 am »

*ahem* bump!

Finally finished Blood Meridian - Glanton and The Judge are just amazing characters. Brilliant and spell bounding book!

Seebab · « **Reply #184 on:** May 20, 2010, 01:46:07 pm »

Read The Road a few weeks ago and I just couldn't get into it really. I found it repetitive and had to read it in stages because I got disinterested quite quickly. Just the same over and over, walk on the road, eat, sleep, talk a bit, repeat. Got a bit more interesting when they found the place with all of the food and I was expecting some sort of grand finale towards the end but it never really happened.

I guess I'll have to read it again after reading the opinions of many on here. RAWK has change my mind/ opinions on a lot of things, maybe this is another one?

classycarra · « **Reply #185 on:** May 20, 2010, 05:14:55 pm »

Quote from: Seebab on May 20, 2010, 01:46:07 pm

Read The Road a few weeks ago and I just couldn't get into it really. I found it repetitive and had to read it in stages because I got disinterested quite quickly. Just the same over and over, walk on the road, eat, sleep, talk a bit, repeat. Got a bit more interesting when they found the place with all of the food and I was expecting some sort of grand finale towards the end but it never really happened.

I guess I'll have to read it again after reading the opinions of many on here. RAWK has change my mind/ opinions on a lot of things, maybe this is another one?

if you're after a run of the mill, textbook grand finale then i'd guess no amount of rereading the book will change your mind.

Mackeroo · « **Reply #186 on:** June 16, 2010, 03:33:57 am »

I've just finished reading The Road. Wow, it left me drained. I read it in the first few days of a six day holiday, and spent the rest of the time thinking about it. I really want my girlfriend to read it just so we can talk about it.

There really isn't a lot I can add to the reviews that are here.

I could relate to the bond between the man and the boy, as it is very typically male. They don't necessarily say what they are feeling but then they don't have to. The man is often chastised by the boy for looking at him. It's like sometimes he cannot put his feelings into words but when he holds the boy at night to keep him warm, you know the love that exists between father and son.

Spoiler

So much so that he would rather the son die by his own gun than be killed by one of the badguys

[close]

I haven't yet seen the movie but I will. I want to see if the desolation described in the book can be accurately replicated on screen. The feeling of emptiness was beautifully written, I often found myself stopping while I was reading to picutre the bleakness and desperation. I didn't have to try very hard as it was vividly described. I also found myself stopping at certain junctures to ponder what had just jumped off the page at me.

The syntax didn't bother me that much, once I got into it I never really thought about it again. Overall I found it a very easy read. I should clarify that by saying it read easily, and that I didn't have to wade through it. The subject matter was completely harrowing and it was an emotional roller coaster, fear, hope, desperation, and then the realisation that salvation wasn't coming.

I don't know if anyone will agree with me but I felt there was a real redemptive quality to human nature portrayed in the book, particularly in the character of the boy. Even in the midst of the darkness and suffering, he has a kindness to him. Even though they are starving he wants the man to help others.

Spoiler

He cries about the other little boy they encounter, he begs his father not to kill the man who stole the cart, and he begs the father to feed the old man.

[close]

Given the situation they found themselves in, I found that incredibly touching.

Slightly Less Mediocre Baron Bennekov · « **Reply #187 on:** June 20, 2010, 02:57:38 pm »

Just posting for future recommendations. Just started reading The Road and I like it so far...

Randy Marsh · « **Reply #188 on:** June 20, 2010, 03:18:53 pm »

Blood Meridian is apparently set for film release in 2011. Fuck knows who they can get to play The Judge.

gregor · « **Reply #189 on:** June 20, 2010, 06:03:44 pm »

Quote from: Driver 8 on February 27, 2010, 02:10:45 pm

I was talking to a friend about this the other day, neither of us has seen the film yet, and he made a really good point - the book's descriptions of locations and events are so vivid that it might be a shame to see the film, it would compromise the vision we as individual readers have of the book in our heads. An issue with any adaptation, I guess, but I thought it seemed a particularly true for The Road.

Yeah it is an issue with any adaptation, but I think that the two visions can co-exist. The first book I really fell in love with as a kid was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - another book where imagining what another world looks like is important. Even after seeing both film versions, I can still picture in my mind the characters and setting as I originally imagined them as a kid.

Anyway, back on topic I've seen the film of The Road and thought it was brilliant. I've got the book here but haven't started it yet, looking forward to it.

kavah · « **Reply #190 on:** June 20, 2010, 06:25:54 pm »

I've just seen the movie and was really impresses. You can see that great attention was paid to the cinamtography and the choice of locations. I read the director didn't go for the computer generated option (forget the correct term) but found great locations all over the US like abandoned rust belt towns, the still desolate Mount St. Helene and turnpike roads that have been made redundant.

Great acting too, I'm sure CM is happy with it.

John C · « **Reply #191 on:** June 20, 2010, 10:14:48 pm »

Quote from: Seebab on May 20, 2010, 01:46:07 pm

Read The Road a few weeks ago and I just couldn't get into it really.

The film is excellent mate.

rafathegaffa83 · « **Reply #192 on:** February 7, 2011, 05:07:51 pm »

Just finished Suttree and it is superb. I actually preferred it over The Road and Blood Meridian.

blah · « **Reply #193 on:** March 15, 2011, 03:33:13 am »

This man is a God in my eyes. Easily the greatest living American writer. Up there and probably better than the greats of the 20th century. The likes of Kerouac, Thompson, Bukowski, Fitzgerald, Hemmingway, Miller, Steinbeck, Vonnegut, etc. etc. etc.

I dont know about across the pond but over here in the States an adaptation of Cormac's play/novella Sunset Limited premiered a while ago on HBO (Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Wire, Entourage) starring Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones(who also directed). Really well done and really intense.

MichaelA · « **Reply #194 on:** March 15, 2011, 09:10:36 am »

I'm about half way through The Road. I've been put off reading it for a whole host of reasons, and I'm kind of wishing I hadn't started it. I'm not good with unremitting misery. Having spent most of the 1980's completely convinced I was going to die (or worse, live) in a nuclear holocaust I'm not sleeping well because of it. It's a very affecting read, but I'm not convinced that equates to a great read.

Veinticinco de Mayo · « **Reply #195 on:** March 15, 2011, 11:50:41 am »

My advice Michael is that it isn't bedtime reading. You need to clear a good slot of time at a weekend and face it down in one or two sittings. It will be worth it.

classycarra · « **Reply #196 on:** March 15, 2011, 01:01:58 pm »

can i ask for opinions on blood meridian. I read i last summer and as with all mccarthy i've read so far i absolutely loved it, yet with blood meridian i feel that there may be even more to it than what i initially interpretted. this is a great thread with brilliant recommendations and some fantastic observations so i thought i'd ask the experts!

ps

Spoiler

is the chapter where the judge leads the ammo-less group up the hill while being pursued by the indians one of the best chapters in any book ever?

[close]

blah · « **Reply #197 on:** March 15, 2011, 04:17:25 pm »

Quote from: MichaelA on March 15, 2011, 09:10:36 am

I'm about half way through The Road. I've been put off reading it for a whole host of reasons, and I'm kind of wishing I hadn't started it. I'm not good with unremitting misery. Having spent most of the 1980's completely convinced I was going to die (or worse, live) in a nuclear holocaust I'm not sleeping well because of it. It's a very affecting read, but I'm not convinced that equates to a great read.

I read The Road a few winters ago when I was travelling around the United States via train. Everything was grey and trains tend to run through the most decrepit, and run down parts of cities and towns. It was fantastic.

Naughtykid · « **Reply #198 on:** March 15, 2011, 04:19:57 pm »

Just finished The Road.

Boss. Even better than no coutnry for old men imo.

Can't see how the film adaption could work though.

blah · « **Reply #199 on:** March 15, 2011, 04:27:27 pm »

Quote from: Naughtykid on March 15, 2011, 04:19:57 pm

Just finished The Road.

Boss. Even better than no coutnry for old men imo.

Can't see how the film adaption could work though.

It isn't as bad as you think it would be. They left out some of the more gruesome scenes, and it is extremely depressing. But Viggo and the kid do a great job.