Cormack McCarthy’s The Road

Posted November 17th, 2009 in Pictures.
6 Comments »

The Road was my first McCarthy book and the only one I’ve read, but I don’t think I’m jumping the gun when I say he’s my favorite living author. I dig the spartan prose and the way he discards all but the most important details letting you fill in the rest. He has a real painterly style of writing. The contrast between most of his prose/style and the way the last couple of paragraphs in the book were written punched me in my stomach. So. Fucking. Good.

I can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of his work.

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I’m going to try a new style of blogging. Rather than a topical post that seems article-like, I’m going to do a daily open thread, updating the post if something good comes along, and talk about what I’m up to, what my friends are up to, and what I saw, read, or consumed that’s worth repeating.

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I got my Rosemary & Co. brushes some time ago. After some break in time, they seem like a great buy. For the money, hard to beat.

6 Responses to “Cormack McCarthy’s The Road”

Bruno
Nov 20th, 2009 #

For me the route was Old Men movie, then Old Men book, then The Road, then buying about 5 of his other books simultaneously. But I am having a bit of a hard time with Blood Meridian. That shit is BLEAK beyond anything I’ve ever read.

Thank you for the Rosemary tip, by the way.

Godmachine
Nov 20th, 2009 #

good news then- I was bloody sick of having your blog on my google reader like a stagnet pool of aceness. I just got my hands on the Leon soundtrack- highly recomended boss. Also look out for my Gomedia interview where I drag your name into my nonesense a few times.

clint
Nov 23rd, 2009 #

Thanks for the heads up on that book, picked it up and read it on saturday when I had some down time. Very cool read, I’m sure I will end up checking out the rest of his stuff. It makes me want to get into survivalist mode and start stocking up ammo, shoes and rain gear…. maybe make a bunker…… haha.

Robert Cook
Nov 27th, 2009 #

THE ROAD is also the only book I have read by McCarthy; I picked up it when it first came out because the Sunday NY Times Book Review featured it in a front page review and raved about it. I am drawn to post-apocalyptic stories and so was immediately intrigued.

I must say, the book is powerful and bleak, and the ending beautiful in its poetic but frank recognition of those living things which have been but are no longer…among whom humankind will eventually be numbered. I actually teared up reading the last paragraph, something that has never happened to me in reading any other book.

Ray Frenden
Nov 29th, 2009 #

Robert, that final paragraph is amazing.

Bruno, I really can’t wait to read Blood Meridian. I still haven’t gotten around to it.

GM, I’m trying! I really want to change the design for my site. I think I’m bored with things as they are and that’s keeping me from updating more often. Blergh.

franks
Dec 11th, 2009 #

I finished The Road while on the eurostar coming back from paris – i had a little cry and people looked at me funny. The final paragraph is poetry, so different to the rest of the book.