Cormac McCarthy: where to begin reading his searing, brutal and unforgettable novels
He was particularly fond of short, declarative sentences and the word “and”.
- He was particularly fond of short, declarative sentences and the word “and”.
- McCarthy’s much lamented death at 89 has attracted international headlines and a renewed interest in his writing.
- A journey through McCarthy’s work is not for the fainthearted, nor the weak-stomached.
- These are stories of society’s outcasts – those who have found themselves out of time, out of place, or simply out of luck.
Finding his place
- The first section is southern, gothic and modernist, set in McCormac’s native Appalachia.
- The Orchard Keeper (1968), Outer Dark (1968) and Child of God (1973) – lie within the southern gothic tradition of Flannery O’Connor, Carson McCullers and William Faulkner.
- Despite plots featuring murder, incest and necrophilia, McCarthy seeks the humanity in the grotesque.
Dark deeds and bad people
- Marking McCarthy’s move to the south-west, Blood Meridian is a novel of violence, based on the activities of scalp-hunter John Glanton.
- McCarthy’s fifth novel introduces readers to Judge Holden, a giant albino capable of horrific acts of calculated violence and the malevolent heart of the book.
- No Country For Old Men (2005), McCarthy’s final western, came to international attention with the Coen Brothers’ film adaptation.
Apocalypse and humanity
- His only future-set tale deals with the struggles of a nameless man and boy to survive in the wreckage of a post-apocalyptic America.
- The Road depicts the end of society, but also the moment that the values and language of that society also end.
- Heartbreaking at times, it wrings maximum effect out of its minimalist style.
- Here, McCarthy’s greatest novel plunges deepest into the American darkness and violence that so fascinated him throughout his career.