Anyone else read these books? I'm curious and would like to hear opinions, etc. regarding them.
I just finished CITIES OF THE PLAIN yesterday.
Posted by Ben (Member # 6117) on :
I haven't gotten around to the Border Trilogy. It's next. I have read Suttree, The Orchard Keeper, No Country for Old Men, and The Road.
I have been working on Blood Meridian for 5 months, but each time I make a little progress I get sidetracked by something else. Then when I come back to the book I feel compelled to restart at the beginning. It's aggravating because the book is not long, just...something.
I do have an interest in the Border Trilogy however.
Posted by Flying Fish (Member # 12032) on :
I haven't read Suttree or the Orchard Keeper. I have read No Country, the Road, and Blood Meridian. I was so sad to have finished reading the Border Trilogy, I saw the Matt Damon, Penelope Cruz DVD for All The Pretty Horses at he grocery store, bought it and watched it with my wife and daughter.
Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
I read All the Pretty Horses sometime ago and really enjoyed it. I read Cities of the Plain more recently. I haven't read The Crossing yet, but I'm sure I'll read it at some point.
For me, McCarthy's one of those "go to" authors (like Neil Gaiman or OSC) that, when I don't know what to read, I'll read whatever I can find of theirs because I'm confident I'll enjoy it.
Posted by Flying Fish (Member # 12032) on :
Dude! The Crossing is book 2 of the trilogy! Not that they can't be read out of sequence, but I think there is an additional something to be gained by knowing what had happened to the Billy Parham character before.
Posted by Foust (Member # 3043) on :
The Crossing can be a bit difficult if you don't have any Spanish. At least one important plot point is revealed during a Spanish conversation.
Highly recommended, though. After No Country and Blood Meridian, it's his finest work.
Blood Meridian is impossibly beautiful.
Posted by Ben (Member # 6117) on :
I'm partial to Suttree. Yes McCarthy is in love with his own words in that book and it's pacing is slow but that was one of the most satisfying books I've ever read. It also took me 6 months to get past the first 40 pages but after that...
My wife on the other hand found it dull and excruciating to read, so yea.
Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
quote:Originally posted by Flying Fish: Dude! The Crossing is book 2 of the trilogy! Not that they can't be read out of sequence, but I think there is an additional something to be gained by knowing what had happened to the Billy Parham character before.
Yeah, if The Crossing had been in the library when I was looking for a book I would have taken it out instead. But all they had at the time was Cities of the Plain, and the dust jacket said they could be read out of order, so I just decided to check it out. It's hard to know exactly how much I missed without having actually read The Crossing, but I was still able to follow and enjoy the story.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
I quite liked No Country for Old Men, and I thought The Road was well written, but bleak enough that I don't know if I'll ever want to read it again.
However, I just got 100 pages into Blood Meridian, and I must admit I'm not enjoying it at all. The plot, the mood and the writing style are all really rubbing me the wrong way. I'm not even sure I'll be able to finish it. Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't get the whole "American classic" vibe off it that I expected.
Posted by Foust (Member # 3043) on :
Speed, were you expecting Blood Meridian to be a celebration of the old West rather than, for lack of a better word, a deconstruction of it?
How is the Judge not one of the most arresting characters you've ever read?