Cormac McCarthy and Other Musings
Greetings, friends.
I'm going to apologize first and foremost for my absence of late. I did not mean to leave for such a lengthy amount of time but, as it turns out, Write Club can do that to a person. Even a person with such a free schedule. I won't make any excuses (though that last sentence certainly sounds like an excuse). Just know that I've been working to write as well as I'm able, and I'm hoping to show you all the improvements I've made as a result of the Club's rigorous...
...training?
I'd call it training, anyway, or, at the very least, enforced practice. If you didn't make the deadline, regardless of circumstance, you were given the boot and a rude gesture. Okay, maybe not a rude gesture but certainly a swift kick in the arse. So far I've written seven...serviceable...stories. Monday and beyond will mark the eighth and final session.
I did end up writing a few thousand words of my novel, but I came up with another idea and I've been playing with the two to see which one I want to spend time on the most. We'll see how that goes.
As for the title of this post, you've read correctly: Cormac McCarthy will be the spotlight for today. Who is Cormac McCarthy? Only one of the most celebrated living literary authors in America. If you haven't heard of him, I don't blame you. I didn't either till I randomly stumbled upon The Road in a bookstore whose name I can't remember.
The Road
A tale of a nameless man and his nameless son in a post-apocalyptic world, merely trying to survive. Each day they inch closer and closer to the coast, hoping to find some semblance of peace and prosperity. It is a tragic tale, filled with violence and despair. The minimalist approach McCarthy utilizes for this book bleeds through the pages in a way that deeply reflects the characters' struggles as well as their setting.
It is a book that captured my heart and made me actually enjoy literary fiction. He is, by far, my favorite. The Road earned a film adaptation with Viggo Mortensen as its lead. I've seen it and I have to say it's extremely faithful. After reading this bleak story, I decided to buy his other books. Those that I own are as follows:
Blood Meridian, or The Evening Redness in the West
The Border Trilogy
Outer Dark
He's published ten books in the past forty or so years, and I intend on collecting every single one. He also has another book upcoming called The Passenger. The man is quite simply phenomenal. Every word seems to serve a purpose.
His Influence
His writing, in some ways, inspires my own. While I'm fairly certain I would never be comparable to the likes of him, I'm content in the thought that reading his prose helps better my own. His works are well outside my wheelhouse (namely fantasy and science fiction) but all the same, to be a better writer, you should probably read better writers.
He often uses conjunctions instead of commas to lengthen his sentences. He refuses to use quotation marks to distinguish dialogue. And that's what makes him special. Despite his frequent rule-breaking, he gets away with it because he's so good at what he does and what he sets out to accomplish.
Lately...
I've been reading for entertainment again. With far more frequency than I had in the past several years. I realized if I want to get better and eventually publish, I need to read authors I respect the most. And while some of them may not have mind-blowing prose, their other strengths more than make up for the deficit. So recently, I finished The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan (just last night actually), the second entry in the Powder Mage Trilogy. I'm now on my way to finishing the third. After which I will take a five minute break and read Blood Meridian as well as the rest of the McCarthy books I own (I've put it off for far too long).
Then it will probably be the Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski. And finally, as far as this plan goes, I'll munch on the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. I'm all in, folks.
Thanks for reading this wall of text. I'll catch ya'll next time!
I was a relatively big fan of the Powder Mage trilogy. I didn't really LIKE any of the characters though; maybe the character development was off, or maybe it was intentionally, but the story was interesting enough to make up for it.
His most recent book in a different part of the same world (Sins of Empire) resonated more with me, and is a great read.
Nice to have you back with us, @xanderslee!
I thought the characters seemed particularly real though. Real issues and real history with one another and the characterization was definitely there. I think at times they seem Gary Sue-ish/Mary Sue-ish but not enough to be like, "This is ridiculous..."
Olem, Taniel, and Ka-Poel are my favorites along with Bo and Nila.
Tamas was too irrational at times considering his supposed strategic prowess and I didn't really care for Adamat. Vlora is... meh. Basically there as a dramatic insert. Ricard is okay. Fell is pretty badass. And Adamat's wife is essentially there as a dramatic insert as well instead of being a character that develops and grows over time.
Considering this is his first trilogy (heck, his first three books, period) I think he's done a fairly admirable job and they're all pretty fast reads. The pacing works, the prose is decent, and the story, for the most part, is strong. He also seems pretty capable when it comes to constructing believeable battle scenes.
And the magic system, especially for Priviledged, is highly intriguing. Unfortunately he only really gets into that particular brand during the third book.
You're right. The characters were real; maybe that's the part I need to become accustomed to. I need to be able to identify with a character or a story even when a set of people are not groomed to be specifically the heros with likeable traits. Taniel and Ka-Poel were unique and held the story up. Olem was fine as a secondary, but I didn't think much of the rest.
If that were MY first trilogy, though, I'd certainly be happy with it.
To some extent, maybe I'm salty about the lack of proper characterization of the enemy. The Kez felt absolutely faceless in book 2. I don't need to necessarily care about them, but I don't want them to just be there as meat for the grinder.
Yeah the Kez didn't seem particularly evil, except I remembered the fact that it was Ipille (their King) that had Nikslaus decapitate Tamas' wife and send him the head. Ipille is also just not a very good leader in general, and horrible to his people.
In the latter of book two and throughout book three, I think the presence of Kresimir grants them more of a 'face'.
Wonderful review, @xanderslee. I’m inspired to read something by this author. Interesting that he breaks rules and gets away with it. I find that is often the case with great writers. Perhaps it is true across all works of art. But I think it’s true what people say that if, like Picasso, artisans study the art form’s fundamentals for many years, then they have certainly earned the right to judiciously bend the rules to establish a unique artistic style.
Just had to point out that line and tell you it made me laugh! I think it is good to read outside one’s favored genres from time to time, as you suggested, more or less.
It’s only a “wall of words,” in my opinion, when it is too many words for the topic, or it is poorly written or poorly formatted. None of those are the case with this post. It was a joy to read.
Aw, shucks Jayna. Thanks for the kind words!
Cormac tends to be an acquired taste. It took some getting used to for me to finish The Road. Blood Meridian and Suttree are generally regarded as his best, though that hardly means the rest of his body of work is some sort of 'slouch' effort. I have heard that The Orchard Keeper is his weakest but worth reading anyway (it was his first novel, so that makes sense).
Outer Dark is highly controversial, if I'm not mistaken, as well as Child of God.
No Country for Old Men has a brilliant movie adaptation and I have zero doubts as to the quality of the literature of which it's derived.
I can gush about this old coot all day. (He's 84 last I checked, which scares me at times)
I have definitely heard of No Country for Old Men. Maybe I'll try one of his books on Audible. Sometimes it's the better way in the case of an acquired taste!
Definitely give it a shot! :D
Terry Pratchett is dope. I haven't read Cormac, but I'm upset that it took McCarthy to get you to enjoy literary fiction. What about mine?? (throws hands up in defeat).
Nah, in all seriousness, I try my best to scare people away from literary fiction. >:D