The Works of Cormac McCarthy

[Maestro]

I just finished reading No Country for Old Men. In a word? Dark.

Very. Very. Dark.

I've heard it said that The Road is very dark, but I agree with Cormac McCarthy's claim that the father and son showcase the best of humanity's characteristics: love, strength against adversity, and hope.

No such luck in No Country for Old Men. Greed, violence, vengeance, and blood money feature prominently. The ending is ignominious, and entirely intentional. The whole book just reeks of Dark. It really makes me sit and wonder about the points that Cormac McCarthy raises, most of which are unique to the American culture/psyche. Just where, why, and how did things start going downhill? Whatever did happen to the good old days? How far can the creeping menace of drug violence progress? I don't like the places that this piece takes my thoughts; No Country for Old Men is much darker than anything else I've read by him so far.

All in all, it is extraordinarily well-written (as always), but it doesn't change my feeling like shit after finishing it. If anyone else has read it I wouldn't mind getting into a deeper discussion of the meanings behind the work.

 

[Kadayi]

Just where, why, and how did things start going downhill? Whatever did happen to the good old days? How far can the creeping menace of drug violence progress? I don't like the places that this piece takes my thoughts; No Country for Old Men is much darker than anything else I've read by him so far.

Do you think it's reasonable to assume that there was ever this (relatively peaceful) idyll that the Sheriff refers to, or do you not perhaps think that he might be looking at things through rose coloured glasses? Single minded and brutal men like Chigurh have always existed, our history books are filled with them.

 

[Sheepo]

Yeah, you definitely have to take the sheriff's perspective into account. You don't have to look far into McCarthy's other works to see "the good old days" is not something he actually believes in at all. It's also worth noting that Anton's violence is completely unconnected to the drug culture, he is a character as old as time. He works for whoever but he doesn't see violence as a job, but an ideal and an obligation. And ultimately, you have to take (what I think is) the final passage into account, as it changes the tone immensely, from that of senseless and short life in the world, to meaning defined by creation and making the things that last.

 

[Maestro]

Do you think it's reasonable to assume that there was ever this (relatively peaceful) idyll that the Sheriff refers to, or do you not perhaps think that he might be looking at things through rose coloured glasses? Single minded and brutal men like Chigurh have always existed, our history books are filled with them.

The ubiquity of the senseless violence and serial killers that we see in the 60s is the big thing. The mobility that enabled the hippies to exist, and for the highly mobile society we have now, has also enabled serial killers and other men of violence to exist untouched, provided they are determined and smart. The attitude of "not my problem" exhibited by all the motel staffs in itself is a kind of commentary.

Yeah, you definitely have to take the sheriff's perspective into account. You don't have to look far into McCarthy's other works to see "the good old days" is not something he actually believes in at all. It's also worth noting that Anton's violence is completely unconnected to drugs. He works for whoever but he doesn't see violence as a job, but an ideal and an obligation. And ultimately, you have to take (what I think is) the final passage into account, as it changes the tone immensely, from that of senseless and short life in the world, to meaning defined by creation and making the things that last.

You are right, Sheepo, in saying that McCarthy doesn't believe it either. The Border Trilogy is evidence enough of that. I think, though, that it's a social commentary on the shifting attitudes of the southwest in that time. In light of his other works, maybe McCarthy is pointing out that drugs are just the new cattle rustling? This is not a loaded question, but what did you mean with that last sentence?

The Sherriff is the good old lawman's perspective, and Chigurh's rare but sharp dialogue is the diametrically opposed view of an almost perfect serial killer. I don't quite know where McCarthy goes with this, but as usual he has a good eye for representing the culture of violence that has so defined the US and Mexico, and really all of the Americas.

McCarthy seeks, if anything, to represent the opposing forces that have defined America, and the southwest in particular.

 

[Shakermaker]

If you liked No Country For Old Men you will love Blood Meridian. It is his best book imo. Judge Holden is bad ass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIQynsWpBpQ

 

[Sheepo]

You are right, Sheepo, in saying that McCarthy doesn't believe it either. The Border Trilogy is evidence enough of that. I think, though, that it's a social commentary on the shifting attitudes of the southwest in that time. In light of his other works, maybe McCarthy is pointing out that drugs are just the new cattle rustling? This is not a loaded question, but what did you mean with that last sentence?

As I said, it might not be the final passage, and there's always the chance I'm confusing this with another book, but I believe at the end of the book after all the action is over with and the sheriff's retired, he's out in a field or something and comes across some old stone object, of undetermined age, and reflects on the fact that creating something that lasts is what life is defined by.

Also, Blood Meridian and No Country are written in remarkably different styles. Though I like both, liking one doesn't necessarily mean you'll like the other.

 

[jimbo118]

You should check out The Outer Dark and Child of God if you found NCFOM dark.

 

[Ennui]

McCarthy seeks, if anything, to represent the opposing forces that have defined America, and the southwest in particular.

ding ding ding! This is pretty much it, not including The Road.

The Road is pretty straightforward thematically, still an incredible piece of literature though.

For the record, I liked No Country a lot more than Blood Meridian, although I did enjoy reading the latter and I recognize it as great writing.

 

[Sheepo]

My main problem with NCFoM is that it just doesn't know where to end. There's nothing wrong with the sherrif after retirement chapters, but there should really only be one of them.

 

[Maestro]

As I said, it might not be the final passage, and there's always the chance I'm confusing this with another book, but I believe at the end of the book after all the action is over with and the sheriff's retired, he's out in a field or something and comes across some old stone object, of undetermined age, and reflects on the fact that creating something that lasts is what life is defined by.

Also, Blood Meridian and No Country are written in remarkably different styles. Though I like both, liking one doesn't necessarily mean you'll like the other.

The final scene is indeed that, but I thought you meant Chigurh had a shift at the end. If anyone does not have to twist and bend to handle the events of this book, it is Chigurh. I was thinking about mentioning the stone trough, though. The real main character of that book was the sheriff, as it is his thoughts, reactions, and worldview that we come to understand the most. The sheriff's explanation of the trough makes it pretty obvious, now that I think about it, that he has come to recognize that maybe the good old days never existed and that all becomes ephemeral in time. I guess you could say the real theme of No Country for Old Men is that the only hope we can have is to construct something that will outlast ourselves. Impermanence features pretty heavily in all of McCarthy's westerns, actually.

I read Blood Meridian, but I found the prose somewhat confusing and had to stop halfway through. I think I'll try reading it again when I have a physical copy, as the ebook format makes reading somewhat difficult for me.

ding ding ding! This is pretty much it, not including The Road.

The Road is pretty straightforward thematically, still an incredible piece of literature though.

For the record, I liked No Country a lot more than Blood Meridian, although I did enjoy reading the latter and I recognize it as great writing.

I think No Country for Old Men had much less descriptive prose, but the story was more compelling. Blood Meridian's got some absolutely beautifully-constructed prose when describing scenery, and The Judge most definitely was a BAMF.

Often do I wonder who the true main character is in any of McCarthy's works.

 

[Shakermaker]

I read Blood Meridian, but I found the prose somewhat confusing and had to stop halfway through. I think I'll try reading it again when I have a physical copy, as the ebook format makes reading somewhat difficult for me.

The prose is actually one of my favorite aspects of BM. The style is so archaic that it seems to have been written in the 1880s rather than in the 1980s. McCormac's use of words and his rich descriptions, especially of nature, reminded me of the language in Greek and Roman myths. Change the setting and the boy could very well be a young Odysseus having all kinds of unsettling adventures.

 

[Ennui]

Often do I wonder who the true main character is in any of McCarthy's works.

I am trying to decide if the overall main character / thematic focus of his works is on America or more broadly Humanity.

 

[Maestro]

The prose is actually one of my favorite aspects of BM. The style is so archaic that it seems to have been written in the 1880s rather than in the 1980s. McCormac's use of words and his rich descriptions, especially of nature, reminded me of the language in Greek and Roman myths. Change the setting and the boy could very well be a young Odysseus having all kinds of unsettling adventures.

The biggest issue I had was that I had it on a computer screen, which makes it hard to concentrate closely on what I'm reading. I think if I took the time to read it aloud, then I would understand it quite easily.

I am trying to decide if the overall main character / thematic focus of his works is on America or more broadly Humanity.

Thematic focus is on the 'American psyche' so to speak, and how/why that psyche came to be. You could stretch it out to encompass 'human nature,' but it is at the very least viewed through the lens of American experiences. His main character is usually not clear, but the desert seems to have a life all its own in his historical and contemporary westerns. He focuses a lot on the land when he explores the idea of humanity, Ellis' comment about how "this land is hard on people" is pretty revealing.