Reviews

Child of God by Cormac McCarthy

deanashuman's review

4.0

Well I've always wanted to read a Cormac McCarthy novel, and I chose a short one based on the fact that the films based on his novels are pretty disturbing. I didn't want to spend too much time in the dark world of his imagination...beautiful writing, gorgeous descriptions, and, of course, deeply cringe-worthy.

novabird's review

4.0

“A malign star kept him.”

McCarthy’s voice has a perfect pitch for a poet’s ear and he has an extraordinary vision of an artist that sees patterns in things, together they combine and add depth to reality and broaden everyday understanding making the common uncommon or momentarily rarified and the uncommon common or at least better understood. His is a dangerous and hard grace that can tackle the most unsavory of topics and still imbue them with splinters of beauty.

In Child of God, Ballard is born under a ‘bad moon arising,’ and despite the fact that McCarthy doesn’t allude to much in the way of Ballard’s upbringing he presents Ballard’s community of Sevier as inhospitable. This is one of the least favourable places, where a person would want to be without family or without a home, one that repeatedly ostracizes Ballard.

Ballard has characteristics of mythic dark proportions similar to that found in the legends of Native American, Algonquin and Ojibwa Peoples, and rendered in “Wendigo.’ Popular knowledge about Wendigo says that it represents a human who has a taste for human flesh. In anthropology studies, there is evidence that Native People when forced to deal with late winter famine would have to submit to extreme hunger and starvation. However, there were those within their tribes who were arbitrarily identified as being possessed by Wendigo and were forced to leave the community, forced into alienation and cut off from civilization, wandering alone in the wilderness.

At first Ballard finds that he communes better with the wild than with his fellow beings, then he ultimately moves towards a community where he believes that he belongs.

McCarthy brings to light from the cave of our imaginings what it is like to experience harsh loneliness of a wilderness that reaches down into one’s being and tugs at what hides there in the shadows. He offers us his accurate portrayal of the lone outsider whose only sense of power in the world is found in his gun, for what it is, and without condemnation.

The ending

Spoiler

focuses on the existential question of bodily remains, both Ballard’s and those of his victims. McCarthy does not turn his attention at any time to any funeral rites or to any thoughts of the hereafter. Instead, he leaves the reader with a lasting impression of a naturalistic night with nighthawks reeling. Is this a token nod to atheism, paganism, humanism or existentialism? Or perhaps McCarthy’s voice simply saying, “The End.”? However one reads, “Child of God,” there is a philosophy of a dangerous and hard grace that can be found within this offering.

hld1986's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

2.5

pinkfall's review

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

boogi29's review

3.0

Child of God is a glimpse into the heart of the horrid and deprave. There is no attempt at understanding, just the darkness that surrounds the individual in this short novel.

This is a departure from McCarthys usual writing stile, as it is significantly more straightforward than Blood Meridian or The Road, but I think that lends to the point of this book.


But I need to read something to cleanse my palate, as this and Blood Meridian back to back makes me need some kindness.

unclepumpy's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Another dark and twisted McCarthy portrayal of a lost soul, pushed to the underground margins of society. There were some cringeworthy details that made me squirm, and while my favorite “outsider” novel is still Suttree, this was a fascinating look into the heart of an unfeeling evil. This story is akin to Outer Dark, but a bit more ugly. The imagery of caves, scenes of voyeuristic sexual sadism, communication in backwoods broken drawls, the escape… will stick with me. At least until the next (yes I’ll say it) brutal McCarthy novel.

peterkeep's review

5.0

Lester Ballard isn't normal. He's a degenerate. He's a social outcast. And his spiral into evil proves that he's barely even human...but he's a "child of God, much like yourself perhaps." Even still, the town continues to push him to the margins, telling Ballard that he either has to "find some other way to live or some other place in the world to do it in."

Essentially, the story of Lester Ballard is a juxtaposition of these two quotes.

Ballard's marginalization is for good reason. His actions leave us only able to conclude that he's barely human. Seriously, he's one of the worst characters I've read about. That includes Steinbeck's Cathy Ames as well as McCarthy's Judge and Anton Chigurh. He's a stain on humanity. The descent into madness or evil or whatever is wrong with him is fascinating and grotesque, and is written in such a perfect Cormac McCarthy way. The writing is wonderfully tight, and the imagery will certainly stick with me for a while. Definitely not for the faint or heart, but worth it if you can stomach it.

platonkarataev's review

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

sequoviah's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

chaun_sox's review

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0