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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
Did not finish. I had a hard time caring enough to follow along. I got about 25-30% of the way through and couldn't be bothered to keep going.
I’ve been on a roll with McCarthy recently. It’s rare I rate any book 5 stars but I struck gold with 3 of his works, Blood Meridian, Child of God, and Outer Dark, all one after the other.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be with McCarthy’s first book. It’s usually labelled as good but not up to the standard of his usual work. I’m inclined to agree.
Despite some excellent moments with some typically brilliant exchanges between characters, I was confused for a large portion of the story.
I’ve only read a couple of Faulkner books, and really enjoyed them, and I feel McCarthy was probably influenced by his works. The sudden time and narrative exchanges are all here. In all honestly, I found it a little irritating.
Whilst the characters were good, they didn’t quite interest me as the ones in his later books do. Only one character, the “old man”, was what I’d consider compelling.
I don’t want to sound negative. It’s a good book, just not great. I’m glad he evolved into a different writer, the one that I admire greatly, and for a first book, it’s a noble effort.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be with McCarthy’s first book. It’s usually labelled as good but not up to the standard of his usual work. I’m inclined to agree.
Despite some excellent moments with some typically brilliant exchanges between characters, I was confused for a large portion of the story.
I’ve only read a couple of Faulkner books, and really enjoyed them, and I feel McCarthy was probably influenced by his works. The sudden time and narrative exchanges are all here. In all honestly, I found it a little irritating.
Whilst the characters were good, they didn’t quite interest me as the ones in his later books do. Only one character, the “old man”, was what I’d consider compelling.
I don’t want to sound negative. It’s a good book, just not great. I’m glad he evolved into a different writer, the one that I admire greatly, and for a first book, it’s a noble effort.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I had trouble finishing this book because the plot if there is one is hard to follow. This book is one of the author’s first books when he was living in Tennessee. I tried reading Child of God as well, and it had too much weird violence like a guy having a fist fight with an ape. I did not finish Child of God.
Decent but pretty unfocused. Cormac doing far, far too much prose-wise too, still great at times but at others so over-the-top it's funny. 1 down, 13ish to go.
An ambitious yet overwrought first novel, and I’m a huge McCarthy fan. He would thankfully pare down the Faulkner-worship and find his own voice in the years that followed.
it's insane to think of any author as a "gifted" writer, in my opinion, but McCarthy just might make me take that thought back. for his first novel, it's insanely well written, and it has the particularity that the plot is not told straight up, but built through events and conversations and flashbacks that give up the bigger works of everything going on. Ather (or Arthur) and his past, the relationship between Marion and John Wesley, and even Legwater's erratic behavior all point to an extremely human drama, a mystery that the book doesn't say aloud and leaves you to wonder, until you piece it up all together. the plot moves slowly but takes ferocious steps whenever it does move forward, and still leaves you to wonder, reflect and consider. this is the McCarthy that wrote "Blood Meridian", more reminiscent of Faulkner, with long-winded descriptions of landscapes that are beautifully, magnificently written. his control over vocabulary and conjunctions is not of this world, and what i found beautiful is that a lot of the words he used here are southern slang, like calling a cougar a "painter". Southern Gothic writing relies a lot on its setting and the world in which the characters move, and McCarthy has no problems in building that setting, even if he takes quite a while in building it to his satisfaction. yes, the language is too flowery sometimes. yes, some things in the plot remain a mystery until later in the book. yes, the flashbacks are sometimes unclear. but it's all a part of the puzzle and the whole picture, once built, is tremendously good. god, what a writer.
it's a 5 star for me, but it's not one of my favorites (McCarthy has better books); still, a 5 stars in my heart.
it's a 5 star for me, but it's not one of my favorites (McCarthy has better books); still, a 5 stars in my heart.
Can't understand who the hell he's going on about half the time.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes