A review by peterkeep
Child of God by Cormac McCarthy

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.