Shake Appeal
Member
The Judge is the best villain in any book.
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Blood Meridian is a masterpiece
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Dr. Serizawa
Neo Member
No, I think All the Pretty Horses is easier. Not to say it's worse, it's still fantastic. It takes place in modern day, so he tones back on archaic words, and dialogue feels a lot more concise but if I remember correctly there's more of it than in Blood Meridian.
Edit: Modern as in 1950s, not 1850s.
Billy_Pilgrim
Member
I am jealous. So jealous.
MrOogieBoogie
BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
Exactly this.
All the Pretty Horses is my second favorite McCarthy book, after Blood Meridian. It's followed by The Road and then Suttree.
I intend to read The Crossing next.
Switch Back 9
a lot of my threads involve me fucking up somehow. Perhaps I'm a moron?
The book is incredible but hard to read sometimes due to the imagery. That said, the Judge is one of the greatest literary villains ever.
Also, did you know that it's James Franco's favorite novel, and that he tried to make a movie from it? You can see 20+ minutes of terrible test footage here.
Also, did you know that it's James Franco's favorite novel, and that he tried to make a movie from it? You can see 20+ minutes of terrible test footage here.
Monocle
Member
Great OP, brilliant book. I'll read it again soon.
And yeah, from what I've heard, the audiobook is fantastic. Excellent depiction of the Judge.
And yeah, from what I've heard, the audiobook is fantastic. Excellent depiction of the Judge.
The prose alone justifies the choice. I really doubt people hold the book in high regard only for the violent subject matter. There are much, much more accessible stories about violence than Blood Meridian.
arglebargle
Member
Yeah this is almost how I feel. Absolutely loved it but it is so dark and unrelentingly violent I needed a break after reading it. Maybe I could read it again but would really need to be in the right state of mind since I would know what I'm getting into.
Ive also read the road and child of God. Both great especially tge road but not quite as great.
Does anyone have the link to the ending discussion thread?
always crazy bacon
Banned
Gonna check this one out.
Sometimes there is no better way to spend a rainy week night.
Legitimately. I can practically go to a random chapter and put on Plan Mill's Pine and I am good when the mood strikes. Grey, rainy? Odds of said mood increases drastically.
I took a class in college where we studied only two authors: Cormac McCarthy and Joe Brown. Southern literature, taught by an older southern gentleman in his last semester of teaching, who railed against WASPs with regularity and planned to retire in the woods somewhere the government couldn't find him. Anyway, I wrote an essay about Judge Holden that I haven't looked back on in awhile but I think it was pretty decent. Blood Meridian fans might get a kick out of it.
mariachi507
Member
This is why I dislike Franco. It's like he took a look at the Time's top 100 Novels list and decided that he was the right guy to turn them into films.
SpaceHorror
Member
How did you manage to read that? I'd really like to, but every copy I've seen is well over 100 bucks and my state's entire library system doesn't have it. Not surprising given its value, I guess.
Edit: Ah, nevermind, found links to it in this article (if anyone else is interested):
https://biblioklept.org/tag/my-confession-the-recollections-of-a-rogue/
BeatAroundTheBush
Neo Member
Love Blood Meridian but I think I'm partial to Suttree. Believe it was also Roger Ebert's favorite of McCarthy's books. Outer Dark and Child of God are also great. Can't go wrong with the Border Trilogy either.
The Judge is indeed an amazing character and he stuck with me since the first time i read the book. Everyone around him so tense, in a constant struggle between being mesmerized by this creature, or flat out scared by it...
...everyone except Glanton. He was the one i was really scared of... i guess when a character (Holden in this case) is presented so upfront with such presence, it is expected that the cast reverberates whenever he is around, it is only normal. But having one that meets the obvious monster at eye level and don't even flinch, that's scary right there. Dude was DARK AS PIT.
Cormac taught me the most about the Americana Writing (i'm not from the US of A, sorry about my butchering of the language) and everything i've read conjures up vivid imagery of a place and time i've never been to. Such an amazing writer.
EDIT: This is awesome so i need to share it with OP. Usually i write tons of notes when reading but in fear of damaging the books, i take 'em all of when i'm done with it. After reading the post i went to my fav. edition of Blood Meridian and i had only one still there.
Lo and behold, this was the passage it was pointing to...
Congrats OP, you have good taste.
...everyone except Glanton. He was the one i was really scared of... i guess when a character (Holden in this case) is presented so upfront with such presence, it is expected that the cast reverberates whenever he is around, it is only normal. But having one that meets the obvious monster at eye level and don't even flinch, that's scary right there. Dude was DARK AS PIT.
Cormac taught me the most about the Americana Writing (i'm not from the US of A, sorry about my butchering of the language) and everything i've read conjures up vivid imagery of a place and time i've never been to. Such an amazing writer.
EDIT: This is awesome so i need to share it with OP. Usually i write tons of notes when reading but in fear of damaging the books, i take 'em all of when i'm done with it. After reading the post i went to my fav. edition of Blood Meridian and i had only one still there.
Lo and behold, this was the passage it was pointing to...
Congrats OP, you have good taste.
arglebargle
Member
I have read Blood Meridian, The Road, and Child of God. All great though I would probably rank them in the order listed. Any advice or recommendations on which of his books I should read next?
The Judge is indeed an amazing character and he stuck with me since the first time i read the book. Everyone around him so tense, in a constant struggle between being mesmerized by this creature, or flat out scared by it...
...everyone except Glanton. He was the one i was really scared of... i guess when a character (Holden in this case) is presented so upfront with such presence, it is expected that the cast reverberates whenever he is around, it is only normal. But having one that meets the obvious monster at eye level and don't even flinch, that's scary right there. Dude was DARK AS PIT.
Cormac taught me the most about the Americana Writing (i'm not from the US of A, sorry about my butchering of the language) and everything i've read conjures up vivid imagery of a place and time i've never been to. Such an amazing writer.
EDIT: This is awesome so i need to share it with OP. Usually i write tons of notes when reading but in fear of damaging the books, i take 'em all of when i'm done with it. After reading the post i went to my fav. edition of Blood Meridian and i had only one still there.
Lo and behold, this was the passage it was pointing to...
Congrats OP, you have good taste.
Ha! What are the odds? There are just so many incredible passages, but that one was indeed especially memorable I suppose.
I'm not even an English major and I feel like I could write a thesis on this book just out of enthusiasm alone haha..... It has what is, to me, the perfect kind of depth: it works as a straightforward story and doesn't wear its influences or allusions on its sleeve, but almost every element of the book has some hidden meaning if you know what to look for.
I thought there was very little known about the actual Judge Holden? Like we know he existed but there was little real information about him.
Also as someone else mentioned Glanton was equally as disturbing as Holden in that he seemed unaffected by anything that went on around him. At least the Judge showed a range of emotions, Glaton had a heart of fucking stone.
afternoon delight
Member
Glanton is really under talked about in appreciation of the book. Two scenes in particular stand out to me and I may be misremembering: when they practice with pistols before purchasing them and when they jump the antagonistic bar regulars.
I actually wanted him to snap out of his antics at the river bivouac area but I guess that was not intended.
I actually wanted him to snap out of his antics at the river bivouac area but I guess that was not intended.
This. Let the prose carry you along rather than trying to master it.
This sentence is one of my strongest memories of the book, funny enough.
I think my personal favorite sentence has to be that one sentence in Borges's The Aleph. Certainly not better written than McCarthy's, but struck me more deeply.
afternoon delight
Member
Borges and McCarthy operate on entire planes of existence beyond the mere trappings of mortals such as we. I can recall so much of their work because just about all of it is worth reading once if not obsessing over for years.
A lot of shared themes and posed questions between the two!
A lot of shared themes and posed questions between the two!
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