Thinking about reading some Cormac McCarthy books

[Max Martini]

I saw The Road a few months ago and I really enjoyed it. Recently I found out that Cormac McCarthy, the author of the novella is was based off of of also wrote No Country for Old Men. I haven't read the book for that either but I enjoyed that movie even more than The Road. It seems he is 2 for 2 in terms of having two successful movies adapted from his books. Ok, the movie adaptation of The Road didn't exactly receive high praise but it still seems to have a loyal following.

 

I'd like to hear from some people that have perhaps read Cormac McCarthy's books and your thoughts are on them and him as a writer.

[Karsa Orlong]

I've read The Road (before seeing the film) and thought it was terrific. He's got a very stark, bare bones kind of style which is challenging at first but, once you get into it, works really well. He doesn't even bother with much in the way of punctuation - I don't think he uses speech marks at all in the book. The film follows it pretty closely, so if you liked that I think you'd like the book, too.

[Max Martini]

I've read The Road (before seeing the film) and thought it was terrific. He's got a very stark, bare bones kind of style which is challenging at first but, once you get into it, works really well. He doesn't even bother with much in the way of punctuation - I don't think he uses speech marks at all in the book. The film follows it pretty closely, so if you liked that I think you'd like the book, too.

Ah, good to hear it Karsa! That sounds like something I can sink my teeth into.

[Kylie]

I've only read The Road and I agree with everything Karsa said. I believe McCarthy's other books are supposed to be excellent as well and I'm looking forward to reading them.

[nursenblack]

I've read The Road and loved it. I thought the movie was pretty good. But The Road and No Country For Old Men are not the only two movies based on his books. All The Pretty Horses came out in 2000. It was really good, but I haven't read the book. Also, McMarthy wrote the screenplay for the film The Gardner's Son (I haven't seen it though).

[Kasei]

I read All the Pretty Horses when I was in high school, but I couldn't tell you exactly what it was about other than there was a lot of symbolism in the sunset...not sure why that part stood out to me. I remember thinking it was good literature though.

 

Edit: Oh yes, the no punctuation. If you aren't used to authors who indent to show speech instead of using quotations, it can be a little distracting at first. But after a while it sort of sets the tone for the book. Like its all being told from the mouth of a storyteller, not like you are an observer watching the events unfold.

Edited January 29, 2011 by Kasei

[beef]

I have read The Road too, it was given to me by a friend at work who highly recommended it. I thought the book was very good but was also pretty dark and depressing (much like the movie based on it). Well worth a read though as its a good story and I hope to read more of his stuff in the future.