benos Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 After reading (and loving) Cormack McCarthy's Blood Meridian, I found that Ben Nichols (leader of the band Lucero) wrote a record about that book, and the song's titles are names of characters in the book. The name of that record is Last Pale Light in the West. (Just got the chills after typing that.) It’s so good - I listen to it every night. But you should read the book first (if you don't know it). The story of the book brings that record to life. And, Lucero's latest record, Among the Ghosts, is also killer. There is also an acoustic version of that record - Before the Ghosts. I like some of the songs on the acoustic version more than the full band version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belus Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 I really liked Cormack McCarthy's Border Trilogy but haven't read Blood Meridian. It's already waiting on my bookshelf. “He said that whether a man's life was writ in a book someplace or whether it took its form day by day was one and the same for it had but one reality and that was the living of it.” - The Crossing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 He has a way, like no other, of dropping the bomb sentences. So good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NETim Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 I've only read his "No Country...." before the flick came out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tha1000 Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Im in the minority, but I find him incredibly difficult to read with the lack of punctuation, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted December 4, 2019 Author Share Posted December 4, 2019 That irritated me at first, but then I got used to it. I think I've read all of his books now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitefish Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 I too have read all of Cormac McCarthy's books and have to say he is an acquired taste, but a good one and a great author with a deep feeling for his subject matter. As well as an acquired taste, it helps to be bilingual in English and Spanish, at least for the Border Trilogy. Of course now that it has come up, I guess it is about time to go back through for a second read. If you enjoy CM's novels, try H.L. Davis from Oregon. Davis wrote just a few novels back in the 1930's and '40's. His first novel, "Honey in the Horn", was written in 1935 and won the Pulitzer for Fiction in 1936. I also found and read a second of his books, "Winds of Morning", which was written about 10 years or so after "Honey in the Horn". I found the "feel" of his books to be much the same as Cormac McCarthy's. They can be difficult to find, but are worth it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 I've only read The Road, Blood Meridian and No Country for Old Men. His sentence and narrative structure is unique. I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted December 10, 2019 Author Share Posted December 10, 2019 Thanks for H.L. Davis, Whitefish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbarker13 Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 Read the book a few years ago. Thought it was ok - but it didn't resonate with me the way it does some people. I find it kind of funny that it's one of those books that will probably never be made into a movie - partly, because there really aren't any sympathetic primary characters. And it would be sad to see them change the story to make one of the gang members into a hero of some sort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted December 11, 2019 Author Share Posted December 11, 2019 I thought on similar lines on Blood Meridian. To make a movie that was true to the book, like No Country was (a lot of the dialogue was straight from the book's pages) - might be impossible. And this is funny... I gave Blood Meridian to two friends, and both said they made it to about 100 pages, then had to stop. Was just too brutal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbarker13 Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 I ran into similar reactions to the book American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis. The sex/violence in that book becomes almost comical by the end. But difficult reading for some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
et45 Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 I have read The Road,No Country for Old Men,Blood Meridian and Child of God.The movie renditions of The Road and No Country for Old Men were well done.Child of God not so much,however after reading that book and seeing the movie I can’t see the mountains around Sevierville the same anymore.I have a feeling Lester Ballard is up there in a cave with his newest girl.It does make me want to find a vintage Marlin lever rifle though [emoji23].Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeweyH Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 I keep trying to read and enjoy Mccarthy's work but I find it difficult. I'm not sure why. I grew up poor white trash, so the violence and rawness isn't an issue. I read Hawking's "Brief History of Time", enjoyed and understood it, so I don't think I'm an idiot, but Cormack's books have given me trouble. It may be that I can't be sympathetic to the characters. He doesn't try to sell anyone as someone you should pull for. It's like his characters are all in a river that are going over a 1000' waterfall and they don't try to swim against the current. Sometimes they even swim toward the falls. That being said, "Last Pale Light in the West" is one of my favorite songs. Thanks Brian for introducing me to the rest of the album. Despite not liking the book I enjoy the music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted December 20, 2019 Author Share Posted December 20, 2019 Last Pale Light in the West is so good. As are the rest of the songs on the record, if you have read / enjoyed the book. I read an interview with him, and he said his books as you described because he feels that is how life is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsessiveshooter Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 I have read almost all of McCarthy's books, and he is tied for my favorite author, with David Pynchon. If anyone here hasn't read McCarthy, it is probably best to start with The Road or All the Pretty Horses. Suttree is highly acclaimed but I honestly liked it the least. McCarthy doesn't provide happy endings- he looks the problem of evil in the face and seems to ponder the question a lot, "What does it mean that some things never are and can never be righted?". A person who is uninterested in pondering BIG questions of life will find the plotlines of McCarthy's books to be simply sickly violent, and might even find it gratuitous when it is not. Pynchon's book "Mason and Dixon" is my favorite book. If you liked McCarthy's longer books, then "Mason and Dixon" is a similar kind of genius, X2. And, it is ridiculously funny. I highly, highly recommend the book! I'm going to have to check Last Pale Light in the West, thanks for the recommendation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 12, 2021 Author Share Posted August 12, 2021 8 hours ago, obsessiveshooter said: Pynchon's book "Mason and Dixon" is my favorite book. If you liked McCarthy's longer books, then "Mason and Dixon" is a similar kind of genius, X2. And, it is ridiculously funny. I highly, highly recommend the book! I am excited to check that one out - thanks! (I not familiar with David Pynchon.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsessiveshooter Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Sorry, it's THOMAS Pynchon. I have David Foster Wallace in the back of my head... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 13, 2021 Author Share Posted August 13, 2021 Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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