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Cormac McCarthy .. R I P
Lincsaddick
Posts: 32,348
The author of (e.g.) 'Blood Meridian', 'No Country for Old Men' and 'The Road' has died aged 89
By coincidence I am half way through 'The Passenger', his penultimate novel, in which he philosophises and theorises a lot about the development of the atom bomb, as well as his usual obsession with death and deep conspiracies as well as about Knoxville, Tennessee where he grew up .. the book is strange, and he 'rambles' a lot as well as making some VERY pertinent comments about contemporary U S society. A fitting autobiographical epitaph perhaps
A well regarded author by many who managed to get 'literary fiction' into the best seller lists .. his books ? .. never an easy read, but always an interesting one i m o
R I P
By coincidence I am half way through 'The Passenger', his penultimate novel, in which he philosophises and theorises a lot about the development of the atom bomb, as well as his usual obsession with death and deep conspiracies as well as about Knoxville, Tennessee where he grew up .. the book is strange, and he 'rambles' a lot as well as making some VERY pertinent comments about contemporary U S society. A fitting autobiographical epitaph perhaps
A well regarded author by many who managed to get 'literary fiction' into the best seller lists .. his books ? .. never an easy read, but always an interesting one i m o
R I P
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Great American author. RIP2
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Great author.
The books I've read of his (The Road, No Country for Old Men, and the three from the Border Trilogy) all stayed with me a long time after reading them, always the sign of great writing for me.
Were the latest two 'Passenger' books just as 2 connected books does anyone know, or has he potentially died with a trilogy, series unfinished?
RIP.
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Only read The Road but loved the story and how it was written. Do need to read more of his works. RIP2
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this from wiki .. The Passenger and Stella Maris, were published on October 25, 2022, and December 6, 2022, respectively.[7] .. UNQUOTE .. very unusually for any professional author, he rushed the two publications almost together, .. no mention of a 3rd .. I alluded to it above, I do wonder if C M knew or had an inkling they would be his last work and hence the rush to publish Stella Maris ? .. alas i m o, The Passenger does not hold up as well as most other of his works I've read .. I'll still buy Stella Maris thoughNorth Lower Neil said:Great author.
The books I've read of his (The Road, No Country for Old Men, and the three from the Border Trilogy) all stayed with me a long time after reading them, always the sign of great writing for me.
We're the latest two 'Passenger' just intended as 2 connected books does anyone know, or has he potentially died with a trilogy, series unfinished?
RIP.1 -
I think I've read all of his novels except for The Border Trilogy where I tailed off during the second book.
Blood Meridian is my favourite. It has one of the most unique and arguably best endings ever. Worth the long slog and many pages describing how hot the sun was that day.2 -
Thank you!Lincsaddick said:
this from wiki .. The Passenger and Stella Maris, were published on October 25, 2022, and December 6, 2022, respectively.[7] .. UNQUOTE .. very unusually for any professional author, he rushed the two publications almost together, .. no mention of a 3rd .. I alluded to it above, I do wonder if C M knew or had an inkling they would be his last work and hence the rush to publish Stella Maris ? .. alas i m o, The Passenger does not hold up as well as most other of his works I've read .. I'll still buy Stella Maris thoughNorth Lower Neil said:Great author.
The books I've read of his (The Road, No Country for Old Men, and the three from the Border Trilogy) all stayed with me a long time after reading them, always the sign of great writing for me.
We're the latest two 'Passenger' just intended as 2 connected books does anyone know, or has he potentially died with a trilogy, series unfinished?
RIP.1 -
What a fucking shit week.
A genuine great.3 -
That's good to know. I made it through about halfway and stopped. It's...a lot.RedPanda said:I think I've read all of his novels except for The Border Trilogy where I tailed off during the second book.
Blood Meridian is my favourite. It has one of the most unique and arguably best endings ever. Worth the long slog and many pages describing how hot the sun was that day.
I love his work. He feels like the last in a strain of great American novelists from Hemingway to Faulkner to Sallinger (I would argue less so but that's another conversation) and then McCarthy (maybe Pynchon is the last, but I feel like he lives a little outsider of that strain. I can feel the influence of Hemingway and Faulkner on McCarthy in a way I can't really with Pynchon, who is a great writer).
He wrote about the American southwest the way Faulkner wrote about the American south and Hemingway did Spain.
A true master of his craft.3 -
RIP.1
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having now finished the novel, I can say that like the curate's bad egg .. The Passenger is VERY good in partsNorth Lower Neil said:
Thank you!Lincsaddick said:
this from wiki .. The Passenger and Stella Maris, were published on October 25, 2022, and December 6, 2022, respectively.[7] .. UNQUOTE .. very unusually for any professional author, he rushed the two publications almost together, .. no mention of a 3rd .. I alluded to it above, I do wonder if C M knew or had an inkling they would be his last work and hence the rush to publish Stella Maris ? .. alas i m o, The Passenger does not hold up as well as most other of his works I've read .. I'll still buy Stella Maris thoughNorth Lower Neil said:Great author.
The books I've read of his (The Road, No Country for Old Men, and the three from the Border Trilogy) all stayed with me a long time after reading them, always the sign of great writing for me.
We're the latest two 'Passenger' just intended as 2 connected books does anyone know, or has he potentially died with a trilogy, series unfinished?
RIP.
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Strange coincidence. Watched The Road on the night he died.
One of my favourite books I've read in my lifetime is all the pretty horses. Absolutely love that book and I recommend it to any who loves any of his other works.
RIP to a great American author.
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Interesting on ATPH, I enjoyed it the most out of the 3, but I've seen a few comments since saying it's people's least favourite.Karim_myBagheri said:Strange coincidence. Watched The Road on the night he died.
One of my favourite books I've read in my lifetime is all the pretty horses. Absolutely love that book and I recommend it to any who loves any of his other works.
RIP to a great American author.1 -
In a week when several noteworthy people have passed, today's Times has very readable obituaries for Cormac McCarthy and John Hollins0
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It might be because it's quite slow. For me it was very imagery.North Lower Neil said:
Interesting on ATPH, I enjoyed it the most out of the 3, but I've seen a few comments since saying it's people least favourite.Karim_myBagheri said:Strange coincidence. Watched The Road on the night he died.
One of my favourite books I've read in my lifetime is all the pretty horses. Absolutely love that book and I recommend it to any who loves any of his other works.
RIP to a great American author.1 -
I loved the Road, the Border Trilogy and No Country. I know Blood Meridian is probably the highest hated of all his books but I admired it rather than liked it. I have a fairly strong stomach but it was too visceral for me.
Ordered Suttree on the kindle yesterday and looking forward to it.1 -
I've read a lot of his work (can't name them all, it's been over a lot of years) but agree that overall, as a straight out 'good read' rather than a work to be admired for its scope, those I enjoyed most were probably his most deliberately 'commercial books', , No Country For Old Men and the Road .. as you say perhaps the least super violent and graphic of his novels. 'The Passenger' is also toned down and for him low key (Mustn't get, too much into giving the games away)Jints said:I loved the Road, the Border Trilogy and No Country. I know Blood Meridian is probably the highest hated of all his books but I admired it rather than liked it. I have a fairly strong stomach but it was too visceral for me.
Ordered Suttree on the kindle yesterday and looking forward to it.
Evidently, he didn't sell many books until he was in his 50s, Blood Meridian sold, very few the first time round then, he was 'discovered', became VERY popular and found fame n fortune0
