A Look at the Late Cormac McCarthy

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I have some mixed feelings about the work of Cormac McCarthy, the renowned author who died this past Tuesday, June 13, at the age of 89. Chief among them is his dearth of women characters in major roles; he was a novelist very focused on (white) males. Also, his depiction of violence could get to the very edge of being gratuitous.

Still, there was a time about a dozen years ago when I became engrossed in his fiction — reading eight of his bleak novels almost consecutively and then later a ninth. Why?

Well, the guy could flat-out write — producing prose and dialog that almost felt biblical (albeit occasionally veering into near-nonsense). That writing had southern gothic Faulkner vibes early in McCarthy’s career (when his novels were mostly set in America’s south) and terse Hemingway vibes later in McCarthy’s career (when his novels were mostly set in America’s southwest and at times Mexico). Also, McCarthy’s troubled male characters were carefully crafted and interesting. As for the violence? Well, we of course live in a world that was and is carnage-filled, so the author was reflecting that.

Blood Meridian (1985), considered by many to be McCarthy’s masterpiece, is his most gore-filled novel — depicting a gang of mid-19th-century thugs roaming the Southwest to brutally murder Native Americans, Mexican Americans, and others — including women and children. The book’s huge, terrifying, enigmatic, pasty-pale Judge Holden character is kind of an amalgam of Captain Ahab and Moby-Dick the white whale, exemplifying the fact that McCarthy’s work also features some Herman Melville influences. The powerfully lyrical writing in Blood Meridian certainly has a Melville feel at times.

Less violent but still pretty harsh is McCarthy’s mid-20th-century-set Border Trilogy — All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain. But those 1990s-published books do have some very human characters — most notably the young ranch hands John Grady Cole and Billy Parham — a reader can glom onto.

My favorite McCarthy novel is the semi-autobiographical Suttree (1979), which mixes humor and pathos as it portrays a loner with affluent-family origins drifting through life in Tennessee.

What, you might ask, about The Road (2006) and No Country for Old Men (2005)? Certainly McCarthy’s two most famous novels, with the former winning the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and the latter made into an Oscar-winning movie. Both excellent, but not my favorites by the author. The Road is almost too low-key, albeit quite moving in its way as it focuses on a father and son roaming a post-apocalyptic landscape (yes, male protagonists again). No Country, featuring a psychopathic killer, is gruesome but definitely a page-turner.

I have not yet read read McCarthy’s final two, 2022-published novels: The Passenger and Stella Maris. (The latter actually has a female protagonist! Named Alicia Western.) And I can take or leave his first two, 1960s-published books: The Orchard Keeper and Outer Dark. It obviously can take a while for many authors to start hitting on all cylinders. In fact, McCarthy didn’t have a lot of commercial success until mid-career.

Your thoughts on McCarthy, if you’ve read him?

My literary-trivia book is described and can be purchased here: Fascinating Facts About Famous Fiction Authors and the Greatest Novels of All Time.

In addition to this weekly blog, I write the 2003-started/award-winning “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column for Baristanet.com every Thursday. The latest piece — containing a YouTube-like reaction to a contentious Council meeting — is here.

59 thoughts on “A Look at the Late Cormac McCarthy”

  1. My first attempt at reading Blood Meridian was classical. The violence immediately had me put the book down and close it, never to reopen it.

    I admire your ability to read so much. It reminds me of a recent eulogy published for Harold Bloom, the literary critic, that described him as reading a complete volume in a single sitting. The ability to get the big picture of a story must have allowed him to see things the ordinary reader (me) misses.

    I imagine you’re able to do something similar, by the manner in which you encapsulate so many of an author’s works into sizable synopses.

    The only anthology I’ve read is the space opera The Expanse by the team of James S. A. Corey. I became so engrossed in the realism of the TV series that I wanted to read the backstory. So, I absorbed all 13 novels and novellas in the time it took me to binge watch the episodes (about 3 months). It was a pleasant experience that gave me not a small sense of accomplishment.

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  2. Dave,
    I have never read any of his books. Although you say he “could flat-out write, I’m 99.99999 % sure I’ll never read one of his books. One reason is “bleak”. There’s enough bleak in life to satisfy my bleakness appetite, I’m full up.
    I did see the movie “No Country for Old Men”. It was well done, but I found the story unsatisfying, unsettling in the end.

    It sounds like his stories hold many unpleasant truths.

    Interesting article, Dave! It’s always intriguing to see what topic you’ll come up with next. Thank you!

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    • Thank you, Resa! “Unsettling” and “unpleasant” are definitely two words readers of Cormac McCarthy associate with that author. I can understand not wanting to add more to your bleakness menu. The only McCarthy novel I read that didn’t leave me almost completely demoralized was “Suttree,” though several of his other books are compelling reads.

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  4. Hi Dave,

    At the moment, I’ve only read the one Cormac, but I enjoyed “The Road” so much that I’d eventually like to get to all of his other books. I guess the good thing about reading lists based on authors who are no longer living is they can’t add to it!

    I know the great authors can write about things they might not be familiar with (different gender, different colour etc.) but if someone feels they can’t quite pull it off, then maybe it’s better they don’t try. I’d much prefer there are no women in a novel than having a badly written woman who does nothing other than obsess about what she’ll wear and re-doing her make up every three pages. Not that I think Cormac would ever write something so clumsy, but maybe sometimes it’s a matter of write what you know. And it would make sense that he’d feel comfortable in white man skin.

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    • Thank you, Susan! Glad you liked “The Road,” and I’m guessing you’d mostly like some of Cormac McCarthy’s other novels. 🙂

      I hear you that a number of authors do best “writing what they know.” Still, I wish McCarthy had a few more good female supporting characters, at least. He was capable of that — in “All the Pretty Horses,” for instance.

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  5. I must admit I haven’t read any of his works – although I did see the movie No Country for Old Men when it came out. It was alright – I didn’t like that it had no film score, because film scores are a passion of mine! 🙂

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  7. I’ve only read one of Cormac McCarthy’s novels: The Road (which only came onto my radar after I saw the movie). Already having a penchant for end-of-the-world stories, I absolutely loved that book. You’ve piqued my interest, Dave. As you said so well, “we of course live in a world that was and is carnage-filled, so the author was reflecting that.” For a quiet pacifist, I am frequently drawn to books portraying violence I would never want to see in real life, or even in a movie (I did see the movie version of No Country for Old Men and found it too graphic). But I would likely enjoy READING his books (despite the lack of women – thank you for noticing, and for pointing that out 🙏💕). I’ve added him to my growing ‘Dave Astor Recommendations/Commentaries’ list 🙂

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  9. Started to watch No Country For Old Men as I’m a big fan of Coen brothers movies; however, I watched the trailer first so that put me off re: either movie or book. I think I’ll delve into his short fiction first and if it isn’t appealing and/or intriguing, it’s doubtful I’ll stick with a book. Short stories are much more difficult to write, but that’s just my opinion. Anyway, I’m more alpha cat, ha! Great theme Dave and btw Happy Father’s Day. Susi

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  11. Sometimes you just need a good, well written scare, Dave! I read Blood Meridian and it really fit the bill. I watched a couple of those films and they were good. All The Pretty Horses was wonderful on film. McCarthy seemed demythologize the Western genre. I’d like to read Suttree and his two latest. I’m tackling East of Eden by Steinbeck next, because I can only read so many women authors before I need a different perspective. Vive la différence!

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    • A wonderful discussion as always, Dave.

      When I read that Cormac McCarthy passed away on June 13 at the age of 89, I knew that I would find a great post about his books on your blog this week. I have not read any of his books, but Don has – so we had a wonderful discussion about why people should read his books. Your thoughts resonated with Don. Cormac McCarthy’s novels are stark, unflinching portrayals of human nature and the human condition. Don found his prose to be spare, direct, and haunting.

      It seems that Cormac McCarthy did not write happily ever after books. Bad things happen, sometimes endings in real life do not have redemptive qualities. Don agrees that McCarthy’s books offer a thought-provoking look at the human experience. His writing is powerful, his characters and scenes unforgettable. He writes about the struggle for survival in harsh and unforgiving landscapes.

      I just requested “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy from the Vancouver Public Library. I’m am 25th in line, so that tells you that people are very interested in his writing. This is the quote that was the deciding factor on which book to read.

      “Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that.
      You forget some things, dont you?
      Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.”Cormac McCarthy, The Road

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      • Thank you, Rebecca! Very interesting thoughts about Cormac McCarthy by you and Don! I think Don’s analysis of McCarthy’s work is spot-on. McCarthy’s take on the human race and the miseries of existence was perhaps only a little more pessimistic than real life itself. Hope you like “The Road” when it becomes available to you! And that’s an outstanding quote you cited from McCarthy; it illustrates just how well he wrote.

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    • Thank you, Mary Jo! You bring up a GREAT point that I should have mentioned more directly in my post — Cormac McCarthy de-mythologized (and de-romanticized) the western genre, and many readers are grateful to him for that. Much of the conquest and settling of the American West by white men (and some white women) was very nasty business. And I agree that it’s interesting to mix reading books by female and male authors, including male authors with an unfortunate overly macho, patriarchal bent.

      Good luck with “East of Eden”! I though that novel was terrific.

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  13. I haven’t read his books,but did watch or, more correctly, try to watch,,” No Country For Old Men.” Was too violent, like certain Quentin Tarantino films. I did think Javier Bardem was deserving of the supporting actor Oscar. I am a big fan of the Coen Brother’s films,this one not a favorite but memorable for many as I’m sure Mc Carthay’s books are ,may he rest in peace.

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    • Thank you, Michele! “No Country for Old Men” was certainly a violent book, so no surprise that the movie was violent, too. Perhaps even more violent than the novel? (I haven’t seen the film, though, as you note, there was a LOT of talent involved with it.)

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  15. Probably not my sort of writing. I’m not great with violence, especially gratuitous violence. Goodreads has The Passenger & Stella Maris as a series – & my local library carries both, so I may try them.

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    • Thank you, Carol! I hear you — very violent novels can be off-putting, though some sort of transcend that to become must-reads. And, yes, I’ve heard that “The Passenger” and “Stella Maris” are interconnected in some ways.

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  16. Dave, thanks for bringing his work to our attention. I’ve discovered that the most gruesome of stories can hold us in thrall with great writing. I haven’t read any of his books, but I’ve seen the movie adaptations of The Road (2006) and No Country for Old Men (2005). It’s been a while, so that I can’t remember my reactions.

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    • Thank you, Rosaliene! You’re right that gruesome stories can be must-reads (albeit painful reads) in the hands of great storytellers. I haven’t seen the movie versions of “The Road” or “No Country for Old Men,” but, then again, I don’t watch many films. 🙂

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  17. I’ve only read The Crossing and my feelings were much like yours I suspect. Some good technique but too alpha dog BS. It certainly didn’t make me want to read any others. So I won’t ! Just enjoyed Douglas Stuart’s Young Mungo and now on Euripides’ plays.

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  18. I’ve read The Road and zno Country. The subject matter delt with white men. The thing is a lot of literature an history ignors most of the population.

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    • Thank you, henhouselady! Much of literature indeed ignores, or under-represents, major parts of the population. Of course, McCarthy was fully entitled to focus on whoever he wanted to focus on, and his writing was often brilliant, but the white-male focus annoyed some readers (including me). Given that there were women in McCarthy’s life, he certainly had some direct experience he could have indirectly used more of in his fiction.

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