RIP Cormac McCarthy

[ArcticHeron]

Feel much the same about McCarthy's death as I did about Le Carres a few years ago; that the world is short one of the great writers of modern literature and that I'm down another hero.

He hadn't done a great deal in the last few decades and some might argue that his back catalogue was never extensive enough to justify his renown but man, no one ever told a story like he did.


“You think when you wake up in the mornin yesterday dont count. But yesterday is all that does count. What else is there? Your life is made out of the days it's made out of. Nothin else. You might think you could run away and change your name and I dont know what all. Start over. And then one mornin you wake up and look at the ceilin and guess who's layin there?”

― Cormac McCarthy, No Country For Old Men

 

[ArcticHeron]

I read "The Road" a few years back, I was in tears when I finished it, wont read it again but a remarkable book! I also rewatched "Old Country For Old Men" recently with my lad, perfect movie. RIP

Both books (The Coens 'No Country for Old Men' is almost identical to the novel) have got to be two of the most cynically damaging books ever written. He was one of the few writers who understood that age old mantra of 'giving the audience something to loose' in the fiction and that almost nihilist philosophy he wove into everything only ever bolstered that.

I used to get frustrated about the fact that his output was almost non existent in the past few decades, but as I've gotten older and re read much of his stuff almost annually I've come to realize that whatever he was trying to say, he'd said. That must be tremendously satisfying as an artist.

 

[ArcticHeron]

I have to say, I generally love the Coens but felt as though the movie massively lost something against the book. The book was all about the sheriff seeing a world declining into evil, whereas the movie was much more heavily "action" oriented. It was a good movie but wasn't anything like as impactful as the book.

I think that's fair tbh, though I think choosing to keep the story in line with Sherriff Bells perspective would have been a nightmare from a screenplay point of view, even for writers as gifted as the Coens. I was just happy that the film managed to translate the feel of the book more so then anything.

Absolutely remarkable author. While I'm not sure I agree with some of his stylistic decisions (much as I appreciate minimalistic writing, the stripped quotation marks etc drove me mad), he is very much a modern great, who captured a part of America which most others haven't even tried to touch. RIP.

Aha for sure, it took me a few tries to vibe with it. I mostly do Audiobooks these days. Tom Stechschulte narration in particular is superb on NCFOM and The Road.