Adventures in Reading Cormac McCarthy

by Peter Josyph

Regarded by many as one of America's finest-living writers, Cormac Mccarthy has produced some of the most compelling novels of the last 40 years. Through the increasing number of cinematic adaptations of his work, including the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men, and the Pulitzer Prize for The Road, Mccarthy is entering the mainstream of cultural consciousness, both in the United States and abroad. In Adventures in Reading Cormac Mccarthy, Peter Josyph considers, at length, the author's two masterworks Blood Meridian and Suttree, as well as the novel and film of All the Pretty Horses, Mccarthy's play The Stonemason, and his film The Gardener's Son.The book also includes extended conversations with critic Harold Bloom about Blood Meridian; novelist and poet Robert Morgan about The Gardener's Son; critic Rick Wallach about Blood Meridian; and Oscar-winning screenwriter Ted Tally about his film adaptation of All the Pretty Horses. Drawing on multiple resources of an unconventional nature, this book examines Mccarthy's work from original and sometimes provocative perspectives. Proposing a new notion of criticism, Adventures in Reading Cormac Mccarthy will become a useful tool for critics, students, and general readers about one of the great literary talents of the day.

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2010

Reviews

[Michael Crofford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of interviews and essays on McCarthy's works (mostly Blood Meridian and Suttree, but also ATPH, Gardeners Son, and Stonemason).

I found the interviews to be the most rewarding. In particular there's an interview with the late Harold Bloom and the author, Peter Josyph about Blood Meridian. This alone is worth the cost of the publication. The conversation is great and Bloom offers a novel interpretation of the Blood Meridian epilogue. The interview with Rick Wallach (founder of the Cormac McCarthy society) is also good. There's some interesting background on the nascent rise of McCarthy scholarship beginning with the correspondence between Sepich and McCarthy as well as the first dissertation. Their conversation also touches on some of the common themes of Blood Meridian. Fans of ATPH won't want to miss the interview with Ted Tally who wrote the screenplay.

The essays by Josyph are good too. One of them is titled Blood Music, and touches on quite a few things, from the nature of spitting (which after reading the essay really does stand out in the novel) as well as why we should (or shouldn't) care for any of the characters in Blood Meridian. You don't realize it but it's interesting how McCarthy carefully makes us empathize and root for the Kid even though he's a terrible human. Josyph explores some of the techniques McCarthy uses.

For those that feel moved and find themselves constantly coming back to McCarthy's work, you can't go wrong picking this book up. It's going to reward and enlarge your appreciation and understanding of McCarthy's works.