I loved Blood Meridian Feev. Probably his darkest though. It disturbed me on all sorts of levels.
By the way, there's talk that Daniel Day Louis will be playing the main antagonist in the movie.
Look forward to hearing your thoughts.
I loved Blood Meridian Feev. Probably his darkest though. It disturbed me on all sorts of levels.
By the way, there's talk that Daniel Day Louis will be playing the main antagonist in the movie.
Look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Cormac McCarthy on 1,000-page novels
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...577274572.html
WSJ: Does this issue of length apply to books, too? Is a 1,000-page book somehow too much?
CM: For modern readers, yeah. People apparently only read mystery stories of any length. With mysteries, the longer the better and people will read any damn thing. But the indulgent, 800-page books that were written a hundred years ago are just not going to be written anymore and people need to get used to that. If you think you're going to write something like "The Brothers Karamazov" or "Moby-Dick," go ahead. Nobody will read it. I don't care how good it is, or how smart the readers are. Their intentions, their brains are different.
hmmmm...
this humble reader loves a good long read!
Agreed.Originally Posted by Brice
I'm in with the others here. Comments like this irritate me - give readers a little credit, would ya? Maybe there are a lot of people who wouldn't even consider a 1,000 page novel, but to flat say "Nobody will read it." is pure ignorance. Perhaps McCarthy was speaking of his own readers?
This collecting stuff is a sickness! ~Patrick
Well I'm a fan of McCarthy. His novels are all short-ish, around 300 pages. But this does sound like a really nearsighted comment. It's unfortunate that it's coming from him.
You summed up my feelings perfectly, Pablo.
Obviously this guy didn't get the idea while in college and doing multiple guess tests that any absolute statement is a bad idea. I mean really, who is he to say "noone will read" any type book? Sounds like he was not thinking when he made these statements.
I love the long novel, and ofcourse this was bad timing for him to say this since SK just came out with a very long one, was this statement in conjunction with the release?
Hear, hear.
Especially an absolute statement that doesn't make sense, unless it means "I know to myself that I never can write The Karamazov Brothers, but to you I'll pretend I don't want to, with the brains of the readers being what they are."
Ask not what bears can do for you, but what you can do for bears. (razz)
When one is in agreement with bears one is always correct. (mae)
bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOLHear, hear.
Especially an absolute statement that doesn't make sense, unless it means "I know to myself that I never can write The Karamazov Brothers, but to you I'll pretend I don't want to, with the brains of the readers being what they are."
Mcarthy is an excellant writer but it's a shame he has such little faith in his audience
If he wrote something big then I'd certainly read it!
if the worlds gonna end then let's get it over with, i got shit to do
I think he has a point in that a lot of young (and not so young) people nowadays just aren't into reading longer books, or books in general for that matter.
But as others have said, he is wrong to make such an absolute statement. We might be a minority*, but we are a LARGE minority.
It's probably just an exaggeration though.
*And I'm not convinced that's true. I've known quite a few people who read long books.
<---------- What Brice said.
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah
what Brice and Jean and everyone else said. I've only read No Country for Old Men, and found it to be entertaining, but over the top gory for no real reason. However, I will eventually read all of his books.
Has anyone seen his interview with Oprah? It's on youtube. I think he made a couple of stupid remarks in that interview as well.
"So many vows. They make you swear and swear. Defend the King, obey the King, obey your father, protect the innocent, defend the weak. But what if your father despises the King? What if the King massacres the innocent? It's too much. No matter what you do, you're forsaking one vow or another."
Sounds to me like someone's jealous....
What..... JB wanted to be on Oprah too??Sounds to me like someone's jealous....*runs*
I meant Cormac McCarthy. Sounds like he's jealous because he can't write something that long....What..... JB wanted to be on Oprah too??Sounds to me like someone's jealous....
Funny John, I was thinking this same thing last night.I meant Cormac McCarthy. Sounds like he's jealous because he can't write something that long....What..... JB wanted to be on Oprah too??Sounds to me like someone's jealous....
:O I'll catch you one of these days, you wascally wabbit!What..... JB wanted to be on Oprah too??Sounds to me like someone's jealous....
and I'd love to be on Oprah, if only to denounce her Non-Religion as a crazy conspiracy to take over TV.
"So many vows. They make you swear and swear. Defend the King, obey the King, obey your father, protect the innocent, defend the weak. But what if your father despises the King? What if the King massacres the innocent? It's too much. No matter what you do, you're forsaking one vow or another."
Going to move this to Dutch Hill.
this thread will shortly be merged with that thread
Ask not what bears can do for you, but what you can do for bears. (razz)
When one is in agreement with bears one is always correct. (mae)
bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This.
He basically called people stupid.
I've only read The Road and No Country for Old Men, but his lack of quotation marks disgruntled me.
I lurk, therefore I am.
oh, don't even get bears or daghains started... it was so annoying...I've only read The Road and No Country for Old Men, but his lack of quotation marks disgruntled me.
By the way, Dmitry Bykov - my favorite author of those currently writing in Russian - comes up with another 1,500-page-long novel every two years or so... and they are not mysteries... and I'm not even mentioning I've read every one of them at least three times (because bears may be weird), but only saying that his popularity is steadily growing with people, too, and this in our difficult times...
Ask not what bears can do for you, but what you can do for bears. (razz)
When one is in agreement with bears one is always correct. (mae)
bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It would seem the sort of people who feel a thousand page novel is too long are the sort who don't use punctuation properly. I've not read any of his books and his ignorant statement kind of makes me not want to. I generally don't dismiss writers without reading them, but one thing I am certain of is he sure as hell couldn't write The Karamazov Brothers. Perhaps if he tries really hard he can write One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, but even there I have my doubts.
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