The New York Times: Book Review - Cormac McCarthy's Venomous Fiction

http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/17/specials/mccarthy-venom.html

'...the hermitic author, who may be the best unknown novelist in America, wants to steer conversation away from himself...A writer who renders the brutal actions of men in excruciating detail, seldom applying the anaesthetic of psychology, McCarthy would much rather orate than confide'.

'McCarthy doesn't write about places he hasn't visited, and he has made dozens of similar scouting forays to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and across the Rio Grande into Chihuahua, Sonora and Coahuila. The vast blankness of the Southwest desert served as a metaphor for the nihilistic violence in his last novel'.

'Death, which announces itself often, reaches down from the open sky, abruptly, with a slashed throat or a bullet in the face. The abyss opens up at any misstep'.

'It would be hard to think of a major American writer who has participated less in literary life. He has never taught or written journalism, given readings, blurbed a book, granted an interview. None of his novels have sold more than 5,000 copies in hardcover. For most of his career, he did not even have an agent.'

'McCarthy's prose restores the terror and grandeur of the physical world with a biblical gravity that can shatter a reader. A page from any of his books -- minimally punctuated, without quotation marks, avoiding apostrophes, colons or semicolons -- has a stylized spareness that magnifies the force and precision of his words'

A gregarious recluse, McCarthy has lots of friends who know that he likes to be left alone. A few years ago The El Paso Herald-Post held a dinner in his honor. He politely warned them that he wouldn't attend, and didn't.'

'It seems to have been a comfortable upbringing that bears no resemblance to the wretched lives of his characters. The large white house of his youth had acreage and woods nearby, and was staffed with maids. "We were considered rich because all the people around us were living in one- or two-room shacks," he says. What went on in these shacks, and in Knoxville's nether world, seems to have fueled his imagination more than anything that happened inside his own family. Only his novel "Suttree," which has a paralyzing father-son conflict, seems strongly autobiographical.'

"I've always been interested in the Southwest," McCarthy says blandly. "There isn't a place in the world you can go where they don't know about cowboys and Indians and the myth of the West."

"There's no such thing as life without bloodshed," McCarthy says philosophically. "I think the notion that the species can be improved in some way, that everyone could live in harmony, is a really dangerous idea. Those who are afflicted with this notion are the first ones to give up their souls, their freedom. Your desire that it be that way will enslave you and make your life vacuous."

'The psychic cost of such an independent life, to himself and others, is tough to gauge. Aware that gifted American writers don't have to endure the kind of neglect and hardship that have been his, McCarthy has chosen to be hardheaded about the terms of his success. As he commemorates what is passing from memory -- the lore, people and language of a pre-modern age -- he seems immensely proud to be the kind of writer who has almost ceased to exist'.

About the Author - Research, Cormac McCarthy

- Reclusive and private individual, rarely doing interviews or appearances, never doing readings, stating that all he has to say is in his work.

- Work reflects him as a person, writing about outsiders and outcasts living on the fringes of society.

- Writes stories of survival, life and death, trauma, violence and journeys, often featuring rolling American landscapes with strong lead male roles. Most of the places written about McCarthy knows personally, having travelled or lived there for extended periods.

- Generally very American, portraying life from times gone by with all it's trials and struggles. 

- Films have been made based on his books, however avoiding them is going to be crucial to create original and unique representations of his work ( I am a big fan of the No Country for Old Men adaptation by the Coen Brothers but I plan on ignoring that particular story for this reason)

- I like the mysterious nature of him as a writer, forcing me to focus on his work primarily rather than the writer, which in turn will explore him through his work. 

- I can imagine sweeping landscapes, dramatic American vistas and road worn characters. Often quite dark, at times violent, and gestural. 

About the Author - Research, William Burroughs

- Really interesting person, has become an enigmatic and mysterious character himself, one that would not be out of place in his work. 

- His work comes across as an extension of him; clever but also morbid and disturbing and explicit. His work should be experienced read by him. 

- Can picture dark and twisted imagery and techniques fitting Burroughs perfectly. Lots of charcoal and gesture and movement, imaginary characters and places and images taken from his work.

- Highly influential within the art and music work, countlessly referenced throughout modern culture.

- Has become maybe more about him as a person than his work. Although they both do coexist within the same space, they are one and the same, it is very easy to get sucked into the mystique and hype of Burroughs without focussing too much on the work.

I would love to focus on him and explore his story and writing deeper but I am afraid it is too obvious an option. It would perhaps be too easy in a way, too predictable a starting point. He has inspired so much already and there is so much information about him out there, it is almost already done for you.

About the Author - Research, Lin Yutang

- Ties a literary link between Chinese tradition and the West, not only through his translation work but also in how he has introduced important western literary ideas to China, such as it's humour. 

- His political connections and controversy, leaving and later criticising the Nationalist Government for example, could provide some exciting starting points for work.

- 'The Importance of Living', a witty and fascinating and pleasant break down of life and how it should be lived stood out particularly. Really enjoyed reading excerpts, portrays a very light hearted, quite Buddhist view on living. 

However his work didn't really stand out to me or grab me. I was not overly excited by him enough to want to pursue him for this particular project.