I read some great books in 2010. For instance, I got through two Hemingway novels that I have been meaning to read for some time and thoroughly enjoyed them both. I re-read Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye, and probably liked it even more the second time.
But if you were to ask me in a very serious British accent, "Jesse, which novel did you enjoy reading most in 2010?" First, I would be shocked at how awful your British accent is. And second, I would have to say that my favorite reading wasn't one book, but a 'series' of books.
If you and I have ever talked literature, at least within the last few years, then I most certainly will have brought up Cormac McCarthy. I have been WAY late jumping on the McCarthy band wagon. But am so glad I am catching up!
And I have to say that I blame my schooling for my McCarthy ignorance. It is beyond me, how a person today can go through a minimum of four years of formal university level education, coming out on the other end with a B.A. in English (focusing his classes mostly on contemporary American literature) and still have no idea who Cormac McCarthy is? I did not read nor study one piece of his work nor ever hear his name mentioned. Not one short story. Not one play. Not one novel. Seriously, how is that possible?! I have been meaning to write a letter to BYU's Humanities department for some time now.
So how did I ever discover McCarthy? Pretty simple really. In 2000 I watched ALL THE PRETTY HORSES starring Matt Damon, Henry Thomas, and Penelope Cruz and shockingly well directed by Billy Bob Thornton. I walked out of the theatre thinking, “That seemed like an incredibly literary film, I wonder…” I wondered if it was based on a book. Three or four years later I watched it again on DVD and in the middle of the film had the same question. Luckily the world wide web was only a few feet away this time, so I Googled that crap. Guess what? The movie WAS based on a book of the same title—All the Pretty Horses by one Cormac McCarthy.
I was curious, but still did not race out to the bookstore. Fast forward another three years and there I was in a theatre playing hooky from work watching NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. After enjoying the film I was watching the credits role and BAM! “Based on the novel No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy”. Interesting. Yet still, I did not seek out his literature.
It must have been around that time that The Nurse came home with a bundle of D.I. purchases. She had been perusing the books and noticed All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. She says, “I remembered you really liked that movie, so I just grabbed it.”
Let’s just pause here for a second and contemplate for a moment how amazing this woman is. Not only is she the love of my life; not only has she provided life by birthing my three amazing children and become an incredible mother; not only is she my very best friend; not only is she a nurse… but she also introduced me to Cormac McCarthy!? Who is this saintly woman!!?? I’ll tell you who—The Nurse. That’s who.
All the Pretty Horses was THE best work of contemporary fiction I had ever read. I was totally blown away. The movie, which I really liked, didn’t even do the novel justice. It was beautiful and heartbreaking. Not too long after that, The Nurse comes home again with a D.I. bundle and again tosses me a book—No Country for Old Men. “I remembered you really liked his other book, so….” So, I read No Country for Old Men. It was amazing! I had never read anything like it. I remember thinking, “How is Cormac McCarthy not dead?” Because everybody knows, all the great authors have passed on.
Well, that did it. I was a McCarthy fanboy. No doubt. The next year I read his critically acclaimed novel The Road (which was followed by a movie starring Viggo Mortensen). It was a tremendous book. A haunting book of a post apocalyptic
I knew I couldn’t wait for more McCarthy books to be released. Who knows how long it could take him to complete another novel!? So I began looking into his past. I was thrilled to find out that his first novel was released in 1965 and he had written ten total (that includes the three I had read). That gave me seven McCarthy novels to dive into. But where do I start?
I decided I wanted to read what was called 'The Border Trilogy'. 'The Border Trilogy' is actually three separately released novels: All the Pretty Horses (1992), The Crossing (1994) and Cities of the Plain (1998). Each an amazing novel on its own, but when read as a volume they become something so much… more. Just more.
Those were the best books I read in 2010. Someday maybe I’ll write a review of them. That would be fun for all of us. This year I plan on reading (at least) his novels Blood Meridian Or the Evening Redness in the West and Suttree. Very excited.
So, how did we get to this uber long post on my McCarthy crush? Honestly, this was supposed to be a short little post. I was reading about McCarthy this morning and loved loved loved something he said and simply wanted to comment on it. Now, it’s turned into this!
In one of his rare interviews (only THREE in his 79 years!), McCarthy revealed that he is not a fan of authors who do not "deal with issues of life and death," citing Henry James and Marcel Proust as examples. "I don't understand them," he said. "To me, that's not literature. A lot of writers who are considered good I consider strange."
Why do I like that comment so much? Because I agree with him SO much! I wrote a 15-page Deconstructionist paper on Henry James’ The Ambassadors and what an awful lifeless piece of trash it was because it did not deal with life and death. The great irony of the paper was that I used James’ very own ideas and essay The Art of Fiction to deconstruct his own work. This paper was submitted to a professor who had a disgusting man-crush on Henry James and I thought for certain he would fail me. I remember when I picked-up the graded paper from his office—the margins were filled with red ink and my heart sank. Page after page had comments and comments written all over them. I had never seen a paper with so much red ink on it. I flipped to the final page to find the grade… A. He gave me an A!!! Holy crap! All of the red writing was his rebuttal to my criticisms but in the end he felt that I had presented my ideas very intelligently and very thoughtfully.
Hells yeah I'm intelligent and thoughtful. :)
Now years later I find that my ideology is in cahoots with the great Cormac McCarthy. How cool am I?
Word.
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