Between rain drops and horrible
heat last week I finally got around to reading Cormac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy,
All The Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain.
I’d read The Road and No Country for Old Men, so was ready for action
and memorable characters and philosophizing, and some hard and violent acts. At
the end of Cities, I was just wishing for Billy Parham to get one break, good
god. I have been on the waitlist to get Blood Meridian, (why not
continue on with Cormac) but, I made the mistake of looking for the few
interviews he did over the years and ran across this at The Paris Review
(https://www.theparisreview.org/the-art-of-fiction-no-223-cormac-mccarthy)
and it has broken me. I laughed aloud; it does delight me. The day after I was
at the gym (too hot to walk outdoors, mean temp 111) and tried to listen to the
opening of Blood Meridian. Oh, no! Damn you Paris Review! It reminds me
of the early 90s when The Bridges of Madison County was so popular, but
I didn’t read it when it was burning the bestseller lists down, had no desire
to, but enjoyed the many parodies. Right before the movie was released I read
it, and found eye-rolling, over-the-top, giggle-inducing writing: “He was an
animal. A graceful, hard, male animal who did nothing overtly to dominate her
yet dominated her completely, in the exact way she wanted that to happen at
this moment.” (Snort!)
I didn’t
like the characters in the book, but the movie found a way to make them sympathetic.
After
all McCarthy’s testosterone and myth, I reread North Woods by Daniel
Mason, because it is just so lovely. Now on to a pile of poetry books!
Side
note: we’ve had about 10 inches of rain locally in the past week. We’re higher
here than some places so we’ve been okay. Yesterday I noticed that a brace of
ducks over at the middle school enjoying a low area that is made to catch any
runoff water. It was as full as I’ve ever seen, and they were having a great
time.
The sunflower is from a couple of years ago. Nothing fancy.
I've never read Cormac, I always thought it would be too depressing. Same with the movies.
ReplyDeleteI never read Bridges of Madison County either, though R and I watched the movie in the late 90's and it became Our movie, or at least the one I watch again Every year in June..for the one line...This kind of certainty comes but just once in a lifetime. Sometimes a single line rises above anything else when it reaches out and exemplifies your own experience.
I am glad you are above the water
and always, I love the sunflower! Mine never made it this year...