DescentBB

... anything by the American author Cormac McCarthy?

I know we've got one or two peeps that tear themselves away from the screen and go and do somthing useful instead.

If so.. have any of you have read this guy? Someone a while back gave me a few of his books in a clearout and i just got round to reading one of them. I hated it at first. Full of prose and completely lacking in conventional grammar. (Mobius would have a field-day) As i got into it though, i started to feel the rhythmn; opening me up to another style of writing.

Excellent American Lit.

edit: The way grammatical rules are thrown out the window by this author goes to show how wrong Mobius is...which could also be discussed. Even by the man himself for a change?

i thought this thread was going to simply be "anybody read?" and i would have answered "no"

Oh, God...I had to read All the Pretty Horses in senior year of high school. Worst. Book. Ever. Every two pages had someone speaking in Spanish, and absolutely none of it was translated. The storyline had absolutely no point whatsoever and dragged on for far too long. If that book is representative of the rest of his works, I'd have to say that he absolutely sucks. I'm a huge reader, too, and it's a rare time that I find a book I don't even remotely enjoy, but this one ranked right up there with A Separate Peace for me.

Edit: Hell, even the title of that book sucked.

LOL. Really!! That's the book i'm talking about. I'm loving it.

I had a similar experience (maybe) 'cause i was forced to read Lee Harpers' "To Kill a Mockingbird" at school, which i hated; when i was in your version of highschool. I loathed it with a passion. Eons later i tried it again. Of course i realised what all the fuss was about. (understatement of the year)

I love this book. His style is difficult to get into, but he's valid. Not every American writer has to write like Stephen King.

There again, like i allways say. Horses for courses.

Edit: as for the spanish....my mrs is half argentinian/uraguan(spl) so no problems there.

Read half of it. Loved the language and, yes, the rythm (although I read the german translation). However, in the long run it just got so depressing without any hope that I got tired of it.

That's funny; To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite novels. And I've never read Stephen King in my life.

To Kill A Mockingbird... is not anywhere near as bad as having to read "Lord of the Flies"... ugh!

I suppose flogging literature to death does defeat the object. I hated Shakespere until i went to see a few plays; what a revelation that was.

I never understood the point of reading plays. I wonder if some day futuristic children will be forced to read classic TV scripts.

TechPro wrote:To Kill A Mockingbird... is not anywhere near as bad as having to read "Lord of the Flies"... ugh!

To Kill a Mockingbird was a sad story... Lord of the Flies was downright depressing. I love to read books but this book... bleehhhh. Books are meant to either give you knowledge or enjoyment to pass the time. NOT TO MAKE PEOPLE DEPRESSED!!!

Btw the writer did a good job of showing how twisted kids can be in those situations. Such cruelty can lie in the innocence of children.

Kiran wrote:Books are meant to either give you knowledge or enjoyment to pass the time. NOT TO MAKE PEOPLE DEPRESSED!!!

Thatâ??s hogwash.
Creativity is up to the author and happy happy joy joy isn't always what someone wants to express. A lot of really brilliant work has been created while the author was wading in the doldrums. Simply don't read it if it doesn't flip your pancakes.

You donâ??t have to read a bunch of dark literature while curled up in fetal position pale and useless coming up with self absorbed bull★■◆● to write for your myspace login. Thatâ??s your decision.

But you don't get to decide for the world "what books are meant for". ;-0

True.

TheCope wrote:Simply don't read it if it doesn't flip your pancakes.
You donâ??t have to read a bunch of dark literature while curled up in fetal position pale and useless coming up with self absorbed bull**** to write for your myspace login. Thatâ??s your decision.

Whoa, calm dude. I would put the book down after reading halfway through it and deciding it's not my thing, but it's one of the major books at my school that's required for everyone to read.

Edit: I forgot to point out that reading this book was a requirement in my previous post. Sorry for not doing that, TC.

If I thought it's that big of a deal, I'd be outside by the building protesting against the school board for forcing the students to read depressing books.

TheCope wrote:But you don't get to decide for the world "what books are meant for". ;-0

No, the publishers do. Remember it's all about the money.

TheCope wrote:Simply don't read it if it doesn't flip your pancakes.

If choosing not to read it had been a choice at the time... you can be DANG sure I wouldn't have read it. Required class assignments are exactly that: Required.

Kiran wrote:Btw the writer did a good job of showing how twisted kids can be in those situations. Such cruelty can lie in the innocence of children.

Sure did. Enough to make a person sick.