Here's yet another modern "heavy" work of fiction I was unable to finish. I got about 2/3 of the way through it, up until the parents of a newborn child roast it on a spit for dinner.
Why is it that bleakness, death, and despair make for a great novel? That seems to be the assumption that critics make. But surely such a one-sided, dark vision of life must count for a major flaw, even in an apocalytic novel, where not even a sliver of light is allowed beneath the door. How can such a work offer a credible mirror of reality, when the only reality presented is the worst imaginable on every page?
I can only conclude that Cormac McCarthy finds the world a repulsive, hateful, and meaningless place. I think it's a classic case of projecting one's own inner demons onto others. Yes, the world has its dark spots, far too many of them, but you can't deny its light, which shines through even in the bleakest and most unexpected places, like the hardy, emerging blade of grass that you never get to see in The Road.
3 comments:
Have you ever read Don Quixote? None of this doom & gloom crap there- occasional rollicking good fun built on a foundation of principled belief in self. John Myers-Myers Silverlock is another good antidote to despair and a wonderful opportunity to break out your copy of Edith Hamilton's Mythology.
I read Don Quixote about 30 years ago and would love to read it again, except it's so long I think I might die before I finish it. I do remember it being very funny and entertaining.
An English professor I know from St. Olaf once said to me, "The only reason to read literature is because you enjoy it." Wise words.
Haven't heard or Silverlock, but I read The Greek Way and The Echo of Greece back when I was in diapers.
Silverlock used to be impossible to find pre-internet. Best way to describe it would be to imagine taking a bunch of characters from Greek, Norske, Gaelic, Roman and about every mythological source you can imagine, stick them all together & see what happens. Great stuff.
Post a Comment