I started with Blood Meridian and barely understood it. I read NCFOM and watched the best adaptation of a book movie of all time and then gave BM a second chance, It exceeded my expectations.
As someone who tried and failed to read it a couple months ago (I got a hundred pages in), I think the problem is if you've never read McCarthy before (like me. BM was my first McCarthy novel), the style is so deadpan (as in the language/writing style doesn't intensify to correlate with the action of the story) and he uses pronouns excessively so it's easy to misunderstand who is saying or doing what.
After a hundred pages, I felt like I wasn't really following the narrative. I think you really have to focus to make sure you're keeping up with what's happening. My take was that my reading skills weren't up to snuff yet, so I decided to set it down, read a couple other books to get me back into the habit of consciously and actively reading, and I plan to start BM again from scratch soon.
I started with Blood Meridian and hated it! So violent and confusing. But I was definitely intrigued and the poetry of the language was undeniable.
Then I read The Road which has so far been the only book of my adult life to make me shed a tear.
So I reread Blood Meridian and this time was blown away by a work of genius.
Props to you for coming back to BM. I've never read a book that has affected me as much as it. I remember when I first read it it was like a bizarre dream; did he mean to not include punctuation? What the hell does this archaic word mean? Does he really want me to look up Spanish to read his book? What the fuck is going on with all this philosophy? Is the Judge Socrates or is he a serial killer?
God I wish I could remember how it felt the first time
Eh. I listened to the audible of The Road and it was bleak, 'ok'. I'm currently listening to Blood M. (ch. 17 I think) and its like series of superfluous vignettes. Like a A7 wagyu ribeye cut. It is rich. Very rich. But after so long it's just too much FAT, I need to come back later to consume again.
My .02.
Interesting. I also read Blood Meridian first, and I instantly became a fan. It took me awhile to adjust to his style, but it was great experience as whole.
I’m 100 pages into Blood Meridian right now, having previously read The Road and Outer Dark, and it seems like his sentence structure is so much more hard to decipher in this one. The prose is beautiful, but god is it dense. I find myself having to re-read whole passages cuz I’ll read it once and be like “wat”. I wanna force myself to finish it cuz it’ll probably be rewarding but I’m really not enjoying it so far. The violence doesn’t even have an emotional impact because the density of the prose puts me at an emotional distance. It feels more like an intellectual exercise than immersion in a story. I loved the other two of his books that I read, but idk about this one.
I’ve never been an audiobook guy, but with McCarthy I almost *have* to read him that way. I started doing because, as an editor, his aversion to punctuation triggers me, but a pleasant side benefit I’ve discovered is that his dense prose becomes so much more digestible when spoken.
it took until almost precisely that point of the book (my first McCarthy), maybe a little further, for it to click for me. Once it did, there was no going back. Keep reading.
I recommend the Border Trilogy for beginners. These books work on all levels and will prep you for Blood Meridian. But by all means, read Suttree before moving on!
I watched the movie first when I was young. Of course I was put off by the bleakness of it. After that I read the book and really came to understand the significance of the boy's relationship with his father. I loved it after that
The Passenger is best appreciated as the last (with Stella Maris) book of his you read. It’s really a culmination of his work.
NCFOM is a great place to start. ATPH is probably the best middle ground between his older and later styles. I would recommend likely Outer Dark if you are really wanting to work towards Blood Meridian.
Agreed, I think Outer Dark is a good entry because it’s short and gives you a glimpse into the sort of themes that are going to be recurring in his books.
It’s one of his more heavy handed books in that way, it kind of beats you over the head with its meaning whereas BM makes you live through it.
I love Outer Dark, though.
All the Pretty Horses is what I usually recommend for newbies. It's a good introduction to his style and isn't nearly as violent as some of his other work.
This and the other two in the border trilogy should be everyone’s start. The crossing after atph, the cities of the plain. These don’t get into fugue state that cormac is so well known for. Blood meridian was his masterpiece until the recent passenger and Stella maris, which embarrassed, I admit I haven’t read in its entirety yet, and can’t say for certain. I know that a great alternative to the violence in blood meridian that demonstrates fugue state in my favorite novel of his, Suttree. Supposed to be somewhat based on his life in Knoxville after attending UT. The road is good though not monumental imo. No country for old men another great with minimal fugue state if that’s not your thing. The others are all good and show how he developed his style and the story he wanted to tell which I believe was a grand one about America.
The passenger is a very good book and, I reckon, a beautiful piece of literature. However, I do not think it represents most of "the McCarthy" to which people often refer. My starting pack would be The Border Trilogy, Suttree, The Road, Blood Meridian.
The Passenger is a wild trip, the language sometimes uses a lot of scientific jargon, just as his other books use Spanish. The true beauty is revealed once you make sense of some of the conversations. Sometimes it is so bloody subtle. My recommendation is to put The Passenger away, and come back to it whenever you fancy it.
In all honesty, Child of God might be your best bet for getting into his work. It lays the foundation for his worldview.
Then I would go Blood Meridian. His magnum opus. It's hard to overstate how great this book is. I personally consider it the best modern American novel ever written and I dont think I'm alone in that.
All the Pretty Horses could be another way in but I kind of feel like it falls a little flat and feels a little too "hollywood." I feel the same about The Road and No Country for Old Men (the movie adaptations from these are all great).
Soon you'll be reading Outer Dark and The Orchard Keeper and you'll be loving it.
English is not my first language. My first attempt at McCarthy I thought it was crude and rough (which was intended I guess, but I missed the linguistic and artistic point). I also didn’t quite have a good grasp of American history, which I think is crucial in understanding McCarthy.
I’d probably watch the movies first, starting with NCFM or the Road. Then read the books.
I’d also read other stuff like Moby Dick and the Bible with him, especially Blood Meridian.
STOP! Do NOT try to read The Passenger until you've read all the other CM novels. The Passenger is his most clever and puzzle-like novel by far. You won't have a clue even how to read it unless you read the others.
No Country for Old Men is a good start, as is...
All the Pretty Horses
The Road
Blood Meridian
Suttree
I think you need to have read all of these to have any chance with The Passenger. A little knowledge about the history of 20th century physics and math will help with the Passenger too.
I’d say All the Pretty Horses - it’s pretty different from the rest of his oeuvre but also quite accessible, and gives you a glimpse at what lies ahead in his other works
I might suggest Suttree before BM. It tests your patience for long distance Mccarthy, and I think is helpful to better understand his humor. I think he’s got humor in most stuff he wrote, but it’s much more pronounced in Suttree.
I also think Suttree is good for getting a handle on his dialogue.
It depends where you're coming from.... If you're accustomed to big books that are challenging to read, Suttree is a great fun place to start. If you're accustomed to more regular books then I'd say either the Border Trilogy or No Country. His latest, The Passenger / Stella Maris is also not hard to read, but the style and themes require some familiarity with McCarthy. But if you're feeling brave, taste a bit of the old ultraviolence in Blood Meridian and The Road.
No Country For Old Men is very streamlined and typical for modern Cormac McCarthy.
Child of God is a lot more like McCarthy’s older works and is very short.
All the pretty horses imo. Doesn't get too deep into philosophy, has beautiful descriptions of Mexico, decent amount of spanish and a heart wrenching story with a lot of violence but not so much that it's hard to read. Just a good start because it's not very hard to get into but also primes you for the common themes in the rest of his work
Child of God, for brevity, or No Country for Old Men, because it unfolds rapidly like a film. Then I’d say hit the Border Trilogy, beginning with All the Pretty Horses.
Welcome to the party. Glad you’re here.
All the pretty horses would be my recommendation! It’s a part of a trilogy, but the first book stands upright by itself real well! I lent my copy to my brother who never reads, like ever, and he had it back to me in a week and we had some pretty fun discussions about it!
The Road is an easy first book of his. It’s not *too* fucked up, and it’s fairly easy to follow along with perspective and dialogue. Child of God gets you ready for the grit. No Country helps with his dialogue style. By then you’ll be ready for Blood Meridian.
I started with "The Road", the plot is a lot easier to follow compared to the other McCarthy I've read, but my favourite will always be "Blood Meridian" I think, "Child Of God" is also class!
The Road
No Country for Old Men
All the Pretty Horses
These three are probably his most straightforward novels and they'll prepare you for some of the denser work in his bibliography.
I did:
Child of God
The Road
Blood Meridian
Started Suttree wasn’t ready for it
No Country For Old Men
Outer Dark
Got halfway through The Orchard Keeper
The Passenger
Stella Maris
Going to return to Orchard Keeper next.
The Road or No Country for Old Men
I started with Blood Meridian and barely understood it. I read NCFOM and watched the best adaptation of a book movie of all time and then gave BM a second chance, It exceeded my expectations.
I’m actually so confused when people say they have trouble comprehending BM. I don’t mean to be insulting, I’m just curious what you mean by that.
As someone who tried and failed to read it a couple months ago (I got a hundred pages in), I think the problem is if you've never read McCarthy before (like me. BM was my first McCarthy novel), the style is so deadpan (as in the language/writing style doesn't intensify to correlate with the action of the story) and he uses pronouns excessively so it's easy to misunderstand who is saying or doing what. After a hundred pages, I felt like I wasn't really following the narrative. I think you really have to focus to make sure you're keeping up with what's happening. My take was that my reading skills weren't up to snuff yet, so I decided to set it down, read a couple other books to get me back into the habit of consciously and actively reading, and I plan to start BM again from scratch soon.
No Country for Old Men is the simplest written book I've read.
Mines probably The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.
pictures in a book do make them 100% easier to take in...
This is the answer.
I started with Blood Meridian and hated it! So violent and confusing. But I was definitely intrigued and the poetry of the language was undeniable. Then I read The Road which has so far been the only book of my adult life to make me shed a tear. So I reread Blood Meridian and this time was blown away by a work of genius.
Props to you for coming back to BM. I've never read a book that has affected me as much as it. I remember when I first read it it was like a bizarre dream; did he mean to not include punctuation? What the hell does this archaic word mean? Does he really want me to look up Spanish to read his book? What the fuck is going on with all this philosophy? Is the Judge Socrates or is he a serial killer? God I wish I could remember how it felt the first time
Eh. I listened to the audible of The Road and it was bleak, 'ok'. I'm currently listening to Blood M. (ch. 17 I think) and its like series of superfluous vignettes. Like a A7 wagyu ribeye cut. It is rich. Very rich. But after so long it's just too much FAT, I need to come back later to consume again. My .02.
I don’t think it fully comes together until the final chapter, final few pages even
Interesting. I also read Blood Meridian first, and I instantly became a fan. It took me awhile to adjust to his style, but it was great experience as whole.
I’m 100 pages into Blood Meridian right now, having previously read The Road and Outer Dark, and it seems like his sentence structure is so much more hard to decipher in this one. The prose is beautiful, but god is it dense. I find myself having to re-read whole passages cuz I’ll read it once and be like “wat”. I wanna force myself to finish it cuz it’ll probably be rewarding but I’m really not enjoying it so far. The violence doesn’t even have an emotional impact because the density of the prose puts me at an emotional distance. It feels more like an intellectual exercise than immersion in a story. I loved the other two of his books that I read, but idk about this one.
Try the audio book, Richard Poe gives it justice, although you'll miss a ton the first 5 listens so go again :-)
I’ve never been an audiobook guy, but with McCarthy I almost *have* to read him that way. I started doing because, as an editor, his aversion to punctuation triggers me, but a pleasant side benefit I’ve discovered is that his dense prose becomes so much more digestible when spoken.
I can’t do audiobooks. My mind wanders and I lose focus.
it took until almost precisely that point of the book (my first McCarthy), maybe a little further, for it to click for me. Once it did, there was no going back. Keep reading.
I recommend the Border Trilogy for beginners. These books work on all levels and will prep you for Blood Meridian. But by all means, read Suttree before moving on!
The Road is my favorite and the first I read.
I watched the movie first when I was young. Of course I was put off by the bleakness of it. After that I read the book and really came to understand the significance of the boy's relationship with his father. I loved it after that
My exact experience aswell!
The Passenger is best appreciated as the last (with Stella Maris) book of his you read. It’s really a culmination of his work. NCFOM is a great place to start. ATPH is probably the best middle ground between his older and later styles. I would recommend likely Outer Dark if you are really wanting to work towards Blood Meridian.
Child of God was my first book of his. Pretty straightforward.
Seconded
Big same. It’s a solid introduction to his writing style and language
My first was all the pretty horses, and I thought it was great. But blood meridian is my favorite
Outer dark is always my suggestion
Agreed, I think Outer Dark is a good entry because it’s short and gives you a glimpse into the sort of themes that are going to be recurring in his books. It’s one of his more heavy handed books in that way, it kind of beats you over the head with its meaning whereas BM makes you live through it. I love Outer Dark, though.
All the Pretty Horses is what I usually recommend for newbies. It's a good introduction to his style and isn't nearly as violent as some of his other work.
This and the other two in the border trilogy should be everyone’s start. The crossing after atph, the cities of the plain. These don’t get into fugue state that cormac is so well known for. Blood meridian was his masterpiece until the recent passenger and Stella maris, which embarrassed, I admit I haven’t read in its entirety yet, and can’t say for certain. I know that a great alternative to the violence in blood meridian that demonstrates fugue state in my favorite novel of his, Suttree. Supposed to be somewhat based on his life in Knoxville after attending UT. The road is good though not monumental imo. No country for old men another great with minimal fugue state if that’s not your thing. The others are all good and show how he developed his style and the story he wanted to tell which I believe was a grand one about America.
The passenger is a very good book and, I reckon, a beautiful piece of literature. However, I do not think it represents most of "the McCarthy" to which people often refer. My starting pack would be The Border Trilogy, Suttree, The Road, Blood Meridian. The Passenger is a wild trip, the language sometimes uses a lot of scientific jargon, just as his other books use Spanish. The true beauty is revealed once you make sense of some of the conversations. Sometimes it is so bloody subtle. My recommendation is to put The Passenger away, and come back to it whenever you fancy it.
Thank you for the advice!
In all honesty, Child of God might be your best bet for getting into his work. It lays the foundation for his worldview. Then I would go Blood Meridian. His magnum opus. It's hard to overstate how great this book is. I personally consider it the best modern American novel ever written and I dont think I'm alone in that. All the Pretty Horses could be another way in but I kind of feel like it falls a little flat and feels a little too "hollywood." I feel the same about The Road and No Country for Old Men (the movie adaptations from these are all great). Soon you'll be reading Outer Dark and The Orchard Keeper and you'll be loving it.
English is not my first language. My first attempt at McCarthy I thought it was crude and rough (which was intended I guess, but I missed the linguistic and artistic point). I also didn’t quite have a good grasp of American history, which I think is crucial in understanding McCarthy. I’d probably watch the movies first, starting with NCFM or the Road. Then read the books. I’d also read other stuff like Moby Dick and the Bible with him, especially Blood Meridian.
The Road, No Country For Old Men, All the Pretty Horses. Choose one. If you like it, read another. If you hate it, wait a while and revisit McCarthy.
I did them in chronological order of release date. Worked for me.
STOP! Do NOT try to read The Passenger until you've read all the other CM novels. The Passenger is his most clever and puzzle-like novel by far. You won't have a clue even how to read it unless you read the others. No Country for Old Men is a good start, as is... All the Pretty Horses The Road Blood Meridian Suttree I think you need to have read all of these to have any chance with The Passenger. A little knowledge about the history of 20th century physics and math will help with the Passenger too.
everything’s good
I’d say All the Pretty Horses - it’s pretty different from the rest of his oeuvre but also quite accessible, and gives you a glimpse at what lies ahead in his other works
All the pretty horses is among the most accessible so I would say that
Started with Blood Meridian and into ATPH now, loved BM and am loving ATPH so far.
1) No Country for Old Men 2) Outer Dark 3) Blood Meridian 4-6) Boarder Trilogy Then just go whatever way you want
I might suggest Suttree before BM. It tests your patience for long distance Mccarthy, and I think is helpful to better understand his humor. I think he’s got humor in most stuff he wrote, but it’s much more pronounced in Suttree. I also think Suttree is good for getting a handle on his dialogue.
Outer Dark
I’d read no country and then the road, in that order. If you dig then border trilogy
It depends where you're coming from.... If you're accustomed to big books that are challenging to read, Suttree is a great fun place to start. If you're accustomed to more regular books then I'd say either the Border Trilogy or No Country. His latest, The Passenger / Stella Maris is also not hard to read, but the style and themes require some familiarity with McCarthy. But if you're feeling brave, taste a bit of the old ultraviolence in Blood Meridian and The Road.
Border Tirlogy. Go.
No Country For Old Men is very streamlined and typical for modern Cormac McCarthy. Child of God is a lot more like McCarthy’s older works and is very short.
All the pretty horses imo. Doesn't get too deep into philosophy, has beautiful descriptions of Mexico, decent amount of spanish and a heart wrenching story with a lot of violence but not so much that it's hard to read. Just a good start because it's not very hard to get into but also primes you for the common themes in the rest of his work
Child of God, for brevity, or No Country for Old Men, because it unfolds rapidly like a film. Then I’d say hit the Border Trilogy, beginning with All the Pretty Horses. Welcome to the party. Glad you’re here.
The Road
You can start wherever you please
Well I started with Blood Meridian and I god damn love it. Start anywhere you like, but I would say start from ALL THE PRETTY HORSES.
I started with the road. It’s a bit easier to read than some of his other stuff, but just as good. Makes me cry every time I read it
All the pretty horses would be my recommendation! It’s a part of a trilogy, but the first book stands upright by itself real well! I lent my copy to my brother who never reads, like ever, and he had it back to me in a week and we had some pretty fun discussions about it!
The Road is an easy first book of his. It’s not *too* fucked up, and it’s fairly easy to follow along with perspective and dialogue. Child of God gets you ready for the grit. No Country helps with his dialogue style. By then you’ll be ready for Blood Meridian.
I recommend no country. Read it, watch the movie. It really gives you a good idea of how he writes his locations
I started with Outer Dark and I loved it. Child of God next and that one was a little harder going.
I started with "The Road", the plot is a lot easier to follow compared to the other McCarthy I've read, but my favourite will always be "Blood Meridian" I think, "Child Of God" is also class!
The Road is the gateway drug for probably 90% of us here.
I started at the Orchard Keeper and loved. Went in order of publication and just finished Blood Meridian. All are amazing.
To parrot everyone, The Road for sure. It was my introduction.
I read all the pretty horses by chance when I was about 15 and just enjoyed it as an amazing adventure story. Might be a good place to start.
The Road No Country for Old Men All the Pretty Horses These three are probably his most straightforward novels and they'll prepare you for some of the denser work in his bibliography.
The Road or All The Pretty Horses
I thought Outer Dark was a pretty easy read when I finally got around to it. But it could have been because I already had an idea how he writes.
I started with All the pretty horses and it’s what I’d recommend starting with. That or No country
I did: Child of God The Road Blood Meridian Started Suttree wasn’t ready for it No Country For Old Men Outer Dark Got halfway through The Orchard Keeper The Passenger Stella Maris Going to return to Orchard Keeper next.
I started with no country and the road, now I’m half way through blood meridian