I have just finished writing 110 pages in my thesis on Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. Yesterday I wrote 9 pages to finish it, and then revised 7 more. Today I finished revising the first chapter. I have been completely overwhelmed with this author, his critics, his works, his words, his ideas for the past two years culminating to this point where my thesis is almost complete. Then I happen to check my RSS feed for the Looking Closer Blog and see this article stating that Oprah has chosen The Road to be in her book club. And McCarthy himself, mister-I-don't-give-interviews, is going on TV to be interviewed by Oprah.
I vomited slightly in my mouth.
Just to give some perspective, this would be like JFK coming back from the dead and giving an interview to Donald Duck, a deaf, mute, Donald Duck in a coma. On TV.
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3 comments:
That is truly a sad thought. I frequently choose NOT to read books because they've got the Oprah stamp on them. Which is sad, because she's taken over some good ones.
Yeah, well, she did pick a couple of Faulkner's books. As I Lay Dying is one of the (scratch that) the best work of Southern Gothic fiction. The speculation amongst McCarthyites is that he's going on TV and all to help get some money. He's 73 and has a 10 year old son, and he hasn't made much money in his career. My thought is that in his old age he wants people to understand what he's been saying in his books since the 1960s. So I'm hoping that he'll explain some of his ideas on the show. We'll see though.
But don't let Oprah ruin it for you, the Road is utterly amazing. It might when a Pulitzer. It should.
Maybe McCarthy is sick of people reading bad books. And pretty much in the twilight of life, crusty old curmudgeon that he is, he is just ready to seize the opportunity to give millions of mass-market paperback buyers, housewives, and those duped by Frey or sick of Brown's horrendous prose, the chance to read something good for once. Maybe he wants people to have some exposure to literature that really means something. As much as he is reluctant to say that writing is a significant human endeavor, the fact that it has been his main profession for the better part of a century leads me to believe he cares about literature more than he has let on in the past. For this and other reasons of his own we will not ever know, I welcome the chance to see him speak.
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