Et in Arcadia Ego

Blood Meridian or The Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy
published by Random House
337 pages

I am nearly 30 years old and I've just finished Blood Meridian for the first time. I'm glad I waited this long because I don't think I could have handled it in my younger years. Never has a work of literature left me so spent and speechless. It was slow going and most days I almost dreaded the thing. Not because it wasn't enjoyable...well, hell, I don't think Blood Meridian can be enjoyable. What I mean to say is that the writing is stunning and this is clearly a monumental work of American literature and certain scenes in the narrative will be buried in my heart and brain forever, but I found only despair and dark pleasures.

The dread I felt came from The Judge and the evilness of the book. I can't remember ever having been terrified of a literary figure. And make no mistake, Blood Meridian is a terrifying work. And I have nothing left to say.

 "For this will to deceive that is in things luminous may manifest itself likewise in retrospect and so by sleight of some fixed part of a journey already accomplished may also post men to fraudulent destinies." pg 120

Review of : True Grit by Charles Portis

I read that the Coen Brothers are doing a re-make of this classic John Wayne movie (of which I have not seen) or rather, they are doing their own version of the classic book. Their rendition is supposed to be "more true" to the book, so I guess we'll see.

Plot: Father gets gunned down by loathsome outlaw. Percocious 14 year old daughter seeks vengence, employs the expertise (and "true grit") of one Rooster Cogburn, a fat, one-eyed U.S. marshal with a penchant for killing. They set out, along with a Texas Ranger, to capture the criminal. Adventure and violence ensues.

It was strange reading though because I couldn't help but think about its naturally cinematic qualities and wonder what the Coen Brothers would do with the story and at some points, I could plainly see what they would do with it and how they would shoot it, etc. So it added another layer to the reading experience because I was using my imagination to picture each scene and its characters but I was also using the Coen Brothers cinematic imagination and it all kinda melded into this rich, satisfying romp of a western. Also, a quick read, well paced, surprisingly funny, and like all good westerns, casually violent.

True Grit by Charles Portis
256 pages
Overlook Press