Ford recommended this one, and, while I'm not a fan of post-apocalyptic novels, I'm very glad he did. This novel is simplistic in a variety of ways - straightforward dialogue, simple words, basic sentences, etc. -,yet it has an emotional depth that, as a father of two boys, hit me pretty hard. I see the Hemingway comparison through the lack of dialogue guides, the language, and the masculine themes, but there's a lot of "Papa" that McCarthy doesn't borrow from (e.g., Papa was not one for using similes, nor for telling the story, whereas McCarthy does both, quiet often). Still, that's a good thing! Who'd want to read a total Hemingway rip-off? The book was easy to read, and hard to put down. However, I found myself compelled to put the book down on several occasions to check on my sons or just give them a little of my time. If you read the novel, you'll quickly understand why the story had this strange effect on my paternal nature. As far as the major themes go, I found them easy to uncover, which, after reading such dense literature lately, I was grateful for. There was also a "child of God" religious thing going on that I enjoyed thinking about. I would definitely recommend this novel to several of my friends, and would probably give old Cormac another chance. The only "flaw" in the novel - if you can call it a flaw -, is that the audience seems to be somewhat limited. I don't see this as a novel for women. Maybe it's just me ...
On a side note, I had the strangest experience with this novel: I lost it! Last night the novel mysteriously disappeared from my home. I had 40 pages left to read, and it just up and left on me. I looked everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE! Freezer, bookshelves, downstairs shower, garage, cars, under the sofa, wood-burning stove, medicine cabinet, dog's stomach, etc. I have NO idea what happened to it. Mark was kind enough to lend me his copy - which I didn't molest in anyway -, so I could finish the novel. I get a headache just thinking about the 3 hours I spent looking for my copy. Where the hell is it?
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You know what's funny? I never even considered the connection you would feel between the father and son. It seems so obvious now, but I was thinking of it in just masculine, Hemingway-esque terms. (Do you have any idea who invented the "esque" suffix? My money's on the French.)
JTD is a big fan of McCarthy. He's actually read more of his books than me.
If you haven't seen the movie, you might want to go for All the Pretty Horses next. It's very good, but I didn't like the movie. Penelope Cruz and Matt Damon. Yuck! Ick! Pfft!
Interesting comments on the separation between Hemingway and McCarthy. I haven't taught enough Hemingway (at least not to any students with brains) so I haven't really had to analyze his style in depth. I think there are overarching, broad parallels between the two, but as you point out, there are definitely distinctions that can and should be made.
Hey, I'm enjoying The Rum Diary. I'm trying to read Atlas Shrugged, but whenever I get tired of the philosophizing and just plain ridiculousness of some of the stuff (feels like every other page at this point), I turn to Thompson for a little T&A.
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