There always seems to be a myriad of desperately mediocre authors out there, all rallying to get their first coveted ‘best-seller’ or ‘novel of the year’ with every book they release and yet how many of these I ask you, are actually worth the hype that precedes them?
I can’t think of many and whilst there are some genuine exceptions, I find it’s getting more and more difficult to find a decent classic amongst the hundreds of generic rehash titles out there today. Well ladies and gentlemen, I present to you an exception to the rule, a writer that you may of even heard of before but have never really given the time of day.
That author is Cormac Mccarthy, a bona fide genius that trades in style and popularity for substance and respect without even the slightest of blinks. Born in the early 1930s, the near 80-year old novelist has written a total of just ten books since his début release in 1965 and whilst he has risen dramatically in fame with every successive book released, his actual writing skill has never wavered, not even once.
His most popular work, namely 2005′s No Country For Old Men and 2006′s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Road, are both two of mine and my sons favourite pieces of literature to date and have each been recently transferred wonderfully to the big screen (The Coens Brothers helmed No Country whilst John Hillcoat directed the slightly lacking but still captivating The Road). The books transferred so well into films that McCarthy has since been reached by several movie studios, all looking to adapt more and more of the authors back catalogue into films. Now I’m not someone who necessarily enjoys watching every book being turned into films but if they happen to be on the professional level that McCarthy’s books are, well I’m all for it.
Whilst his work is coveted by many, there’s also another focal reason why McCarthy has such a rich and respected following and that’s his actual writing style.
Sometimes comma-less, always speech-mark-less and with sentences that range from two words to two hundred, the man pulls off some of the most difficult grammatical techniques in the business. Why you ask? Well one reason he’s given was simply that he found no reason to “blot the page up with weird little marks”. If ever an author has decided to throw the rule book out the window, it’s McCarthy.
Sometimes comma-less, always speech-mark-less and with sentences that range from two words to two hundred, the man pulls off some of the most difficult grammatical techniques in the business. Why you ask? Well one reason he’s given was simply that he found no reason to “blot the page up with weird little marks”. If ever an author has decided to throw the rule book out the window, it’s McCarthy.
Few authors of our generation manage to uphold a constant literary significance and though many have fallen due to lack of ambition and creativity, Cormac McCarthy has only gotten stronger with every book released. We’re in a time where the social-climate is ever-changing and morphing into new trends and ideas (vampires one day, romance the next!) and whilst you can sit back and watch hundreds of writers attempt (and ultimately fail) to keep up with the speed of today, you can be safe with the knowledge that there’s still a select few people out there that know exactly what they’re doing.
