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Legion

Staff member
Just finished Mark Lanegan's autobiography Sing Backwards and Weep. I can't believe he is still alive after that wild ride.


Not sure what is next on the pile. I'm thinking maybe Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy.
 

JWCowboy

Probably not Al Bundy
So I enjoyed Erik Larson's recent The Splendid and the Vile so much I decided to read his other WWII book he wrote a few years earlier In the Garden of Beasts. The brief synopsis below is copied directly from Larson's webisite:

"Set in Berlin in 1933-1934, the book tells the story of America’s first ambassador to Nazi Germany, William E. Dodd, and his daughter Martha, as they experience the rising terror of Hitler’s rule. At first Martha is enthralled by the parties and pomp, and the handsome young men of the Third Reich, with their infectious enthusiasm for restoring Germany to a position of world prominence. Enamored of the “New Germany,” she has one affair after another, including with the surprisingly honorable first chief of the Gestapo, Rudolf Diels. Her father resolves not to prejudge the new government, but soon the shadows deepen. Jews are attacked, the press is censored, and drafts of frightening new laws begin to circulate. As that first year unfolds, the Dodds experience days full of excitement, intrigue, romance—and ultimately horror, when a climactic spasm of violence and murder unmasks Hitler’s true character and ruthless ambition."

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shoelessjoe

"I took out a Chihuahua!"
SPEARHEAD, the compelling story about tank gunner, Clarence Smoyer & his 3rd Armor Div. M26 Pershing tank ... the very same tank captured in film in this graphic Cologne tank battle video:

 
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Legion

Staff member
An excellent work that is prototypical McCarthy....meaning well written, dark, grim, and brutal. Let us know what you think ;)
I really liked it. Not the easiest read, since Cormac does not use conventional punctuation. Also, there was a fair bit of Spanish dialogue I struggled with. But the story was really interesting, as were the characters.

Have you read All the pretty horses? Should I read that next, do you think? I have read The Road and No country for old men.
 
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JWCowboy

Probably not Al Bundy
I really liked it. Not the easiest read, since Cormac does not use conventional punctuation. Also, there was a fair bit of Spanish dialogue I struggled with. But the story was really interesting, as were the characters.

Have you read All the pretty horses? Should I read that next, do you think? I have read The Road and No country for old men.

While I own copies, sadly I have not read any of his Border Trilogy yet, my understanding is that it is some of his premier work. I think any of his that you choose to read next would be fine choices.

Like you I have read The Road, No Country for Old Men, and Blood Meridian. I've also read Outer Dark which is quite good, lots of biblical references in it.

Reading McCarthy is an exercise in concentration as you point out how he eschews conventional punctuation, frequent Spanish dialogue, and even stream of consciousness, but I do think he's a talented artist and well worth the effort to read.

Being a native Tennessean, I've always wanted to read Suttree so it is also on my bookshelf.

If you've never seen the interview he gave to Oprah several years ago it's worth searching it out on YouTube.
 
I’ve read the whole Border Trilogy, and it’s an incredible piece of work. All the Pretty Horses is one of the finest books I’ve read. Once you get used to McCarthy’s Faulkneresque writing style, it just flows. Ride it like the river. To this day, I can’t eat a plate of black beans, fried egg and tortilla without thinking of that book.
 
Currently laboring through Le Morte d'Arthur. It is... boring. Which I didn't expect as a huge fan of every movie or show based on Arthurian legend. Especially the 80s film, Excalibur.
 

shoelessjoe

"I took out a Chihuahua!"
That was a great read.
Very well written & documented ... didn’t realize that the war correspondent behind the camera was none other that Andy Rooney. He was the reason why I used to tune into only the last five-minutes of 60 Minutes.
 
It's been years since I read this book. In hopes that the 3rd book in the series, The Doors of Stone, will be out soon, I am re-reading the first two books, The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear. Storytelling at its best...

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