"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy quotes? - Page 3

DarkRoast · 02-09-2011, 08:10 PM

I just went and grabbed my pbook off the bookshelf. I read it a little while ago and it didn't even occur to me at the time that there was a lack of punctuation. So I was surprised to find that there was indeed no quotes. It mustn't have been that important.
Saying Cormac McCarthy doesn't know how to write is like saying Picasso doesn't know how to paint because his figures aren't always anatomically correct. Whether it's to your liking is a completely different matter.
As far as substance goes, it is a bleak book. I thought it goes to the core of humanity in a way that was mentally and emotionally challenging. The imagery created, lingering long after the book had gone. I saw the movie about a year later. I couldn't watch it. It was too dark, too relentless. Maybe some things are better in book form, allowing your own mind some freedom to construct the world and its meaning. From memory, I did skip over some parts but the image of those two lost souls on that long, cold road is still etched in my head. Not my most favourite book but one of the most affecting.

Penforhire · 02-10-2011, 01:10 PM

Funny you mention the movie. I couldn't watch it through either. But then again, I set down The Road many times for a break when I read it too.

Mitch G · 02-10-2011, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkRoast

Saying Cormac McCarthy doesn't know how to write is like saying Picasso doesn't know how to paint because his figures aren't always anatomically correct.

Well put.

Mitch

BenG · 02-10-2011, 01:45 PM

It's a stylistic choice that McCarthy has made. He's not the only one. Has anyone ever read Pynchon or e.e. cumming?
Sometimes you have to break the rules to produce great art. Whether or not he was successful is another matter, but I don't understand the anger directed at him.

If some people appreciate his work even if I don't then that's a good enough reason for me.

tm3 · 02-11-2011, 10:42 AM

[QUOTE=DarkRoast;1387341]Saying Cormac McCarthy doesn't know how to write is like saying Picasso doesn't know how to paint [QUOTE]

yep

incredible book. one of the few that i read straight through in a day.

i never noticed the punctuation or lack thereof.

ymmv

TGS · 02-11-2011, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

When there's some author's style or body of work that just rubs me the wrong way -- and I can't (for the life of me) understand why so many others like it -- I remind myself it's just possible, that it may be due to a defect of my own.

Excellent point - karma coming your way.

kennyc · 02-14-2011, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by queentess

It doesn't have much punctuation. Here, let me sum up the whole story for you: I'm scared. I know, I'm sorry. I'm scared. I know, I'm sorry. (repeat 10,000 times) The end.

Ptttt!

Not in the least.

This is an incredible book, one of the best I've ever read.

kennyc · 02-14-2011, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by queentess

While I didn't like the book, I will agree that the lack of punctuation gave it a certain tone and lent to the starkness of the story. I rather liked the style once I got into it.

It wasn't done for this book. It is simply his style.

lila55 · 06-28-2011, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

Ptttt!

Not in the least.

This is an incredible book, one of the best I've ever read.

I am just about halfway through and that is how I feel about the book as well. It is really hard for me to put it down, as it pulls me into its own barren world in which the man and his son seem to live in their own bubble, very closely interwoven with each other.

sun surfer · 06-28-2011, 11:29 AM

I read The Road about seven months ago and loved it. Very bleak, but it drew me in.

I'm surprised at the debate in this thread over his punctuation. Shouldn't an author have the right to punctuate as she sees fit? It's an artistic choice. If one doesn't like it, that is fine. But I feel that complaining that it should be punctuated a certain way is wanting to force one's opinion on others.

The funny thing is, I must've been distracted while reading, because I didn't even notice that it didn't contain any quotation marks while I was reading it.

kennyc · 07-12-2011, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by queentess

It doesn't have much punctuation. Here, let me sum up the whole story for you: I'm scared. I know, I'm sorry. I'm scared. I know, I'm sorry. (repeat 10,000 times) The end.

Ah but a perfect reflection of life itself.

McCarthy has from the beginning written his work without much punctuation. It's simply his style and in my mind it works and there is something to be said/learned from it.

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02-09-2011, 08:10 PM	#31
DarkRoast Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 55272 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Australia Device: Sony Reader 650	I just went and grabbed my pbook off the bookshelf. I read it a little while ago and it didn't even occur to me at the time that there was a lack of punctuation. So I was surprised to find that there was indeed no quotes. It mustn't have been that important. Saying Cormac McCarthy doesn't know how to write is like saying Picasso doesn't know how to paint because his figures aren't always anatomically correct. Whether it's to your liking is a completely different matter. As far as substance goes, it is a bleak book. I thought it goes to the core of humanity in a way that was mentally and emotionally challenging. The imagery created, lingering long after the book had gone. I saw the movie about a year later. I couldn't watch it. It was too dark, too relentless. Maybe some things are better in book form, allowing your own mind some freedom to construct the world and its meaning. From memory, I did skip over some parts but the image of those two lost souls on that long, cold road is still etched in my head. Not my most favourite book but one of the most affecting.

02-10-2011, 01:10 PM	#32
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 2,230 Karma: 7145404 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+	Funny you mention the movie. I couldn't watch it through either. But then again, I set down The Road many times for a break when I read it too.

02-10-2011, 01:45 PM	#34
BenG Home Guard Posts: 4,729 Karma: 86721650 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Alpha Ralpha Boulevard Device: Kindle Oasis 3G, iPhone 6	It's a stylistic choice that McCarthy has made. He's not the only one. Has anyone ever read Pynchon or e.e. cumming? Sometimes you have to break the rules to produce great art. Whether or not he was successful is another matter, but I don't understand the anger directed at him. If some people appreciate his work even if I don't then that's a good enough reason for me.

02-11-2011, 10:42 AM	#35
tm3 Groupie Posts: 174 Karma: 56678 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle 3	[QUOTE=DarkRoast;1387341]Saying Cormac McCarthy doesn't know how to write is like saying Picasso doesn't know how to paint [QUOTE] yep incredible book. one of the few that i read straight through in a day. i never noticed the punctuation or lack thereof. ymmv

06-28-2011, 11:29 AM	#40
sun surfer languorous autodidact ✦ Posts: 4,235 Karma: 44637926 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: smiling with the rising sun Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage	I read The Road about seven months ago and loved it. Very bleak, but it drew me in. I'm surprised at the debate in this thread over his punctuation. Shouldn't an author have the right to punctuate as she sees fit? It's an artistic choice. If one doesn't like it, that is fine. But I feel that complaining that it should be punctuated a certain way is wanting to force one's opinion on others. The funny thing is, I must've been distracted while reading, because I didn't even notice that it didn't contain any quotation marks while I was reading it.

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