Blood Meridian (1985) by Cormac McCarthy

[cranefly]

While up in Alaska, Lady Cranefly's brother Kevin gave me a couple books by Cormac McCarthy that he really liked: No Country for Old Men and Blood Meridian.

I'd seen the movie based on the former, so decided to read the latter.  Wow.  Blood Meridian is brutal.  It's the old West, and there's little room for morality or ethics anywhere.  The slaughter of humans and animals is ghastly, and told in agonizing detail.  The coldness of humans towards other humans is chilling.

As for the writing, brilliant.  Absolutely brilliant.

In talking to a writer friend about Cormac McCarthy, I learned that Lucius Shepard had a very high regard for him.  I'm surprised I didn't pick that up from Lucius back in the day.

Blood Meridian is regarded by many as McCarthy's masterpiece.  The writing makes it well worth the read; but my goodness, this is so full of brutality and despair that I'm not certain it qualifies as a cup of tea for any of you.

I'm now tackling his novel Suttree.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

I read his "Cities on the Plains" trilogy and, of course, "The Road". I think he is brilliant, his prose is stark and beautiful, but it is also pitiless, like his plots.

[cranefly]

In the "what were they thinking?" department:

The mooted Russell Crowe-James Francocollaboration on Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian has been shelved, mere moments after details of it first became public after it emerged that the filmmakers had not yet secured rights to the novel.

Just how far along was their planning, and without having secured rights?

The day began so much brighter with the news that Crowe was in talks to star in a Franco-directed adaptation of McCarthy’s Blood Meridian with Tye Sheridan and Vincent D’Onofrio also boarding the cast. Franco was also set to act in the film, which was to be produced by Scott Rudin, Cassian Elwes and Franco’s Rabbit Bandini partner Vince Jolivette. IM Global was to handle international sales at Cannes with CAA repping domestic rights.

I don't know what the lot of you think of James Franco, but I'm thinking that if Blood Meridian ever is made into a movie, the agreement should include a restraining order keeping Franco a thousand miles away from the set.

Then again, I also think it should be made as a musical comedy.  You know, to mitigate the constant and graphic carnage. 

Plug Pulled on Blood Meridian Movie Project