Review of every Cormac McCarthy Novel to Date

The aim of this video is to give you a good sense of which novels by Cormac McCarthy might be best for you to read next. If you get something out of this overview, consider subscribing for more in-depth coverage of Cormac McCarthy’s catalogue and other book-related content.

[roastbeefyweefy]

For anyone who is intimidated by Blood Meridian as I was — The audiobook is free on youtube, and Wendigoon has a plot summary and analysis video that I would refer back to every couple chapters to check that I hadn't missed a plot point (If you zone out for even two lines in Blood Meridian, you could miss an entire village massacre). I also kept the physical book on hand to make highlights and annotations as they'd come up in the audiobook.

Only other one I've read is The Road, which I agree is accessible and gripping.

[darraghclarke]

The real genius with Child of God is how McCarthy was able to draw influence from real life figures like Jeffrey Dahmer despite publishing the novel five years before Dahmer's first murder. McCarthy's intellect truly knows no bounds.

[mackjay]

Good comments on all the novels. I'd agree in general, but my personal favorites are Suttree and The Crossing, a book that grabbed me and has never really let go years later.

[Grubthroat_Shinkicker]

I started with No Country For Old Men and just finished All the Pretty Horses minutes before watching this video. I plan to read The Road next. He is a gripping story teller

[thewalofsleep]

I'm still pretty new to McCarthy. I started with The Road, which I absolutely loved. Upon finishing The Road, I immediately read No Country for Old Men and All the Pretty Horses. All three of those books are really touched me. McCarthy describes a scene like few other authors can. However, even after reading three of his novels, McCarthy's lack of attribution in dialogue is still challenging for me. During longer dialogue scenes I sometimes lose track of who is speaking and have to restart the section. When the characters are really different and have different ways of speaking, the lack of quotations isn't so difficult for me. I understand his reason for avoiding some punctuation, but I sometimes wish he would use quotation marks. I'm currently taking a break reading another author as a palette cleanser. I'm not sure if I'm going to read the other Border Trilogy books next or move to Blood Meridian.

[PavelisLord]

I read The Road first and felt like I need psychiatric help when I was finished. I decided to give Outer Dark a try next (just a random pick) and I'm back at the state where I'm at awe at his writing but also cannot stand to read what he's writing, either.

[torinshaw]

In my opinion, The Road is the most realistic depiction of a post apocalyptic world.

[everrit]

The Border Trilogy is so wonderful and I agree that book 3 The Cities of the Plain outstanding.

[bunt]

In what world is Blood Meridian approachable 😂 I felt that by the time I’d finished the book I’d read it twice because I had to double back to make sure I’d understood what had happened.

[thetheatrezoo]

I was introduced to CM via Blood Meridian in a literature course. I wasn't impressed. I tried All the Pretty Horses since I heard such great things about it. I wasn't impressed. The Road came out around the same time as Everyman by Philip Roth's (who I was a big fan of). Roth won the Pen/Faulkner and McCarthy won the Pulitzer. I tried The Road and fell in love. I reread both Blood Meridian and AtPH and, though I didn't love them, I liked/appreciated them. No Country for Old Men is my second favorite. I'm currently about a quarter into The Passenger and really enjoying it. I've seen some ratings which are about 3.7, but I think the voice and pace is truly interesting. I just feel I breathe differently when I read CM.

[benjimckinnon]

Thank you heaps for this video — I just watched Wendigoon’s video on Blood Meridian and felt I needed to go through a bunch of his stuff

[amyl]

Orchard Keeper is fantastic. If you can, read it.

[scubafire]

Rest in peace, Mr. McCarthy.
Good reviews! Didn’t spoil any details, but gave us what we needed to know.

I read blood Meridian, the road, and then the orchard keeper. It was kind of a chore to get through the orchard keeper, but I’m glad I stuck with it.

Just finished no country and now I’m onto child of god.

[TheAtmaNex]

Blood Meridian is not only my favorite McCarthy book, it's my favorite book period.

[andrewgarcia]

I've only read The Road, before not knowing of him. It's very approachable and I have heard it's the best intro into his books

[culleyreviews]

Thanks for making this video. I just read No Country For Old Men and it's now my favorite of McCarthy's. I still haven't read any of the border trilogy or blood meridian though

[rubyfountains]

I love the movie No Country for Old Men.. I want to read the book too. It has to be even better right?

[doyle]

Thanks for the overview! I really like dark novels so I think I'll try Outer Dark or Child of God!

[TonyMontanaLuque]

Just finished Child of god and man it is dark and grim. It feels like it opened a whole new genre of serial killers but in his subtle, disjointed style full of gaps that you have to fill as a reader. Not his finest novel but a great piece of work nonetheless. I recommend it to everyone. Now I only have Sutree and his last book left to read

[TK-kfzc]

You are an 'all of' reader, bravo.