2008-06-06 Lukewarm Cormac McCarthy

The most fun to be had from this book is looking for rehashed Cormac McCarthy sentences. On one page near the beginning I found three (all from Suttree, if memory serves). Most reviewers mention that William Gay can write a mean sentence - and so he can. Then again, so could most people if they cloned the style of one of the world's greatest living writers. This isn't to say William Gay lacks talent. He surely doesn't. If he'd only talk a year or two off to wash the Cormac McCarthy out of his typewriter he'd be a force to be reckoned with. In the meantime, why read a rehash of the master when Blood Meridian is still in print? If you want to read a really gripping, well-written story about a sociopath, take a look at Child of God. If you want to read a heartrending coming-of-age story, take a look at The Orchard Keeper. And if you want to read a wonderful book about someone with a name quite like Sutter, try Suttree.