If you have the time to read one book in the near future, consider Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, even though it was recommended in Oprah’s book club. In secular literary circles, McCarthy is understood as a social critic whose books are violent, apocalyptic and dark. They see McCarthy in the predictable lens of the politically correct concerns of dilettante academics and ignore his deeply Catholic message.
Many who understand McCarthy’s Catholic side have compared him to author Flannery O’Connor, whose deeply expressionistic books have been praised for their use of shocking darkness to wake complacent readers out their sleep of secondary concerns. But I have to say, the Flannery O’Connor method never really worked for me–I have almost always found it a distraction from the good Catholic message that lay behind it. I found McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men a great read, but its violence was so off-putting to me, especially on the screen, that its Catholic apocalyptic message was lost behind the shock. The violence only seemed to harden me more and more to violence rather than awaken me to its terribleness.
The Road was for me something altogether different.
It is bleak and dark for sure, and the threat of violence is always present. It presents a view of the world without grace, or at least without the abundance of grace we have now. But though it is a long meditation on death, actual blood-shedding violence is rare and it keeps alive an ember of hope in which I found great comfort.
A bit of the plot: because of some unnamed disaster, all of the plants and animals of the world have been incinerated, and the few surviving humans have been reverting to their animal nature of me-first violence. The earth is no longer “hospitable” to humanity (interestingly, “hospitable” is a term often used to describe the quality of the renewed world after the sacrifice of Christ tore the veil and the Holy Spirit flooded into it). Color, pleasure, sunshine and relief from the cold are nearly impossible to find. In this situation, the most God-like qualities of humanity’s
imago Dei are almost completely wiped out: order, political life, justice, charity, cleanliness and nearly all of the traits of “high” culture like art, music, poetry, literacy and even agriculture.
The book hearkens back distinctly to the “Number of the Beast”– 666– to the sixth day of creation, the day when humans-as-animals were made, the day before the 7th day (the sabbath) and the 8th day (the peace of eternity of grace after the Resurrection). The Road is decidedly a movie about what happens to humanity when it reverts back to its fallen, beast-like 6th day.
It is ugly indeed.
In a poignant reminder of what is lost in a world without even simple grace, McCarthy allows his 2 main characters, who had been wandering in the burned-out forest filled with robbers and starvation, to stumble upon a bomb shelter stocked with food and fuel. They get to take a hot bath, shave, drink coffee and eat bacon. They even find a book. In this simple vignette, one would think they had found Eden once again. The reader feels it in the literary relief from the bleakness of the rest of the book. It made me realize how quickly I forget the tremendous blessings of my own life.
So if you get the chance, take the time and read The Road. It will put in perspective the many blessings we all have, despite the world’s many problems. And read it like a Catholic. When the movie comes out sometime in 2009, be ready to tell family and friends that The Road is not primarily about global warming, but about the Divine Life that sustains us and where we would be without it.
November 9, 2008 at 7:50 pm
I did indeed read this book like a Catholic, but must say I came away with a much more negative impression. That is, the glints of hope offered through the book are at best a pyrrhic victory or, more likely in my estimation, a comforting illusion, but an illusion all the same. There is a whole spate of this stuff in popular culture now like No Country, There Will Be Blood, The Dark Knight (which I hope I can dodge the flak for), and even House on TV. The message of all seems to be: Good? Evil? The cosmos doesn’t really care which you choose, so just pick either and run with it. Or as Steve G. at decent films said of No Country: “The darkness shines in the light and the light did not understand it.”
November 9, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Without being a spolier: the flicker of hope I found was in the little boy–the world has gone to Hades but he is still altruistic. The spark of love is indeed alive even in the worst possible cirumstances.
November 10, 2008 at 1:40 am
Flannery O’Connor said that she believed that in modern society, the only way grace could come to people would be through violence. I don’t have the exact quote, but the gist was that we are dead to everything else. She believed that that is how God would be have to speak to our benighted culture. It was not just a literary device, although of course you are right that she did it partly for the effect. Being the artist she was, everything she wrote was for effect. I haven’t read McCarthy: can’t handle it. I couldn’t handle much of O’Connor either if not for her overriding compassion and her incomparable wit. Anyway,thanks for the tip. I will try the McCarthy, but I may have to sleep with the light on. Kit P.S. I don’t know who Steve G is but that’s a great quote (Scott W. above), and timely.
November 10, 2008 at 5:24 am
A good recommendation. I read the book in my Intro to Literature class, which did indeed read it “like a Catholic”. Even as mantatory college reading it was still difficult to put the thing down, so I would recommend it too. I just hope I’ll eventually have time to read some of Cormac McCarthy’s other works.
November 10, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I’m not sure why you think McCarthy has a “Catholic side.” Is he Catholic? Is he Christian at all? I’ve long thought that he’s simply irreligious, but I have never heard him state anything about his religious beliefs in interviews.
November 10, 2008 at 4:13 pm
I’m not a Catholic or even a Christian, but a Catholic buddy sent me this link because he knows I love McCarthy. I highly recommend The Road–it is deeply moving and affirming. In The Crossing (my particular favorite novel by McCarthy), there are some lengthy, abstract discussions about faith and religiosity. For readers interested in McCarthy, especially from a religious point of view, I think those aspects of The Crossing will be quite interesting. I will say this: I think McCarthy writes novels about the biggest subjects imaginable, and he is unafraid of metaphysics. He is not a programmatic Catholic or Christian writer… but he is a writer who is deep enough, and talented enough, I think, to satisfy and reward readers such as the author and readers of this blog. As well as “academic dilettantes” such as myself!!
November 10, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Here’s a useful bio on McCarthy:
http://www.cormacmccarthy.com/Biography.htm
November 10, 2008 at 5:58 pm
From that bio: “Cormac was raised Roman Catholic. He attended Catholic High School in Knoxville.” That seems to be the first and last mention of religion. Interesting, though.
November 11, 2008 at 12:29 pm
“programmatic Catholic” – what the heck IS that?
December 19, 2009 at 4:54 pm
The book and movie are not pro christian in any way–they use christian language but the genuine subtext is one of humanism (there is no real God only other people can be like god (ie good) to you or like the devil (bad)). This book is ALL about the only God being people. Yes there is symbolism from the Christian faith that is used especially the church scene where they are sleeping under a large cross but that's only to show that THEY (the humans) are the only 'God the Father and Son' not any ACTUAL God. This is key throughout the novel and book. This is so clearly betrayed in the thanksgiving prayer when they find the bomb shelter full of food when the boy and man put their hands together and say 'thank you people'. The only real 'god' in Cormac's vision is other people acting good. READ the end of the novel which the movie left out which touches on belief in God where the implication is the mother is assuring the boy there is a God is only to make him feel better. (you must read James Wood's review on this matter where he fleshes this out). The Christian symbolism is mined for a humanistic message only.
December 19, 2009 at 4:58 pm
PS Cormac is not a catholic christian or any other kind of chrisitan but a subtle relgiously informed lapsed catholic who uses the symbolism to promote a humanistic message in a post apocalyptic setting.
December 19, 2009 at 4:59 pm
PPS sorry I do not have a log in name and am 'anon' I rarely go onto the internet and spend most of my free time reading books. Peace all.