Child of God

By: Cormac McCarthy

Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte

Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

In this taut, chilling audiobook, Lester Ballard - a violent, dispossessed man falsely accused of rape - haunts the hill country of East Tennessee when he is released from jail. While telling his story, Cormac McCarthy depicts the most sordid aspects of life with dignity, humor, and characteristic lyrical brilliance.

©1973 Cormac McCarthy (P)2012 Recorded Books

I didn't think I was going to enjoy this at all...

But to my surprise I did. Short , brutal, stark and thought provoking. Well done

AMA painting of a culture that is high art.

The brilliant pros and the in-depth characterizations McCarthy does not shy away from the elemental in people, and he does it without judgment. 

A remarkable admixture of horror and beauty.

With his short novella, Child of God, Cormac McCarthy again proves his writing worthy of incision in the Western Canon. Like blind Tiriseus, his vision is frighteningly clear and unsparing. He is cursed with sight free of illusions, and shows us the world with spare and exquisite prose.
Hard to take, hard to put down, and definitely not a bedtime story.

Be there

My favorite author. so love immerse myself in the characters. I think others are better though.

As good McCarthy as it gets

Dark, gritty, violent and brilliant as always. If you’re a McCarthy fan, you won’t be disappointed.

Great

It’s was not what i thought but very interesting. Read for a book club. Probably not something I would normally read.

A glimpse into future McCarthy

Evil incarnate. People underground. The river. Sexual perversion. Faulkner, Jung, Doestevsky etc influences are obvious even here. A great book for someone to cut their teeth on McCarthy. Lester Ballard ranks with judge Holden and Anton Chigur in McCarthy’s most despicable characters

The absolute worst of humanity… and that’s just the beginning!

Wow, how or why could someone write a book about a man like Lester Ballard? What is there to say about a man without an ounce of decency in his genetic make up or God given soul? The answer… plenty!

Cormac seems to be fascinated by the root of evil in mankind, or perhaps just in horrors of evil itself. And in Child of God… he does a great job of personifying the evil of man in Lester Ballard. An outcast of society, who in turn, decides to completely cast out the laws of not only society, but God himself. The story goes about how you’d except from there… but it doesn’t, it’s even worse!

As usual the story is well written with all the trademarks that have made McCarthy a treasure of our time. The vivid descriptions, the almost poetic adoration to the words themself, and… the harrowing dissection and descriptions of the absolute worst in human nature.

I always find it fascinating that in a time where gore and sadistic violence is glorified. When abominations like Leatherface, Hannibal Lecter, and Michael Myers are hailed and adored with cult icon status. You still have readers who “love this kind of stuff” that will trash writings like this as too vile and “unnecessary”. To each their own I suppose. A book like this is obviously not for everyone, and quite possibly SHOULDN’T BE for anyone. But the point he was making is crystal clear in my eyes. And that’s where the real fear and grotesqueness of a story like this stems from. Not a single, horrific atrocity in this book hasn’t been committed by a human, not some glorified monster, multiple times throughout history. Are they created or manifested and does it really matter? Because the reality is, they are here and. Walk among us.

Jesus

Cormac once again paints a portrait of believable absurd humanity. A perverse creature left alone to his own devices.

SUZIE IS A SICK DOG

360 DEGREE SON OF A BITCH, MEANS A SON OF A BITCH ANY WAY YOU LOOK AT THEM.
If you have not read McCarthy before, know he is a master with the English language. Listening to the way he puts words together is enough to make this book or any book he writes interesting. I would not suggest this be your first McCarthy though, as this goes way out to left field. All The Pretty Horses, is probably the best place to start. THIS GAVE HIM THE FIDGITS.

DO THE LEST PART WRONG AND YOU MIGHT AS WELL DO IT ALL WRONG.
Part one is an interesting look at a part of society few of us run into. I'D EXPECT you don't talk like these guys.It's the GOD DAMNEST. Super warning, part two involves Necrophilia. I don't mean it's mentioned in passing. This book goes into great detail and on several occasions. The normal person will probably not appreciate it. As the book continues, it just gets worse and worse. Fans of J.A. Konrath will not be rattled, but the average person will. I gave the story four stars and was on the verge of five, but I am weird and like stuff that is different, just for the sake of different. It is amazing to me that such a good writer would write something like this. This is usually something written by an upcoming writer trying to shock his readers and make a name for himself. Fans of Matt Shaw will like this.

I NEVER KNOWED
Tom Stechschulte is one excellent narrator. He is going to the top of my list, up there with Ray Porter and Dick Hill.