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

Poetic, Profound and deeply Perverted

I adore McCarthy's prose and Stechschulte hives his work a life that I find entertaining addictive. “AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY”

Cormac MacDarkthy

If you are a fan of Macarthys dark side, read it. No one writes stories of a social outcasts like cormac. I mix of Blood Meridians scenery descriptions and No Country storytelling, this tale will make you cringe but look forward to the next page at the same time.

Not what I was expecting.

Wow. I saw James Franco plugging the movie. had no idea what to expect. This book was a gate way book to Cormac Mcarthy's works for me.

McCarthy focuses his baleful eye on another Monster

A review of Child of God speaks of the author’s characteristic dignity and humor applied to this horrific analysis of the Human Condition. Sorry, I saw very little dignity anywhere here and definitely no humor.

What I did see was Cormac’s characteristic brilliant writing and his ability to dive deeply into the darkest and most desperate levels of the Inferno dwelled in by the Human Spirit. His themes and executions are powerful but The Reader can only dream that their imaginations never enter the World of Cormac McCarthy.

The narration of the book was terrific though often painful to listen to.

Beautifully written.

Narrated with care and authenticity. Written like velvet musical notes for your ears. Ugliness and horror as beautiful as death can be.

Definitely a classic gem.

some subject matter may be a little hard to take but in classic McCarthy writing is done so well it's not a problem.

C.O.G. - Cave-Dwelling Necrophiliac Murderer

Such a Cute Little Novel about a Cave-Dwelling Necrophiliac Murderer

The narrator of this short novel describes the main character, Lester Ballard, as "a child of God much like yourself perhaps." A 27-year-old hillbilly outcast in 1960s, Sevier County (Smoky Mountains), Tennessee. He had no parents, recently lost his home and cannot carry on normal relationships with women. When he finds a couple dead in a parked car, he takes the woman with him to be his necro-concubine in a house in which he's squatting. When the house burns down, along with the woman's corpse, he goes out to harvest other women to meet his needs by shooting/killing them and taking their corpses to a cave in which he takes up residence.

The writing was good, covering themes of violent cruelty, sexual deviancy and moral degradation., but it's a difficult read because McCarthy experimented with various styles and didn't use quotation marks.

I cannot recommend this unless you feel compelled to read the entire McCarthy collection.

One of my favorites

I have read and reread the printed version of Child of God, so was already familiar with the story and characters. Not so much with audio books. This is my first, and I must say, am extremely pleased. The narrator, Tom Stechschulte, is fabulous-able to take on the many different characters. He has set the bar very high for those yet not listened to (by me).
I am hooked!

Heart of Darkness.

This story was unlike any other I have ever experienced. A descent into perversion and deprivaty that took a lot out of me, but also enriched my appreciation for McCarthy’s mastery and the themes he explores in his writing.

Always difficult but worth it

Cormac mcC is not a predictable author, but never fails to leave one thinking. I would not seek out his subject matter, but always find myself pressing on to seek the message he has in mind. He provides a real and believable look into lives far beyond my experience. "There but for the grace of god go I". Who said that?