What we're reading: McCarthy, Kaminsky & Keegan
Each week our amazing staff bring you a sample of the books or music they're immersed in.
Emma Davison is reading Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
I have been making my way through Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy this week and it’s definitely been a tough read. This isn’t to say I’m not enjoying it, I love McCarthy’s bleak and ruthless writing style, Blood Meridian is a treacherous journey which I am glad I embarked upon.
Based on true historical events, this book is set on the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850’s following a fictional teenage boy who falls in with a ruthless gang. Ultimately, this book is about the inherent evilness of man. I read McCarthy’s later novel The Road a few months ago and while they are similar in a lot of ways I can definitely see a distinct change in tone. As dismal as The Road was, there was still a glimmer of hope which came from the relationship between the father and son while in Blood Meridian there doesn’t seem to be any such redemption. I’ll definitely be reading more of McCarthy’s books but I think I might need the respite of something a little bit lighter for my next read!
Lou Ryan is reading Doll’s Eye by Leah Kaminsky
Doll’s Eye is a gripping love story taking us from Germany to Australia while the Second World War plays out in the background.
1933 – Why did Anna Winter leave Germany so suddenly. She winds up in an Outback Australian town finding work as a nanny and a bartender.
Alter a Yiddish poet arrives in town, he and Anna fall in love but he has suspicions about Anna’s past ... Doll’s Eye is expansive, dramatic, intriguing.
Pierre Sutcliffe is reading Foster by Claire Keegan
Foster is one of the most perfectly realised and executed novels I have read. Eighty-eight pages of sheer brilliance.
Keegan is my new favourite writer.
