tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191202267854919416.post2003582934707784122..comments2023-08-20T08:59:05.893-06:00Comments on Writer, Cogitator, Recovering Ranch Girl: The HobbitTamarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06986544384594087203noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191202267854919416.post-77227679617274359892010-08-12T08:22:52.644-06:002010-08-12T08:22:52.644-06:00(Having grown up on a ranch, Blood Meridian may ma...(Having grown up on a ranch, Blood Meridian may make me feel right at home. :-) )Tamarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06986544384594087203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191202267854919416.post-34994524747542794882010-08-12T08:09:31.103-06:002010-08-12T08:09:31.103-06:00Blood Meridian might be a hard one for you. It...Blood Meridian might be a hard one for you. It's the toughest McCarthy to get into because the style is the thickest there. The Road conveys place in a similar, but subdued manner. It's a full-bore assault in Blood Meridian, along with the violence and a lack of plot. Be prepared.Brad Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14303095673203409777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191202267854919416.post-45279561643754316212010-08-12T08:06:57.122-06:002010-08-12T08:06:57.122-06:00I love how Don explicates that old saw about "...I love how Don explicates that old saw about "place being a character" in a novel. I was thinking as I read it that it's a character ~ it matters ~ because it matters to the protagonist(s). It's a character to her/him, so therefore it's a character.<br /><br />I have not read Blood Meridian or any of Don's books! I'll check them out. Thanks!Tamarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06986544384594087203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191202267854919416.post-60720631177279061712010-08-12T08:01:57.161-06:002010-08-12T08:01:57.161-06:00For place, Blood Meridian. The landscape is forcef...For place, Blood Meridian. The landscape is forceful in that book. Also check out Don Merritt's Possessed by Shadows or The Common Bond. He comments on my blog regularly. He has an interesting theory about Geology as Ontology. You can find a post about it <a href="http://doniganmerritt.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/geography-as-ontology-a-sense-of-place/" rel="nofollow">here</a>.<br /><br />Don's books use place very well to establish and convey mood. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Possessed-Shadows-Donigan-Merritt/dp/1590511581" rel="nofollow">Possessed by Shadows</a> is my favorite.Brad Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14303095673203409777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191202267854919416.post-8784036759503500882010-08-12T07:56:23.798-06:002010-08-12T07:56:23.798-06:00Cool! That's especially nice because people t...Cool! That's especially nice because people tend to forget world-building in non-scifi fiction.<br /><br />Which Cormac McCarthy would you recommend? I know The Road just grabs you by the, uh, neck and holds you, just by description.Tamarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06986544384594087203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191202267854919416.post-51505540476204734512010-08-12T07:54:18.108-06:002010-08-12T07:54:18.108-06:00Precise, realistic details not normally noticed. I...Precise, realistic details not normally noticed. It works no matter the genre. It's wonderful that the mind will explode one concrete detail in a narrative into a fully realized environment for you. I'd look at Cormac McCarthy for this. People talk about setting being primal in his work, yet he doesn't actually describe many things, but those things he chooses come weighted with other, inferred details.Brad Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14303095673203409777noreply@blogger.com