Cormac McCarthy in Context ed. by Stephen Frye (review)

In an interview with writer and critic Richard Woodward, Cormac McCarthy, one of America's most elusive, insightful, and brutal novelists, acknowledged the "ugly fact" that "books are made out of books" ("McCarthy's Venomous Fiction," New York Times). By removing the guise of novelty from his novels, a reader might be tempted to dismiss McCarthy's works because they are not "new"—hence, the "ugly fact." McCarthy probably uses this phrase in an ironic fashion, as if this fact is not so ugly after all. This belief that no book is "new" appears in his novels, whose rich allusions span from pre-Socratic philosophy, the Bible, Nietzsche, and Melville to spaghetti Westerns and contemporary scientific journals.

Stephen Frye, president of the Cormac McCarthy Society and editor of a collection of essays, Cormac McCarthy in Context, seeks to engage with the works of Cormac McCarthy and how they creatively appropriate the thoughts of others before him. Rather than bewailing that "nothing is new under the sun," as King Solomon did in the Book of Ecclesiastes, Frye and the contributors of this collection desire to listen in on how McCarthy's novels and plays participate in the great conversation of Western civilization (Ecclesiastes 1:9 ESV). These essays affirm the value of McCarthy's fiction despite its lack of "novelty," which none of the great books possess because they belong to a web of influence; in turn, readers can appreciate the beauty and ingenuity of an author who "plagiarizes" resonant voices from the library of his mind.

The essays in this collection span the topics of McCarthy's environments, literature, intellectual interests, and cultural contexts. In addition, the book ends with a series of essays concerning McCarthy's archives and textual criticism, as well as translations of his work. Most of the essays incorporate criticism and scholarship already in the discussion on McCarthy's fiction. While essays such as "The Southwest" by Lydia R. Cooper, "Herman Melville and the American Romance Tradition" by G. R. Thompson, "Classical and Pre-Classical Philosophy" by David Williams, and "Race and Cultural Difference" by John Dudley certainly pique the reader, several essays concerning McCarthy and the Judeo-Christian faith illuminate his fiction. Three essays in the collection deserve special attention for how they explore the interface between a nihilistic vision, which typifies McCarthy's fiction, and a biblical vision.

Alan Noble contributes an essay on the Bible. Noble posits that McCarthy's work is one "with a rich knowledge of the Bible and a fascination with its cultural influence, its literary qualities, and methods of interpreting it" (98–99). According to him, McCarthy is "interested in the Bible as a text with a particular history, weightiness, style, and influence in the West" (99). Noble then proceeds to expound upon McCarthy's biblical diction, allusion, exegesis, and parable typology. While what Noble has to say proves insightful, he rightfully draws from one of McCarthy's characters in saying that it "may take us 'a while to find' and interpret McCarthy's use of the Bible" (98; italics added).

Even though McCarthy's interaction with the Hebrew and Christian scriptures is extensive and beautiful at times, McCarthy can use these texts in problematic ways. First, McCarthy's allusions to this sacred text, while reverent of the style and syntax, neglect the moral and spiritual profundity of Scripture. One example of this occurs in Blood Meridian as the Glanton Gang, a group of murderous scalp-hunters, enters the village of Cayome, Mexico: "When Glanton and his men rode in they were fallen upon as saints. Women ran alongside the horses to touch their boots and presents of every kind were pressed upon them until each man rode with an embarrassment of melons and pastries and trussed chickens gathered in the bow of the saddle. When they rode out three days later the streets stood empty, not even a dog followed them to the gates." (Blood Meridian [1985], 179). Here...