The Road Cormac McCarthy Essays - The End

The Road Cormac McCarthy Essays - The EndCormac McCarthy's latest novel, 'No Country For Old Men,' is a breathtaking novel and perhaps the best essay in any of his novels. I read this book three times and was enthralled by the essays each time.In the introduction to the essay, entitled 'The Meaning of Life,' McCarthy proposes nine essay topics for consideration: God, Nostalgia, The Hero's Journey, Imagination, Literacy, The Present, The Unconscious, and Surrealism. In other words, this book is less of a novel than a series of essays that are tied together in the end by the main thread of the novel, which is the main character's life and the effect of greed and murder on his life. But the main character's life is the thread. It is the thread that ties all the essays together.The original 'No Country' was inspired by a certain incident in McCarthy's life. He was at a car show at a museum in Mexico City and met the most beautiful woman in the world.And from there, he says he took it as a sign from God and went home to find out how he could get her to marry him. After finding out about her accent, he finally found the words to say to her:'I am so afraid, I am so sorry, I can't get over this thing.' 'Then be free, but not to your fears.'This is where 'No Country For Old Men' takes off. This has turned into a pattern for the author; the first book of this series was a sequel to the first part of this novel, titled 'Blood Meridian.'He then takes up the essays, one by one, with each topic he discusses taking a different character from the book and then asking the question, 'What was he thinking?' There is a theme running through the essays. That theme is the effect of greed and death on the human spirit.There are many great works of literature that deal with themes like this and I think the essays in this series are outstanding. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a good read on life.