Japanese edition of Child of God by Cormac McCarthy. The story of Lester Ballard--a dispossessed, violent psychotic sociopath man who devolves to murder and necrophilia as an effect of his absent social environment. Although his acts are horrid, the prose of the book entices strong sympathy for him and to consider that society is the monster, not Lester. Major movie released in 2013. In Japanese. Annotation copyright Tsai Fong Books, Inc. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.
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Japanese edition of Child of God by Cormac McCarthy. The story of Lester Ballard--a dispossessed, violent psychotic sociopath man who devolves to murder and necrophilia as an effect of his absent social environment. Although his acts are horrid, the prose of the book entices strong sympathy for him and to consider that society is the monster, not Lester. Major movie released in 2013. In Japanese. Annotation copyright Tsai Fong Books, Inc. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.
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Add this copy of Child of God to cart. $920.00, very good condition, Sold by Elders Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Nashville, TN, UNITED STATES, published 1973 by Random House.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good in As New dust jacket. 0394487710. Very good hardcover in As New facsimile dust jacket, which is wrapped. Stamp of original pricing on front end sheet. Excellent copy. No visible markings or underlining inside.; 5 7/8" x 8 3/4"; 197 pages.
Add this copy of Child of God to cart. $1,500.00, very good condition, Sold by Second Story Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Rockville, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1973 by Random House.
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Seller's Description:
Book. Octavo, 197 pages. In Very Good condition with a Very Good dust jacket. Spine black with red and yellow lettering. Dust jacket protected in mylar covering, with price cut. Minor shelf wear. Light creasing to edges of dust jacket. Foxing to edges of text block and rear pastedown. Interior pages clean. Sticker adhered to front pastedown. Shelved in Case 8. 1372787. Shelved Dupont Bookstore.
Add this copy of Child of God to cart. $3,000.00, very good condition, Sold by Collins Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Seattle, WA, UNITED STATES, published 1973 by Random House.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. 197pp, octavo, hc w/jacket in mylar, a fantastic copy, clean red paper boards with blue cloth backstrip, slight wear to cloth spine ends, gilt titles tight binding, clean pages, sharp corners, jacket is clean and colorful, red titles on a black background with author's name in olive green, a touch of toning to the top corners of the flaps and upper corner of back cover. stated First Edition.
Having lived in Sevier County since 1995, it's easy to see the insight behind this work. The basic underbelly has diminished, because of the 10 million tourists who visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park yearly, plus the construction of 10K cabins over the past decade, but the main characterization still lurks nearby - too close for comfort?
You'uns know what I'm talking about.
BreeniBooks1
Nov 24, 2007
Gritty and disconcerting
I am late discovering the sparse prose of Cormac McCarthy, as his first book, The Orchard Keeper, was published in 1965, and here I am just beginning to explore this literary genius. Admittedly, my main motivation for seeking out this legendary author was a news story about controversy surrounding a teacher who was suspended and is possibly facing criminal charges for allowing McCarthy's Child of God to make a ninth grade suggested reading list. I felt I was obligated to add another notch to my banned and challenged book belt. Plus, you know Oprah put The Road on her Book Club list and if Oprah says he's worth reading, then the masses must follow.
While I absolutely loathe censorship in any form, for any age, I can fathom some parents challenging Child of God being part of a high school curriculum. It doesn't really fit the benign and boring literature typical of assigned reading. In fact, some students might actually find it stimulating...in more than just an intellectual sense.
McCarthy's 1973 novel, supposedly inspired by true events that occurred in the town of Sevier, Tennessee, tells the disturbing story of Lester Ballard, a man falsely accused of rape, and set free to unleash his deviance upon the townspeople. Whether Lester is a product of his environment or an inwardly doomed being is unclear. McCarthy details Lester's own discovery of his father's suicide early in the book, and the loss of his home and unjust imprisonment may have contributed to his descent into lunacy.
Lester's key obsession is necrophilia, and while he does eventually become a murderer, his first venture into this distorted fetish is with a woman who did not perish by Lester's hands. This serves as a gateway crime in some twisted way. Repeatedly homeless, his victims eventually begin to collect in the hollows of the cave he has claimed as his dwelling. Displayed on ledges, the bodies decompose next to the enormous teddy bears Lester won at a county fair with his most valued possession, his rifle. Ironically, Lester himself appears dull and lifeless, unloved and unable to love, a mere shell of a man lacking emotion and depth.
McCarthy's narrative alternates expertly between sparse bluntness and embellished run on sentences compiled into brief chapters. The novel can be absorbed on many levels. It is all at once a psychological thriller, an existential study and a gruesome horror tale. Dark and foreboding, Child of God makes the Breeni Books required reading list.
