Review
Author(s): Maria O'Connell
Review by: Maria O'Connell
Source: The Cormac McCarthy Journal, Vol. 11, No. 1 (2013), pp. 109-111
Published by: Penn State University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/42909454
Accessed: 25-05-2015 11:26 UTC
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Murphet, Julian and Mark Steven, eds. Styles of Extinction:
Cormac McCarthy's The Road. London: Continuum
International, 2012. 163 pgs. Paperback US. $25.99. ISBN
978-1-4411-8505-1
Maria O'Connell
thiscollectionJulianMurphet andMarkStevenseekto
show that "The Road consciously performsthe
With epiphenomenal, inconsequential statusof literature'sstate
ofexception today:itslapsingfroma Borgesian library, fullofshimmering
and terrifying possibility,intoa charred ruinof thesame,wherenothing
remains butthedisappointment ofthatexpectation" (7). Withthisallusion
to thecharred andfloodedruinof a library in TheRoad,theyintroduce a
seriesof essaysdevotedto thestyleof thenoveland itsrelationto the
apocalyptic natureofa story"so exquisitely positioned on theundecidable
formalcusp betweenpostmodern readability and modernistdis/re-
enchantment" (7). The essaysthattheychoseare all veryclose readings,
paying"sober,analyticattentiveness" (7) to (often)everyword,treating
thetextas something akinto a trueapocalypsewriting, or a near-sacred
text.However,theeditorspointoutthatthewriters are "attuned to the
cultural ironiesofthisportentous religiosityof a paperback bestseller"(7)
whileseekinga trueunderstanding ofthenovel'sownliterary ambivalence
andliterary structure.
It is certainly truethatmanyoftheessaysfocusonnearlyeveryword,
digesting theirmeanings andexpanding on theirliterary deployment. The
firstessay,byChrisDanta,evencountsthenumber oftimesthattheword
"gray"appearsinthenovel(81 times,according to Danta)andexpandson
the "poeticsof gray"in The Road (9). Anotheressay,by Sean Pryor,
examinesthe rhythm in The Road, findingin one shortpassage"five
anapestsanda bacchius?"andthenproceedsto findmeaning inthepoetry
ofMcCarthy's languageandhowitbothrelatesto thearchaicvocabulary
thatMcCarthy also choosesandto theemotional reaction inthereaderto
certain passagesin thenovel.Theseessays,as suggested by thetitle,are
veryseriousaboutwordsandwordcraft andthedeepermeanings behind
wordchoiceand stylein TheRoad. Forthiscollection, thewordis not
simplyin thebeginning, butin theend of theworldas well,at leastas
CormacMcCarthy conceivesit.
Thislaser-like focuson languageandtheformsoflanguageconnects
nicely to the purposeof thecollection. The writers seemto havefound,
withinthisnovel,echoesof manymodernist concerns abouttheplace of
humanity in theworldandthepossibility ofmoralgoodin a worldwhere
thegodsarepassingaway.Theyholdon to a peculiarly modernistanxiety
aboutlanguageas a wayto structure theworld.Theyseemonthewholeto
see languageas thekeyto humanity. Co-editor Murphet writesan essay
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Cormac Journal
McCarthy 2013
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readingTheRoad inconjunction withWerner Herzog's Cave ofForgotten
Dreamsandlinksthecreation ofthings withtheideaofman'snotingand
artisticallyrendering thingssuchas animalsin hissurrounding world.For
Murphet, theChauvetcave thatso fascinates Herzogis a memory of "the
simultaneous birth ofhumanity anddivinity, intheactofrendering animals
insymbolic form" (111). ForMurphet, itis thelossofthenaming ofthings
whichis therealloss in thenovel,humanity reducedto a near-wordless
stateandthusfallingintoan animalhumanism thatleadsto violenceand
cannibalism.
All oftheessaysaremoreorless concerned withstyleinthiscontext
of socialmorality andhumanbeings.Manyof themlinkthezombie-like
cannibals intheroadwithlatecapitalism andAmerican anxietiesafter9/11
andfindgreathorror inthenamelessness andcolorlessness oftheworldat
its end. The afterword by MaryZournazi,whichreflectson the film
versionof TheRoad rather thanthenovel,does a nicejob ofbringing all
theessaystogether in a sortof real-world context, as sheremembers not
onlythedarkness andinhumanity inthemovie,butthekindness shownby
one of herfriends to a homelessman.For her,thehopein McCarthy's
story,howeversmallitmightbe, is in theuntutored humanity oftheboy.
Witha simplemoralcode of beingthe"goodguys"he "demonstrates a
kindof altruism thatAugusteComtemayhave had in mindwhenhe
inventedthe term,thatis, altruismis whatpropelshumanity and its
progress" (153). Suchaltruism does notdenytherealityof violenceand
evil in theworld,butit "enablestheaffirmation of lifeand itscontinual
renewaland hope" (153). The boy,forher,is theembodiment of that
humanquality.
OneminorquibblethatI haveaboutthebookitself, as product, is that
a bookwhichprivileges languageandwordsshouldbe better edited.The
epigrammatic quoteonpage63 is wrong, as is a quotation (inexplicably in
all caps) on page 150. In someessays,quotations are leftto standalone
and,in at leastonecase,on page 115,twoquotations separatedbytwenty
pages and different experiences are squeezedtogether as one without
transition, followedby anotherstand-alone quotation. These are minor
details,buttheyjar thereaderwhentheessaysall callforonetobe attuned
to wordsandstyleandthey,in effect, serveto erodetheerudition of the
argument. No writer is perfect,but editors should at leastdemand that they
getthequotations correct.
Thatbeingsaid,all of thisfocuson wordand languageis a useful
contribution to criticism focusedon McCarthy and particularly on The
Road. The languagein the storyso oftenvacillatesbetweenthe spare
simplicity oftheconversations between themanandhissonandthedeeply
poeticmemories andreflections ofthemanthata studyofthestyleofthe
piece and of McCarthy'sinfluencesamong modernist/postmodernist
writers andphilosophers is certainly
due. The essaysreflect deepreading
notonlyofMcCarthy, butofphilosophy andotherliterature. Theessayists
referto figuressuch as Samuel Beckett,TheodoreAdorno,Jacques
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Cormac Journal
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Derrida,W. B. Yeats,as wellas NietzscheandHeidegger. Thewriting is
philosophicaland and
erudite fullof solidarguments aboutthe stateofthe
world(particularlytheUnitedStates)and of humanity. However,I think
thewriters of theessayswouldhave beenwell servedby readingmore
McCarthy criticismand moreMcCarthy work.Some of theirmodernist
ideasofhumanity, violence,
divinity, and animalism seemto meto be out
of place withMcCarthy's thoughts in interviewsand withtheway that
othernovelsandplaysinterweave withoneanother.
Although I agreewiththefinalconclusion thatMcCarthy privileges
kindnessand thatwhatever graceemerges within his oftenexceedingly
darknovelsis encapsulated in acts of kindnessand generosity between
people,I have greatdoubtsthathe sees thecurrent worldas inherently
worse,moreviolent,or less humanthananyothertime.Violence,like
love,is a partof humanreality. Thatis whyit is irrelevant whether the
thatendstheworldis a nuclearbomborsimplysomething
disaster cosmic
thatwas alreadyinherent in theearth'senvironment. Seeingthewaythat
theearthis recovering,at leastat theviral,bacterial,and fungallevelin
thisnovel,andthewaythatMcCarthy writesaboutanimalsin general,I
also highlydoubtthathe privileges human"naming"as thebeginning of
theworld.However,despitethisweakness,I believethebookhas some
interestingideasaboutthewaypeopleactually readMcCarthy's workand
whatitsaystothemanditcertainly couldforma solidpartoftheacademic
discussionand providesome usefulreference forsituating a pointof
philosophicalorsocialinterestinanyofMcCarthy's works.
Ill
Cormac Journal
McCarthy 2013
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