Cormac McCarthy Interview (was The Road)

[bekah]

I never watch Oprah nor do I read anything because of her but I don't 
avoid anything because of her, either/  - I've often read her books 
prior to her recommending them - Middlesex is a good book for those 
who follow her recommendations.  Many intelligent but not necessarily 
well-read women buy books because of the little seal on it.  I would 
feel funny buying a book with her seal although I suppose I've done 
it - don't know.  The Poisonwood Bible, maybe?

I don't watch Oprah ( maybe twice in the last 20 years)   but I 
watched the McCarthy interview yesterday.  I got the feeling that 
neither Oprah nor McCarthy was happy with the result.  Maybe Oprah 
will learn not to interview recluses.  (lol)  He was not comfortable 
and it was very difficult for her.   She seemed a bit in awe of him 
and he tried to look relaxed but he really wasn't - he just knew the 
correct postures.  Actually,  I thought he  looked like he was trying 
to turn invisible in that arm-chair.   He seemed quite aggravated by 
Oprah's asking about his early years of poverty and ex wife 
statements.  (I was seriously aggravated by Oprah asking those 
questions!!!!)

I did enjoy what he said though.  I'm a fan of long standing.  He 
didn't really say much about the book (which imo is far less 
interesting or important than Blood Meridian but way better than No 
Country for Old Men) except that it was inspired by his son - age 8, 
born when McCarthy was 66.   He left all interpretation open to the 
reader.  He talked more about his writing process.  Said he didn't 
like interviews and I thought he implied that it was because he 
didn't want that sort of thing to interfere with his writing in any 
way.

I thought he was handsome,  charming,  sweet,  nice,  smart and very 
uncomfortable under the spotlight like that.  I had the impression 
that Oprah was in over her head, not because of the book,  but rather 
because she couldn't draw McCarthy  out the way she wanted to - the 
way most of her interviewees are probably more than  willing to be 
led.

Bekah


At 9:08 AM -0400 6/6/07, <hillcity1970 at cox.net> wrote:
>I also watched the Cormac McCarthy interview, which is unusual for 
>me because it required watching at least a portion of "Oprah." His 
>books are fairly new to me, and after reading a bit about his 
>reclusiveness I wasn't quite sure what to expect. After living in 
>Monroeville, Alabama for a few years and working at the museum in 
>that town, I got used to their resident recluse, Harper Lee. One 
>never knows what to expect from literary recluses (J.D. Salinger 
>hiding behind the fence, Harper Lee hiding in New York, etc.), so 
>this interview was a pleasant surprise to me. He seems genuinely 
>unsure about what to do with his celebrity status, and it was nice 
>to see that he really is just a guy who doesn't necessarily like all 
>of the attention, who writes for the love of writing, and who lets 
>his books speak for themselves.
>--
>Matt Rhodes
>Falls Church, VA
>mwrhodes.blogspot.com
>
>---- joek201 at comcast.net wrote:
>
>=============
>I was definitely underwhelmed with the whole thing.  It certainly 
>didn't live up to it's advance billing.  Did McCarthy jump the shark 
>with this one?