The Road (was Homer & Langley )

[Mark Kohut]

Great etymology post....

Can't believe there is not a Grislic or Grislan in Pynchon.......(unless there 
is)



----- Original Message ----
From: "Carvill, John" <john.carvill at sap.com>
To: David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com>
Cc: alice wellintown <alicewellintown at gmail.com>; pynchon -l 
<pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Fri, July 16, 2010 10:06:25 AM
Subject: RE: The Road (was Homer & Langley )

Heh. Yeah, I knew *you* wouldn't be put off by any grisliness. But I was 
thinking of people like my wife who can't stand violent or disturbing scenes. 
And to be fair, the ones in 'The Road' are quite nasty.

Yes indeed, 'grisly' is a great word. Wasn't aware of the etymology, thanks for 
that.



-----Original Message-----
From: David Morris [mailto:fqmorris at gmail.com] 
Sent: 16 July 2010 15:03
To: Carvill, John
Cc: alice wellintown; pynchon -l
Subject: Re: The Road (was Homer & Langley )

I am a big fan of Blood Meridian, so I'm not afraid of "grisly
scenes."  So I'll take your advice and read The Road.  Hell, even
McCarthy's lesser works are still pretty damned good.

BTW, I love that word, "grisly."  I wondered about its etymology,
thinking "gristle."  But, no.  Here's what I found:

Grisly:  O.E. grislic "horrible, dreadful," from grisan "to shudder,
fear" (cf Du. griezelen, Ger. grausen "to shudder, fear").

from "Online Etymology"
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php

On Fri, Jul 16, 2010 at 8:31 AM, Carvill, John <john.carvill at sap.com> wrote:
> Yes, it is dark, and there are a few quite grisly scenes, some of which 
>threaten to take up unwelcome long-term residence in your head. But ultimately 
>it does carry - at least I *think* it is intended to carry - a positive message 
>about humanity, and the writing is really extraordinary.
>
> I would unhesitatingly recommend 'The Road' to pretty much anyone, except 
>anyone with delicate sensibilities. I don't think I'll bother with the film, 
>even if they've done it well I would expect that the film would deliver all of 
>the horror and none (or not enough) of the beauty.