July 19th, 2009 / 11:58 pm
Random

Which Kind of Bitch Are You? Wise Blood or Child of God

Inspired today by Lincoln Michel’s tweet: ‘Kryptonite or Stay Fly?,’ over which I’ve been conflicted all day (and all night), another question for ya’lls, perhaps the first in a series of ‘WKoBaY’ heads up battles:

wiseblood OR childofgod?

And yet again, if you can sway me on this one, I’d like to hear it (though I think in the end I have go to with my hometown boy over my #1 clique):

OR

?

Tags: ,

40 Comments

  1. Justin Taylor

      I didn’t watch either of those videos, and I either don’t like or else don’t understand how you’re using the word “bitch,” but between Wise Blood and Child of God, I had a lot more fun reading Wise Blood, and I think I got more out of it too. The problem with the early McCarthy novels is that they’re SO proud of themselves as fables that they forget to actually be about anything. This doesn’t matter so much in the later books, especially Blood Meridian, where the language and story are both so powerful that they’re simply transcendent. But the early McCarthy is a lot of training wheels, and working to move forward from where Faulkner left off. At least to me. And not to suggest that starting where Faulkner left off is some mean feat– it’s a triumph in itself, that that’s his baseline, but I think Outer Dark and Child of God are both novels I had more fun thinking about afterwards than I did while I was reading them.

  2. Justin Taylor

      I didn’t watch either of those videos, and I either don’t like or else don’t understand how you’re using the word “bitch,” but between Wise Blood and Child of God, I had a lot more fun reading Wise Blood, and I think I got more out of it too. The problem with the early McCarthy novels is that they’re SO proud of themselves as fables that they forget to actually be about anything. This doesn’t matter so much in the later books, especially Blood Meridian, where the language and story are both so powerful that they’re simply transcendent. But the early McCarthy is a lot of training wheels, and working to move forward from where Faulkner left off. At least to me. And not to suggest that starting where Faulkner left off is some mean feat– it’s a triumph in itself, that that’s his baseline, but I think Outer Dark and Child of God are both novels I had more fun thinking about afterwards than I did while I was reading them.

  3. Kim

      Kryptonite
      Wise Blood

  4. Kim

      Kryptonite
      Wise Blood

  5. Blake Butler

      bitches, in this context, is a term of endearment for someone showing loyalty.

      i can see your stance on the early mccarthy of orchard keeper and outer dark, but i think child of god is its own thing, if still very different from where he’d end up. i never really got the faulkner crossover from him either. but i think i can see what you are saying nonetheless.

      at the same time, wise blood seems incomplete to me, whereas with child of god i will never forget.

  6. Blake Butler

      bitches, in this context, is a term of endearment for someone showing loyalty.

      i can see your stance on the early mccarthy of orchard keeper and outer dark, but i think child of god is its own thing, if still very different from where he’d end up. i never really got the faulkner crossover from him either. but i think i can see what you are saying nonetheless.

      at the same time, wise blood seems incomplete to me, whereas with child of god i will never forget.

  7. Peter Markus

      I like the idea of Flannery O’Connor writing against her moral center and all, but find very little pleasure in her sentences. Early McCarthy up through Blood Meridian is pure pleasure for me on every level.

  8. Peter Markus

      I like the idea of Flannery O’Connor writing against her moral center and all, but find very little pleasure in her sentences. Early McCarthy up through Blood Meridian is pure pleasure for me on every level.

  9. Blake Butler

      agreed. sentence level, he eats her conflicted head.

  10. Blake Butler

      agreed. sentence level, he eats her conflicted head.

  11. Gian

      COG

  12. Gian

      COG

  13. Lincoln

      haha

      uh, I think I’m going with kim:

      Kryptonite and Wise Blood

  14. Lincoln

      haha

      uh, I think I’m going with kim:

      Kryptonite and Wise Blood

  15. Lincoln

      Wait, maybe Stay Fly and Child of God.

  16. Lincoln

      Wait, maybe Stay Fly and Child of God.

  17. Blake Butler

      haha

  18. Blake Butler

      haha

  19. Blake Butler

      i think its gotta be stay fly and child of god

  20. Blake Butler

      i think its gotta be stay fly and child of god

  21. Lincoln

      Those have to be the two most bumping southern club bangers entirely about weed. I listened to both about 4 times on my commute to work just now.

      It has been a long time since I read wise blood and I hate to admit that as much as I love McCarthy I haven’t read Child of God. Guess I need to get on that.

  22. Lincoln

      Those have to be the two most bumping southern club bangers entirely about weed. I listened to both about 4 times on my commute to work just now.

      It has been a long time since I read wise blood and I hate to admit that as much as I love McCarthy I haven’t read Child of God. Guess I need to get on that.

  23. Matthew Simmons

      Tuesdays with Morrie and Self Destruction by the Stop the Violence Movement.

  24. Matthew Simmons

      Tuesdays with Morrie and Self Destruction by the Stop the Violence Movement.

  25. davidpeak

      i really like the record “children of god” by swans

  26. davidpeak

      i really like the record “children of god” by swans

  27. Lincoln

      great band

  28. Lincoln

      great band

  29. Ken Baumann

      The Power of Now and Dream On by Aerosmith.

  30. Ken Baumann

      The Power of Now and Dream On by Aerosmith.

  31. Justin Taylor

      Wise Blood isn’t O’Connor writing against her moral center. It’s a conversion novel, about the special kinds of grace to be found at the lowest depths of human misery. Her other novel is *much* darker and morally complex, if only because it asserts that at a certain level, if the cost of certain Christian rituals–specifically, the Baptism–is to be charged in blood, then it is necessary and moral that it should be paid in same. I actually like that novel better. It’s funny and terrifying.

      I think of the first 3 McCs I actually prefer the Orchard Keeper, ie the very first one. Again, this isn’t to diss the other 2, much, but since we’re picking favorites… Anyway, have you read much Faulkner? Maybe take a look at his short stories if you want to get a sense of where he links up with McCarthy. If you’re looking at the Collected Stories, start by counter-intuitively reading some of the war stories, like “Lo” and “Ad Astra,” then circle back to stuff like “Barn Burning” and “Red Leaves.” You’ll see it.

  32. Justin Taylor

      Wise Blood isn’t O’Connor writing against her moral center. It’s a conversion novel, about the special kinds of grace to be found at the lowest depths of human misery. Her other novel is *much* darker and morally complex, if only because it asserts that at a certain level, if the cost of certain Christian rituals–specifically, the Baptism–is to be charged in blood, then it is necessary and moral that it should be paid in same. I actually like that novel better. It’s funny and terrifying.

      I think of the first 3 McCs I actually prefer the Orchard Keeper, ie the very first one. Again, this isn’t to diss the other 2, much, but since we’re picking favorites… Anyway, have you read much Faulkner? Maybe take a look at his short stories if you want to get a sense of where he links up with McCarthy. If you’re looking at the Collected Stories, start by counter-intuitively reading some of the war stories, like “Lo” and “Ad Astra,” then circle back to stuff like “Barn Burning” and “Red Leaves.” You’ll see it.

  33. Blake Butler

      you’ve been reading too much bloom yo ;)

  34. Blake Butler

      you’ve been reading too much bloom yo ;)

  35. Blake Butler

      i said that just to make you grumble…
      but it might be true.

  36. Blake Butler

      i said that just to make you grumble…
      but it might be true.

  37. Justin Taylor

      Oh it’s totally true, but just to prove I’m not a total follower, Bloom–despite the fact that he’d agree with my assessment of early McC (how could he not? it’s basically *his* assessment)–would still endorse McCarthy over O’Connor, hands down 100% of the time. But that’s because the good prof doesn’t share my soft spot for Catholicism. right now i’m working on Omens of Millenium, his book on gnosticism.

  38. Justin Taylor

      Oh it’s totally true, but just to prove I’m not a total follower, Bloom–despite the fact that he’d agree with my assessment of early McC (how could he not? it’s basically *his* assessment)–would still endorse McCarthy over O’Connor, hands down 100% of the time. But that’s because the good prof doesn’t share my soft spot for Catholicism. right now i’m working on Omens of Millenium, his book on gnosticism.

  39. JW Veldhoen

      WB

  40. JW Veldhoen

      WB