Child of God cover art

Child of God

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Child of God

By: Cormac McCarthy
Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
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About this listen

Lester Ballard, a violent, solitary and introverted young backwoodsman, is released from jail and allowed to haunt the hill country of East Tennessee, preying on the population with his strange lusts.

McCarthy transforms commonplace brushes with humanity into stunning scenes of the comic and the grotesque, and as the story hurtles toward its unforgettable conclusion, depicts the most sordid aspects of life with dignity, humour, and characteristic lyrical brilliance.

©2010 Cormac McCarthy (P)2013 Recorded Books LLC Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Emotionally Gripping

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Critic reviews

"A powerful and talented writer, able to elicit compassion for his protagonist however terrible his actions" ( Sunday Times)
"McCarthy charts the terrible decline of Lester Ballard with passion, tenderness, eloquence, and a humour which…is attuned perfectly to the bitter wryness of the South." ( Times Literary Supplement)
"His prose, unfailingly beautiful and exact, carries us into a dreamworld of astonishing and violent revelation" (Tobias Wolff)
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Strong language, but hard to see beyond the violence. I prefer my dysfunctional characters to also have some moral quandary, ala Raskolnikov. What is there to learn from Lester Ballard? Nothing that I can discern.

Not my kind of book

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A sparse (3hr 41minute) portrayal of an Appalachian woodsman's descent into the depths of human depravity. There are moments of dark humour, such as the dump keeper who named his nine daughters from a found medical dictionary (Urethra, Cerebella and Hernia Sue....), but mostly it is brutal and terrible. Written with a lyrical beauty at odds with the subject matter, this is undoubtedly a masterpiece, though not one for the faint-hearted.

Lyrical potrayal of the descent into depravity.

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The joke is life, and the punchline is death. Cormac won’t be missed, because he’ll be around forever

A comedy of errors of sorts, and black as oblivion.

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Cormac McCarthy’s book are like poems. Even when the characters and their actions are horrendous, they still hold an hypnotic beauty. Listen in one sitting, it’s not too long and wonderfully read.

The sickest poem you’ll ever read

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the narrator was simply fantastic... he brought the book to life. the story
had me hooked from the start and didn't dissapoint.

.everything you would expect from a CM book.

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Have a read it's worth it for a short read. I read it in one sitting and although it is not as violent as people make out it's still a good listen thanks to the narrator.

very good

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An easier McCarthy novel to follow in terms of plot, you don't have to work super hard to follow what's going on. although the subject matter is grim, it's an engaging story, and as always, beautifully written.

Strangely (grimly) gripping

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Superb read, well narrated again by Stechschulte and his gravel voice. Relentless at times as you listen to the lead character descend from what is good and decent. Thoroughly recommend

Gruesome. Provocative. Revulsion

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What made the experience of listening to Child of God the most enjoyable?

The Reader's Voice.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Child of God?

The biggest, sickening impact for me was the way in which the young child was portrayed and the attitude of others, to him.

What does Tom Stechschulte bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

His voice and expression.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did listen to it all in one go. It is fairly short, but this wasn't born out of a disparate desire not to put it down, it was more chance timings.

Any additional comments?

It is a strange book, strange people, strange times.

Was he really made in God's Own Image?

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Thoroughly enjoyed this book, although it's quite short. Very brutal scenes. Interesting look through the eyes of a deranged maniac. The man is something else.

A creepy cross section of a complete maniac.

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