Day One Hundred and Forty-Nine
The Crossing Page: 426
Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy Page: 147
My poor kiddo (Alex)has not been a happy camper today. He’s been teething, and after going without for a long time, he’s cutting 40 teeth all at once. Ok, only five or six but it’s enough to make him super grumpy. In happier news, Jared finished our sprinkler system and spread grass seed today. Our front lawn is still pretty hashed (trenching leaves lots of brown patches) but we’ll get it cleaned up soon. We hope to see little sprouts in about two weeks and maybe let Alex play in the backyard in about six.
I’m ready to be done with Cormac McCarthy but not because they’re bad books but because it’s a lot of brutality, sadness and bleakness to handle. They are well-written (lots of Spanish…wish I knew more than “si”) but I’m not sure I’d ever pick them up again. They are extremely evocative of the Mexican and South-Western landscape and atmosphere (I can almost see a spaghetti western materializing on the page) and I found a lot of the detail astonishing. The abundant hospitality in Mexico among the extreme poor is explicable but still surprising. Anyway, I’ll recommend the books especially if you’re into all things western.