Customer Reviews
No country for old faint-hearts! - By: Michael Murphy, 19 Oct 2008 
One of Cormac McCarthy's early novels, setin a rural landscape somewherein a pre-modern Appalachia, "The Outer Dark" is a dark, disturbing story about Rinthy Holme's search for her lost baby, the product of an incestuous union with her brother Culla, who unknown to Rinthy, has abandoned the baby deepin the woods, telling Rinthy he died. The child, left to die, survives, rescued by a tinker.
There's no great depth - or twists - of plotin "The Outer Dark". Rather than plot-driven, the story is structured around two separate journeys made by brother & sister, the narrative cross-cutting intermittently from one journey to the other: Rinthy (on discovery of Culla's lie) travelling the countrysidein search of lost child & Culla wandering the woods indeterminately - a structure that allows McCarthy scope at once to describe Rinthy & Culla's wanderingsin the landscape they pass through & the mixed-bag of eccentric, grotesque characters they encounter on their travels.
McCarthy's writing is unsurpassed when describing a landscape & its people & their way of life. Marvellous set-pieces involving Rinthy & Culla,in encounters with peculiar cranky backwoods southerners who cross their separate paths - often livingin squalorin dilapidated shacks & isolated cabins deepin the woods - are full of sardonic wit & crackling dialogue. Snappy, colourful, these 'run-ins' with crusty 'locals' are the highlights of the novel for this reader.
A dark mood permeates "The Outer Dark". When Culla flees the scene of his evil act, careering through the dark depths of the forestin full flight, his hands are outstretched before him "against whatever the dark might hold". McCarthy creates a strong sense of foreboding & menace. For Culla, whatever the 'dark' might hold, remains to be seen. Out of the 'dark' too, like outcasts straight from Hell, the coming of three terrifying figures roaming the land with murderous intent, manifestedin the shock-horror violence of a gruesome, disturbing climax.
Welcome to Cormac McCarthy Country! If you enjoy this walk through the woods, book up for another trip into McCarthy country with "Child of God" & "The Orchard Keeper". Another "loner-living-in-isolated-cabin-in-the-woods" novel you may enjoy is "Julius Winsome" by Gerard Donovan.
One of Mccarthy's most accessible novels. A stunning read. - By: Mr. J. F. K. Banfield, 08 Oct 2008 Mccarthy's language & control of pace are of the highest quality evenin this, his second novel. The tale is an allegorical one of consequence, guilt & fate concerning a brother, Culla, & his sister who bears his son at the novels beginning. Culla takes the baby as his sister recovers & leaves itin a forest glade before returning, claiming it had died & been buried. In the meantime a tinker has chanced upon the boy & taken it. When Cullas lie is promptly found he disappears into the appalchian expansein search of work while his sister tries to track down the tinker.
His sister receives momentus fortune & good-will on her travels while her brother, for his sins, comes across terrible ill-fortune, being suspected of crimes & prompting a hog riot & chancing across many characters who later come to regret meeting him. All the while three savage characters are roaming the land killing & hanging men who have recently strayed across Cullas path.
The prose is haunting & subtly gorgeous & the dialogue is truly brilliant. The book is open to interpretation & I wisely recommend you tackle this before his magnum opus, Blood Meridian. A classic book from,in my opinion, the greatest living American writer.
A Grimm Fairy Tale..... - By: M. Parry, 19 Sep 2008 I came upon this book having worked my way through The Border Trilogy, The Road(my first Cormac McCarthy), No Country for Old Men & latterly Child of God.
Reading Outer Dark gave me the same goosebumps I experienced as a child when I discovered Grimm's Fairy Tales.
That feeling of impending disaster whilstin the grip of horrible fascination which had me wincingin anticipation & ensured that I would read through to the bitter end.
Cormac MCarthy's unrelenting & poetic language engages feelings of sympathy from the start when we discover poor Rinthy giving birth to her brother's child alone & deliberately neglected by him. Thus starts a circular journey of action & reaction as both brother & sister travel their own personal but interlinked journeys.
Into this mix explode three loose-cannon characters who weavein & out of the tale with a malevolent presence that can only leadin one inevitable direction.
The end is as explosively shocking as the beginning.
Cormac MCarthy has the ability to combine sickening brutality with the most deft & delicate nuances of humanity using lean, eccentric & beautiful language. In his writing nothing is squandered, it is pitch perfect. If you like your humour dark & and your stories darker, this is the book for you. It's brilliant stuff.
The best book I have read in 20 years! - By: a reviewer, 01 Jun 2008 This is the second Cormac McCarthy book I've read, my first being "The Road", which I felt to be a pretty bleak piece, though no less rewarding for that. I enjoyed it enough to try another, & picked "Outer Dark" pretty much at random. Within the first few paragraphs, this book had me completely hooked. The story is a very simple one, employing few (if any) plot complexities to keep the reader interested. Instead, it's the rich portrayal of the protagonists, a varied & fascinating cast of supporting characters, & a darkly evocative "Southern Gothic" setting that keep you utterly transfixed & eager for more. Constant throughout is a carefully balanced sense of foreboding which underpins the story as it builds to its somewhat predictable yet devastating conclusion. This is, without a doubt, the best book I have readin the last 20 years, prompting me to order every other work by this highly talented author! If each of them is half as good as "Outer Dark", I have many hours of wonderful reading ahead!
Excellent early McCarthy - By: S. Alec Thomson, 05 May 2008 I came to this having read several of McCarthy's later books. It is fascinating from this point of view, showing some of the earlier themes & images that one finds recurring throughout his work. One doesn't get as close to the charactersin this book asin his later work & the author almost seems to want us to keep our distance & reserve our sympathy (this isn't necessarily a shortcoming, its just how it has been written - although I expect some will find it frustrating). The language asin all his work is absolutely superb. The content is fairly chilling but an excellent read.
