My+Review+on+Child+of+God

// Child of God // by Cormac McCarthy in my opinion is good literature because of the way the story keeps the reader interested, on the edge of their seat, and always wanting to read more. In one of my earlier assignments, I was asked to interview 15 people on their definition of “good literature”. In many of the responses, the people mentioned that the book must keep the reader’s interest. “The book must hold your attention and keep you on the edge of your seat,” (Mr. Mosher). This was one of the responses. //Child of God//, in many instances, did this. “There was no sign of anyone in the car. The windows were fogged but it didn’t look like there was anyone in there,” (pg. 86). This quote is just one instance in the book where the reader would want to keep reading. The reader would want to know what was inside the car. As a reader, I wanted to read on so I could find out what was inside the car. In the car, there was a pair of half-naked dead bodies, which also make the reader want to read more. They want to know how they died. All of these things that were included in the book make the reader want to keep reading. That is the first reason why //Child of God// is good literature. Another reason why //Child of God// is good literature is because it contains a theme. One of the requirements of being good literature is that the book or story must have a theme. The theme in the book //Child of God// is pedophilia. The definition of pedophilia is “the sexual desire in an adult of a child,” (dictionary.com). In the book, Lester is around girls who are very sexual. While he is at the dumpkeeper’s house, he stares at his nine daughters. The dumpkeeper had not kept an eye on them, and because of that they were “un-ladylike”. Lester feels as though they are always pregnant. The girls are lazy and very sexual, which is not a good thing for Lester to be around. He teases the girls in hope of having a sexual relationship with them. Lester is fascinated by their sexuality, and he longs for the same experiences. “He [Lester] had eyes for a long blonde flatshanked daughter that used to sit with her legs propped so that he could see her drawers,” (pg 28). This quote shows how the daughters of the dumpkeeper were very sexual, and how Lester longed for this type of sexuality. In the book, Lester also refers to all of the women that he rapes as girls, even though they are older. This is another way that the theme pedophilia is incorporated in //Child of God//. Overall, the book //Child of God// by Cormac McCarthy is good literature. The book is very interesting and it always keeps you on the edge of your seat. “//Child of God// must be the most sympathetic portrayal of necrophilia in all of literature,” (Amazon.com Review). What this quote means is that you don’t feel angry or mad at Lester for doing it, you feel sorry for the situations he was put in that influenced his crimes. The way Cormac McCarthy did this was very clever, which made the book an even better read. I personally enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys complex and graphic books. The book makes you think about what is happening, which is one of the reasons why I enjoy Cormac McCarthy’s books so much. Other books written by Cormac McCarthy are given to you on the author’s page in my Wiki.
 * My Review on //Child of God//: **