The Stonemason

Bouncing between 2 and 3 stars for this. A lot of it doesn't work that well for me. I think it's because I have the benefit of seeing McCarthy execute many of these themes with much greater strength both before and after the publication of Stonemason. There are great individual lines — including a reference to fathers weighing in ledgerbooks, which will show up again in The Road. Altogether, though, it is a collection of threads that do not really form a fabric for me.

I don't think Cormac's narrative voice is at its best in stageplay format. There is too much dialogue, and too many monologues. When this type of writing is in his narrative/novel works, the lines between dialogue and internal monologue are often blurred. This works really well. Having a character stand on stage and speak these things doesn't translate the feeling perfectly.

I am also puzzled by Cormac's decision to write this story. All of our main characters, and I believe every character, are Black. Cormac is not Black. I don't think that writers can only write their own identities, that'd be crazy. But I am not 100% sure that Cormac was the best equipped to write a story of entirely Black characters navigating dynamics of Louisville, KY in the 70's. Apparently Cormac based this on a family he spent “many months” working with (according to Wikipedia, though this is uncited). I would like to know more about this.

I went to a waybackmachine chronicle of the Cormac McCarthy website (it appears to be offline at this writing). This line is in the precis for the work: “Oddly enough, except for one or two passing references to social issues, the issue of race is hardly relevant to the play's plot.” I do not actually agree with this line, but it is in a bizarrely uncovered place in the work. Especially considering a few of the events within, which could be taken to some odd places.

Not bad, but not Cormac's best or probably in his top 10. I wouldn't recommend it outside of folks trying to be McCarthy completionists like myself.