Child of God

Cormac McCarthy plumbs the depths of human degradation in Child of God, his most brutally violent, shocking work. From the author of Blood Meridian and The Road.

1960s, Tennessee. Lester Ballard is a violent, solitary and introverted young backwoodsman, dispossessed on his ancestral land. Homeless, indulging in voyeurism, he is accused of rape.

When he is released from jail, he begins to haunt the hilly landscape – preying upon its population, unleashing his impulse for sexualised violence.

Commonplace humanity becomes grotesque and, as the story hurtles toward its unforgettable conclusion, McCarthy depicts the most sordid aspects of life with empathy and lyricism.

'A powerful and talented writer, able to elicit compassion for his protagonist however terrible his action' – Sunday Ti