And if it’s good, then all the better

I don’t often drool over the mention of a new book. Unlike 97 percent of the rest of the world, I’ve virtually ignored – as a reader, not as a books writer – the publication of J.K. Rowling’s sixth Harry Potter adventure. But there are exceptions.

One involves Cormac McCarthy . In a long and thoughtful piece about Rowling in Sunday’s Oregonian , that paper’s books editor, Jeff Baker, mentioned the disdain that critic Harold Bloom has for Rowling. In defending – and in his own way criticizing – Rowling, Baker wrote that Bloom believes only four living authors “deserve our praise”: Thomas Pynchon, Philip Roth, Don DeLillo … and McCarthy.

Bloom’s imprimatur is almost enough to make me change my mind. Only four “deserve our praise”? Please. The work of E. Annie Proulx, E.L. Doctorow, Toni Morrison and maybe even Russell Banks would pose credible arguments to the contrary.

Still, Bloom is right about McCarthy. Or maybe it’s better to put it this way: This is one time in which Bloom’s tastes coincide with mine. McCarthy’s 1985 novel “Blood Meridian” is one of the more impressive achievements of the late 20th century – maybe the century itself. It’s a powerful look at violence, at blood lust and the nature of evil in all its mundane designs, that could have been written only after the true nature of the Holocaust crept into the overall culture. And it’s presented in language that boasts an almost Shakespearean kind of elegance.

I’m less acquainted with McCarthy’s early novels, such as “The Orchard Keeper” or “Suttree.” But his Border Trilogy (“All the Pretty Horses,” “The Crossing,” “Cities of the Plain”) is an ambitious attempt at weaving themes of loyalty, honor, love and loss into three narratives that becomes more unwieldy as the books progress. Still, even though he isn’t above criticism, McCarthy on the strength of “Blood Meridian” alone has to be considered a major American author. His is a singular voice, one that tackles great themes in a manner that’s as classically inspired as it is carefully crafted.

And that’s why I’m so anxious to get my hands on a copy of “No Country for Old Men,” which was published on July 15. There’s no guarantee that it’ll be good. But even bad McCarthy is worth reading at least once.