A random book from the collection looks interesting: Correction by Thomas Bernhard.
Described as “a mesmerising, claustrophobic novel about obsession, genius and the impossibility of perfection. Structured in two enormous, uninterrupted blocks of prose, it follows an unnamed narrator reconstructing the life of his dead friend Roithamer, before becoming absorbed in his manuscripts. Sentences spiral, repeat and contradict themselves, creating the sensation of being trapped inside an endlessly turning mind. Roithamer is modelled partly on Ludwig Wittgenstein, particularly his intellectual austerity and obsessive pursuit of perfection, reflected in his design of an extraordinary house for his sister. A darkly comic, exhilarating and exhausting masterpiece.”
McCarthy made his famous dismissal of Proust and Henry James in the NYT in 1992 and in the Oprah interview, on the grounds those writers didn't deal with deep issues of life and death. But from all that has been revealed about his personal library, including this Bernhard book, one wonders if that was a put-on.
I like Bernhard. I also recommend The Lime Works and wittgenstein’s nephew if you like correction. I found Bernhard through Thomas Ligotti. For Ligotti I recommend teatro grottesco and if you want to dive off the deep end the conspiracy against the human race.
Side question: how grim is the the Road? I've been meaning to pick it up because I love No Country but I've heard that the Road is just bleaker than bleak.
Bleaker than bleak is an accurate description but it actually ends on what I would consider to be a hopeful note, a moment of true kindness. Worth the read.
Described as “a mesmerising, claustrophobic novel about obsession, genius and the impossibility of perfection. Structured in two enormous, uninterrupted blocks of prose, it follows an unnamed narrator reconstructing the life of his dead friend Roithamer, before becoming absorbed in his manuscripts. Sentences spiral, repeat and contradict themselves, creating the sensation of being trapped inside an endlessly turning mind. Roithamer is modelled partly on Ludwig Wittgenstein, particularly his intellectual austerity and obsessive pursuit of perfection, reflected in his design of an extraordinary house for his sister. A darkly comic, exhilarating and exhausting masterpiece.”
Adding to my ‘want to read’ list now …
A review: https://proletarianpolyglot.substack.com/p/correction-by-tho...
Customers say
Customers have mixed reactions to the book's content, with one finding it mesmerizing while another describes it as excruciatingly tedious.
!
Cormac McCarthy's personal library - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45444694 - Oct 2025 (138 comments)
He's got so many books, did it work?