His works often include graphic depictions of violence, and his writing style is characterised by a sparse use of punctuation and attribution. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American novelists. In , he enrolled in the University of Tennessee , but dropped out to join the U. Air Force. His debut novel , The Orchard Keeper , was published in Awarded literary grants, McCarthy was able to travel to southern Europe, where he wrote his second novel, Outer Dark Suttree , like his other early novels, received generally positive reviews, but was not a commercial success.
A MacArthur Fellowship enabled him to travel to the American Southwest, where he researched and wrote his fifth novel, Blood Meridian Although it initially garnered a lukewarm critical and commercial reception, it has since been regarded as his magnum opus , with some labeling it the Great American Novel. His novel No Country for Old Men received mixed reviews.
Many of McCarthy's works have been adapted into film. McCarthy had a play adapted into a film, The Sunset Limited. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr. McCarthy attended St. He described a moment when his teacher asked the class about their hobbies. McCarthy answered eagerly, as he later said, "I was the only one with any hobbies and I had every hobby there was I could have given everyone a hobby and still had 40 or 50 to take home.
In , he began attending the University of Tennessee , studying liberal arts. While stationed in Alaska , McCarthy read books voraciously, which he said was the first time he had done so. McCarthy, Jr. For these, he won the Ingram-Merrill Award for creative writing in and In , McCarthy dropped out of college and left for Chicago. For the purpose of his writing career, McCarthy changed his first name from Charles to Cormac to avoid confusion, and comparison, with ventriloquist Edgar Bergen 's dummy Charlie McCarthy.
After marrying fellow student Lee Holleman in , McCarthy moved to what Lee's obituary calls "a shack with no heat and running water in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains outside of Knoxville. On the ship, he met Englishwoman Anne DeLisle, who was working on the ship as a dancer and singer.
