Does this look like Cormac McCarthy to you? Forgive the fuzzy photo; I couldn’t click fast enough because the pages wouldn’t stay open.
But the short sentences? The loads of white space? True, this is dialogue and Southwestern talk at that (this is a compliment, folks), and the punctuation in typical McCarthy style is missing, but I’m so used to pages where the text covers the page in flowing descriptive narrative that establishes mood. Here, he establishes mood, reveals character, progresses plot and gives just a tad of backstory in dialogue.
It’s brilliantly done and yet, why do I feel cheated?
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology