him. You could say that he's sustained by his fellow men, like you. Has peopled the shore with them calling to him. A race that gives suck to the maimed and the crazed, that wants their wrong blood in its history and will have it. But they want this man's life. He has heard them in the night seeking him with lanterns and cries of execration. How then is he borne up? Or rather, why will not these waters take him?This passage bears a striking resemblance to the closing pages of Blood Meridian, wherein Judge Holden declares that war is beautiful, comparing it to dance. That novel's main text ends with the judge in the center of a barroom, rallying the raucous men around him with a performance: "He dances in light and in shadow and he is a great favorite. He never sleeps, the judge. He is dancing, dancing. He says that he will never die." Reception In 2014, Jason Diamond of Flavorwire ranked Child of God as McCarthy's third best book. Historical references In a 1992 interview, McCarthy stated that the character Ballard was based on an unnamed historic figure. Despite its surreal focus, Child of God contains much unobtrusive historical detail about Sevier County, Tennessee, including references to local Ku Klux Klan-like vigilante groups of the 1890s known as White Caps and Bluebills. Ballard's grandfather is said to have been a White Cap. Texas book report controversy In October 2007, Child of God found itself at the center of a teaching controversy at Jim Ned High School in Tuscola, Texas. Kaleb Tierce, the Advanced Placement English teacher and coach at Jim Ned, assigned a book report for which a 14-year-old student selected this title. Tierce was placed on paid administrative leave when the mother of the student complained. The case was investigated, and Tierce was not charged, but his teaching contract was not renewed. Film adaptation In February 2012, James Franco began shooting a film adaptation of Child of God in Hillsboro, West Virginia. The film stars Scott Haze as Lester Ballard and Jim Parrack as the Sevier County lawman Deputy Cotton. The movie was selected to be screened in the official competition at the 70th Venice International Film Festival and was an official selection of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. The film received mixed to negative reviews, holding a rating of 42% on review aggregator