Cormac McCarthy, Child of God

The mine goes dark and deep, however, as Child of God proves. A short sharp novel told in fragmentary chapters, Child of God narrates the descent into serial killing and sexual madness of Lester Ballard, a young outcast in mid-20th-century Sevier County, Tennessee. In the opening chapter, an auctioneer dispossesses Ballard of his home and land, which the county is selling off to the highest bidder on the promise that its timber will bring a return.