After seeing a bunch of comments about Blood Meridian, I wanted to put in my two cents.
First, I’m not saying this to try to convince anyone to like any book or genre, some genres just aren’t enjoyable for some people and that’s okay!
But as someone who loves this genre, it is HARD to read (even for someone who has been reading it for a long time). Every genre takes a specialty reading skill-set, some are more niche than others (e.g. Shakespeare) and this is one of them! For a lot of people first reading SGL texts, it can simultaneously seem too much (gruesome and detailed topics, opaque dialogue) and not enough (slow-paced, abstract). Every time I try to read Faulkner my head about falls off. For me, learning to read the genre has been worth it (Wise Blood and A Streetcar Named Desire are two of my all-time faves), for some it won’t be.
Ultimately, I’m just trying to say you’re not a bad reader or an outlier if Blood Meridian is tough to wade through for you.
If you’re wanting to read McCarthy and Faulkner, maybe start with Sutre (CM) and Sanctuary (WF). Faulkner’s short stories like A Rose for Emily and Barn Burning are a step up from there, then you’ll be more conditioned to get through his novel prose.
I really love Truman Capote in this genre, specifically Other Voices, Other Rooms.
Sanctuary is easy prose to read, but a strange story that largely left me wondering what the point was. It seems to be a modern, southern gothic version of the Greek myth of Persephone with a bit of Freud thrown in.