Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

41 reviews

qstew's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Murder, Violence, War, Alcohol, Child death, Racial slurs, Child abuse, and Genocide

Moderate: Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Ableism

klvelasquez22's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

3.25

I’m glad I gave it a try as I’ve been wanting to read McCarthy for a while - but it definitely wasn’t for me, and I probably won’t be reading McCarthy again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Racism, Violence, Child death, Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Animal death, War, Rape, Death, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Murder, Excrement, Blood, Xenophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

amortellus's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Racism, Gore, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Animal death, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, and Murder

cati's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

I don't think the writing was too hard to follow, but I did have to Google a lot of words because McCarthy loves his rocks, his landforms, his old-timey words. I feel like I need to revisit this book later on to fully ingest the message, the motifs, what each character says and does. It's definitely a book that stays with you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Gore, Racial slurs, Murder, Hate crime, War, Genocide, Blood, Xenophobia, and Gun violence

Moderate: Pedophilia

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An incredibly violent book, providing an intimate look into a psychopath’s head.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Bullying, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Gun violence, Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic friendship, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gore, Body horror, Colonisation, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Racism, Torture, War, and Xenophobia

skippy_skippington's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A deconstruction of the mythologized North American old west, tearing away the veneer of respectability and civilization. Stark, horrific, violent, and weirdly beautiful at times. Not for those with a sensitive constitution.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Xenophobia, War, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Classism, Cursing, Genocide, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Child death, Colonisation, Excrement, Pedophilia, Violence, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Animal death, and Blood

salmonite's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Excrement, Rape, Animal death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Racism, Confinement, Hate crime, Violence, Cursing, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Death, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Mental illness, Murder, War, Grief, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Bullying, Gore, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Alcohol, and Torture

blipsk's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Might be my favourite book of all time. McCarthy's prose is transcendental. He has a gift for evoking amazing imagery with the lightest touch of description, just perfect, efficient word choice.

It's hard to talk about what happens in the book. It's brutal and relentless. A lot of the characters feel like sketches, we don't get very deep into any of them, even the main POV. And they are without exception awful people. And yet I found myself caring about The Kid a lot by the end.

Reading this book feels a bit like a bad dream, and finishing it felt like the emotional equivalent of muscle ache after hard exercise. It's a book I know I will come back to and reread many times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, War, Racism, Colonisation, Animal cruelty, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Child death

princemyshkin's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Like nothing else, the pages and prose flow like spilled blood. Ultra violent, decedent. Pulling punches only to save the viewer from the worst abuses.
Initially feeling stilted, once you accept the patter, it rushes over you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Excrement, Genocide, Grief, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Hate crime, Rape, Sexism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Physical abuse, Child death, Death, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Eating disorder, Murder, Slavery, Trafficking, Violence, and War

luisatkinson's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Murder, Pedophilia, Genocide, Blood, Gun violence, Xenophobia, War, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Child abuse, Misogyny, Gore, Excrement, and Alcohol