A review by zakcebulski
Blood Meridian, or The Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


It is not a far fetched statement for me to say that Cormac McCarthy is my favorite American author that I have read.
I have not found an author who is able to so perfectly write with such a vivid display and mastery over the English language as McCarthy. This book absolutely solidified this stance for my money.

This book is from the perspective of a 14 year old Tennessean only referred to as "The Kid". He is a run away vagabond who joins the Glanton gang- a group of real like scalp hunters. Now, to say that this book takes place from the perspective of a bunch of villains would be an absolutely apt description. These characters are not good people. However, McCarthy makes their complete horrific people still have developments and personalities which are interesting to learn about. The Kid, Toadvine, Glanton and... the Judge... are all characters that while they are pieces of shit, they are interesting. I was obviously not cheering for them, but, I did find them interesting and wanted to learn more about them.

The story is less so a single coherent narrative linked together with a single through line. Rather, this book is a compilation of vignettes wherein the different exploits and travels of the gang are explored. There is largely not an end goal in mind, and, to me, I struggled with that, because I was originally expecting something like that to be there.
However, when I finally let go of the notion that there needs to be a goal, and instead focused on the wandering of the group, I felt myself loving this book a ton more.

If you have read any McCarthy, then you know that he has a bit of an affinity for violence. Hyper-violence may be a more accurate description. This book, rather than being an exception, absolutely commits to this affinity with what I can only describe as a reckless disregard for anything except for violence.
The imagery in this book is truly horrifying, nauseating, gut-wrenching, and it imbeds itself into your mind. I have not been able to get some of the images out of my head even though I read the descriptors a while ago.
I appreciate that McCarthy includes these descriptions, as it helps to establish the gritty, blood-soaked world which these characters inhabit.

One of the strongest characters which I have read recently is Judge Holden- referred to simply as "The Judge". This character is truly scary. He is described as stark white (I have read pieces which he is claimed to be albino). He is massively tall, and often appears on page naked. He has a seeming obsession with violence, and has the size and the intelligence to outsmart and intimidate any one.
The quote which he says of "That which exists without my knowledge exists without my permission" gave me chills when I first read it. I think that, to me, the Judge, is one of the best villains in literature. He has such a abhorrent presence to him, and is erring on the side of monstrosity.

I got the vibe from this book that there were some surrealist moments. It called to mind the works of Haruki Murakami, especially Kafka on the Shore wherein the vignettes veer off in to a less stable reality. I think that this plays well for this book to add a great layer of re-readability. This also gives the ability for the Judge to be truly more evil than man, rather than just an evil man- perhaps the epitome, the very essence of evil. 

This is one of those books that I think will be even better upon subsequent re-reads. I thought that this book was absolutely exceptional, a book that is hindered the less time one spends with it. 
I truly cannot wait for my next re-read of this book, and for my next excursion in to McCarthy's world. 
This book is truly horrific when it comes to the subject matter, and I implore you to please read reviews of the subject matter and the instances of violence and racial slurs used before delving in to this book.
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