Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West (Vintage International)
One of The Atlantic’s “Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years,” now with a new foreword by Marlon James
Widely considered one of the finest novels by a living writer, Blood Meridian is an epic tale of the violence and corruption that attended America’s westward expansion, brilliantly subverting the conventions of the Western novel and the mythology of the “Wild West.” Its wounded hero, the Kid, a fourteen-year-old Tennessean, must confront the extraordinary brutality of the Glanton gang, a murderous cadre on an official mission to scalp Indians. Seeming to preside over this nightmarish world is the diabolical Judge Holden, one of the most unforgettable characters in American fiction.
Based on historical events that took place on the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s, Blood Meridian represents a genius vision of the historical West, one whose stature has only grown in the years since its publication.
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Readers say that "Blood Meridian" is a challenging, brutal, and graphic novel praised for its philosophical depth and vivid descriptions. Many agree i...
3rd Read - Not a lot of books make it to a 3rd read for me, especially when I have never had it assigned in undergrad or seminar. This is still one of my favorites.
I have to admit when I was younger I was partially drawn by the reputed violence of it - I believe I had only read the Road at that point. Now that I am older and have read so much more of McCarthy, I don't think I would necessarily call this my favorite of his novels. In fact, I feel that the level of violence somewhat detracts from my pleasure in reading it. I'm not grossed out or anything, nor do I find it inappropriate to his message - it just gets repetitive.
But I still appreciate the overall exploration of ideas and the philosophy of war embedded in the hearts of humanity, particularly in the American context. (I even wrote a whole song about it for my band 15 years ago!) I find it all the more appropriate given our current political climate and the American willingness to inflict violence on populations all over the world, with the biggest difference being how easily we absent ourselves from its commission via masks, badges, bombers, drones. Our willingness to kill with minimal risk to ourselves pales in comparison to the almost honorable personal responsibility and vulnerability in the violence of the Glanton gang. If man's worth is determined by that which he hazards, we are left wanting.
On the other hand, I've been torn by the notion that being honest about your selfish and malicious intentions is better than hiding them behind hypocrisy. As they say, hypocrisy is the compliment that vice pays to virtue. If people no longer even feel a need to hide their viciousness, it seems like the echo chambers of society, the feedback loops, might aggravate and exaggerate until the blood dimmed tide is loosed on us all. Perhaps the appearances of virtue at least result in some accidental true believers.
In any case, this revisitation of the novel was prompted by my discovery that the audiobook was performed by Richard Poe, who did the East of Eden audiobook as well as that for Underworld. He is great. Listening was obviously a different experience given McCarthy's prose style and the density of the philosophical discussions by the Judge and the ex-priest. But Poe is a great performer and he pulls it off for the most part. It's difficult to recommend someone only listen to the book - you should read it. I probably understood a lot more since I'd read it physically 2 times prior. But it's still a great way to revisit the material with a slightly changed perspective.
I have to admit when I was younger I was partially drawn by the reputed violence of it - I believe I had only read the Road at that point. Now that I am older and have read so much more of McCarthy, I don't think I would necessarily call this my favorite of his novels. In fact, I feel that the level of violence somewhat detracts from my pleasure in reading it. I'm not grossed out or anything, nor do I find it inappropriate to his message - it just gets repetitive.
But I still appreciate the overall exploration of ideas and the philosophy of war embedded in the hearts of humanity, particularly in the American context. (I even wrote a whole song about it for my band 15 years ago!) I find it all the more appropriate given our current political climate and the American willingness to inflict violence on populations all over the world, with the biggest difference being how easily we absent ourselves from its commission via masks, badges, bombers, drones. Our willingness to kill with minimal risk to ourselves pales in comparison to the almost honorable personal responsibility and vulnerability in the violence of the Glanton gang. If man's worth is determined by that which he hazards, we are left wanting.
On the other hand, I've been torn by the notion that being honest about your selfish and malicious intentions is better than hiding them behind hypocrisy. As they say, hypocrisy is the compliment that vice pays to virtue. If people no longer even feel a need to hide their viciousness, it seems like the echo chambers of society, the feedback loops, might aggravate and exaggerate until the blood dimmed tide is loosed on us all. Perhaps the appearances of virtue at least result in some accidental true believers.
In any case, this revisitation of the novel was prompted by my discovery that the audiobook was performed by Richard Poe, who did the East of Eden audiobook as well as that for Underworld. He is great. Listening was obviously a different experience given McCarthy's prose style and the density of the philosophical discussions by the Judge and the ex-priest. But Poe is a great performer and he pulls it off for the most part. It's difficult to recommend someone only listen to the book - you should read it. I probably understood a lot more since I'd read it physically 2 times prior. But it's still a great way to revisit the material with a slightly changed perspective.
No wonder this is considered one of the greatest books of all time. People complaining about the punctuation which is kinda silly Because in Mcarthy’s words: why would I scuff up the pages with a bunch of dots? A lot of the words I had to google, but that made it fun and vocabulary expanding. A lot of people saying The Kid is a “plank of wood,” but that’s literally the point. He’s supposed to be a blank canvas in a hopelessly violent Wild West so the reader can see him any way they want. Whether he is morally good, evil, or neutral is up to the reader’s interpretation. You definitely have to adapt to McCarthy’s writing style, but for me personally, that was no issue despite this being my first McCarthy novel. People saying there is no plot structure are judging a fish on its ability to fly. It’s more about the journey itself and the amazing scenarios that play out. That Comanche scene was one of the best things I’ve experienced in any piece of media. Absolute cinema! The best way I can describe this book is comparing it to a car crash. The things the happen in it is horrific but you can’t look away.
I quite liked the book for its frequent allusions of philosophical and existential themes. Considering the criteria of the Western genre, I understood why it's depicted as anti-western. Most Western books (as I read from an article on ArtofManliness) glorify the main character majorly a cowboy, ranger or a hunter). This book is quite the opposite of that the author repeatedly points how how hypocritical the romanticisation of the violence is. I appreciated McCarthy's rich descriptions. also, I wouldn't say the prose was extraordinarily exceptional. People emphasized its experimental nature, so I expected something more unconventional, but I didn't find it to be so. Apart from the lack of punctuation and occasional rhythmic verses, I found it quite mainstream. Overall I thought it was good, but my expectations were too high, so I'd give it 3.75/5
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