Cormac McCarthy: The Passenger Oct 25, Stella Maris Dec 6

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > Cormac McCarthy: The Passenger Oct 25, Stella Maris Dec 6

mdemone: Mar 14, 2001

hobbez posted:

This is my first McCarthy. Maybe a bad first choice but oh well. Can�t say I�m too in love so far. The western sections are good enough, but the italicized sections feel like a bit of a slog. Not feeling like they�re adding much at this point. It�s like a bad Pynchon riff.

In chapter one, someone staying at the seven seas dies, presumably of suicide? Anyone able to parse what the method was? They say he �took the pipe�, and someone references they could smell the gasoline and that his doors were all taped up. Almost sounds like carbon monoxide, but not sure how that could be done in an apartment.

It was a brief scene, but feels like it should be substantial. Wondering if anyone took something else had a different read on it?

I definitely agree that this feels the most like Pynchon of anything McCarthy has tried, but it never ever winks at the reader the way TRP loves to do.

I'm pretty sure your interpretation of that scene is correct. I reckon you could gas yourself in a small room with an old appliance that doesn't regulate flow.

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# ¿ May 9, 2024 13:22

mdemone: Mar 14, 2001

Dave Bautista, maybe?

# ¿ Apr 1, 2023 16:08

mdemone: Mar 14, 2001

clean ayers act posted:

no, those were excerpts from wittgenstein's journal

that's correct. there are a surprising number of diary entries along those lines, I think at least Kafka and Dickinson.

# ¿ Jun 17, 2023 05:04

mdemone: Mar 14, 2001

mellonbread posted:

Started on Stella Maris. Is the entire book going to be a back and forth between Alice and the psychiatrist?

More or less. I found it a hard read but mostly because I identified with Alice a little too much.

Passenger is better but I will re-read both, I'm sure.

# ¿ Nov 27, 2023 22:34

mdemone: Mar 14, 2001

Red Crown posted:

And a subtlety I might be misreading: Given the section on quantum physics, I'm assuming Alicia and Bobby are named for 'Alice' and 'Bob', the two "observers" used to elaborate on communications problems like cryptography, and especially in quantum communications. That joke would be a bit anachronistic, but there are some other anachronisms: The Kid makes a "Don't call me Shirley" joke, which would have been in theaters in 1980 - well after Alicia was already dead.

Guarantee that last one was intentional, to tease the reader about the possibility that the Kid exists independent of Alicia.

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# ¿ May 9, 2024 13:22

mdemone: Mar 14, 2001

Red Crown posted:

Looking back, I really like these interpretations. I got over it, but I didn't like how the novel uses the schizophrenic genius trope. You don't have to have spent much time at all around a real schizophrenic to know their brain isn't special, it's a molten, non-functional mess. But if I take the Kid et. al. as an independent visitation, Alicia is a lot more tasteful.

There's a ton of circumstantial evidence that the Kid is independent, and it's obviously what Alicia believes although I forget if she ever says so directly.

edit: sorry, that's info from Stella Maris. I don't think it's spoiler-ish to say so.

mdemone fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Feb 5, 2024

# ¿ Feb 5, 2024 18:21

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > Cormac McCarthy: The Passenger Oct 25, Stella Maris Dec 6