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I'm a little over halfway through. A bit disappointed so far, partly because the prose is so stripped down. Also, Western is probably the weirdest protagonist in a McCarthy book so far, and I find it really hard to get a grip on who this guy is. Every other character of his paints a fairly clear portrait in my mind, but Western sort of eludes my imagination. I am glad I finally got around to reading Suttree this year so that I can see some of the parallels though. I mean, that's not the only reason I'm glad I read Suttree.
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Nov 7, 2022 14:32
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escape artist posted:I finally decided to read Blood Meridian. Is it okay to discuss in this thread or should I go elsewhere? I'm baffled by his decision to put spoilers at the beginning of every chapter. It was a standard trope of novels in the era he's depicting. He's not really a "spoiler" kinda author, too. I mean there's a couple shocking moments in a few of his books but for the most part eh. edit: Finished the book last night. I'd be lying to myself if I said it wasn't a disappointment after all those years of waiting. It doesn't sound like Stella Maris is going to "unlock" The Passenger either. Oh well, it wasn't a total failure. And I'm glad the announcement of the The Passenger's release prompted me to finally go back and read the rest of McCarthy's work- that was well worth it. You can definitely see little bits and pieces of his prior works (Suttree, as had been pointed out, but also Outer Dark, NCFOM, The Road, even naming one of the characters The Kid...). There's definitely some interesting parallels between McCartht's father, who was an attorney for the Tennesee Valley Authority, and Suttree, and Western and Alicia's father in this book. Jewmanji fucked around with this message at 17:00 on Nov 8, 2022 |
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Nov 7, 2022 20:25
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People will disagree on whether Outer Dark or Child of God is better (it’s the former) but both would be worth your while imo. The Orchard Keeper was a little difficult to parse for me, but it was a short enough book that I read it to be completionist. Feels crass to rank his books but: Suttree Blood Meridien All The Pretty Horses The Crossing The Road Cities of the Plain Outer Dark Child of God No Country for Old Men The Passenger The Orchard Keeper Jewmanji fucked around with this message at 00:41 on Nov 9, 2022 |
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Nov 9, 2022 00:39
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Are you basing that on the fact that they both have visions of The Kid? It’s an interesting thought but I don’t know if that fact alone is very persuasive. For me, the main failing was that Bobby just didn’t feel like a fully coherent character to me. The disparate parts of his history didn’t gel in my mind. Math whiz? Son of a major inventor? Incestuous? Race car driver? Deep sea diver? It was all just a bit much for me, even if you posit that the book isn’t strictly literal. Also, I think for all of the rumors of Cormac’s interest in math and science, I was surprised at how tacked on that aspect seemed at times. That highly technical discussion near the middle is the most obvious example, but the fact that Bobby didn’t practice physics himself during the events of the book made that whole aspect feel somewhat remote. And his reaction to his dad’s legacy was kinda undercooked. It reminds me of Suttree’s rejection of his birthright, but in that case feels much more believable than finding a fortune and spending it on race cars I would like to hear more about why you liked it though, it’s a fun book to think about, plenty to chew on (and for the record I liked all of the Alicia bits). Also it’s gonna drive me crazy how everyone irl will pronounce it “Ah-lee-sha” when the book makes clear it’s pronounced “ah-lish-uh” Jewmanji fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Nov 9, 2022 |
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Nov 9, 2022 03:33
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That’s an interesting take on it, thanks. I think I was investing too much in the thalidomide reference and thought maybe he was a manifestation of children born with deformities because of parental exposure to radiation. Though I guess that’s not incompatible with your take. I highly recommend you read Outer Dark which is sort of a template for Bobby and Alicia’s relationship, and the itinerant nature of Bobby and his fellowship with all of these characters in the bars and restaurants of NOLA is a explicit reference to Suttree. I bounced off Suttree 2 times over the last ten years and then made it through this year and found it to be astonishing.
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Nov 9, 2022 05:11
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When The Passenger and Stella Maris were announced last year, I had already read Blood Meridien, NCFOM, and The Road. In anticipation of the new book(s) I ran through the rest of them, and it's surprising to what degree a few of them have stuck with me (Suttree and All the Pretty Horses in particular have been following me around all year), whereas I finished The Passenger 4 weeks ago or so, and I haven't been thinking about it. I am definitely keen to re-read it at some point in the future, I suspect that knowing what to expect going in will increase my appreciation for it.
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Dec 1, 2022 16:45
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escape artist posted:So I finished up Blood Meridian and I was blown away. This was my third time attempting it, over the course of 5 years. I knew it was going to be a grueling read, even still it felt like I had to force myself to read it. But boy, it was worth it. What a ride, what an amazing piece of literature. The Judge is such a fascinating character. Afterwards I devoured some episodes of the Reading McCarthy podcast, and two Yale lectures on Youtube about the book. Suttree and Blood Meridien are considered to be his two best works by a large percentage of his readers. After that, I'd say: 1. The Border Trilogy 2. The Road 3. Outer Dark 4. Child of God 5. No Country For Old Men 6. The Orchard Keeper Some of this hinges on whether you prefer his sort of "high baroque" style, typified by Blood Meridien and Suttree, or whether you prefer his more spare, straightforward style, typified by The Road. The Border Trilogy is sort of the hinge point between these two stylistic eras and can be considered a sort of "average" of the two eras, so it's a pretty safe recommendation for readers on either side of this divide.
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Dec 5, 2022 17:52
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I liked the description of seeing a city at night from an airplane looking like a motherboard. Weirdly modern for McCarthy. Reminds me of how jolting it was when Terence Malick started making movies set in the present rather than being historical.
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Dec 14, 2022 18:59
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escape artist posted:
My ranked list is a few posts up (sorry, maybe you already saw it). If you haven’t read Suttree yet I would because it’s one of his best (if not the best) and The Passenger echoes it quite noticeably.
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Dec 14, 2022 20:09
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Is there a particular Pynchon it reminds you of? Or a best example?
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Dec 21, 2022 22:33
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I think we’re stretching the definition of YA just a bit. his actual YA book is The Road
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Dec 26, 2022 23:50
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But the narrator isn’t a teenager either. It’s partially omniscient third person. In the fact the character you’re thinking of isn’t even a teenager.
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Dec 27, 2022 00:51
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Oh whoops, I was thinking of The Road. Move along. Sorry.
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Dec 27, 2022 18:20
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escape artist posted:I finished The Road and I hated it. The prose was nearly as desolate as the apocalyptic wasteland it depicted. After reading many tomes of post-apocalyptic fiction, as far as plot goes, I am jaded. Next will be The Crossing. This take is so weird, but I love it. Since you seem to gravitate to McCarthy’s “high baroque” style I might suggest you move backwards through this oeuvre since his earlier books resemble BM/Suttree a bit more in their style. Give Outer Dark or Child of God a try. They are both extremely grim. If you didn’t care for ATPH I don’t think you’re going to find The Crossing that much different.
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Jan 5, 2023 14:49
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My pet theory is that McCarthy is making some causal link between Alicia’s genius and her schizophrenia. He states in one of the books, and in interviews and articles that he’s intensely fascinated with the subconscious’s ability to serve complex problems without the apparent use of language. It seems slightly trite but perhaps the idea is that Alicia’s genius derives from an overactive subconscious that also has unintended side effects (like the fallout from a bomb)
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Jan 17, 2023 22:52
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escape artist posted:I read Child of God in a sitting and loved it. Brilliant. I requested Outer Dark and The Passenger from the library. Outer Dark and Child of God are very similar vibes. Probably the two books of his that are most alike. Enjoy.
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Feb 2, 2023 02:00
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edit: Wrong thread
Jewmanji fucked around with this message at 21:52 on Apr 4, 2023 |
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Apr 4, 2023 21:44
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HashtagGirlboss posted:Yeah I agree. The passenger is just Bobby who is an amazingly passive protagonist for a McCarthy novel. Is he any more passive than Suttree though? I wouldn’t say they’re much different, maybe only by degrees
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Apr 22, 2023 18:40
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I guarantee this movie never comes out.
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Apr 28, 2023 19:19
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uber_stoat posted:here's one of my favorite passages. also contains the phrase "complete at every hour" which kicked my rear end with how evocative it is for such a simple statement. "He'd long forsworn all weighing of This is gonna be such an awesome thing to see on screen 
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Apr 28, 2023 20:18
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Fly them. 
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Jun 13, 2023 23:57
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Maybe now people will stop making endless internet threads to speculate on who would be the best person to play The Judge. Anyway. I love The Proposition but I just don't think this movie should ever be made. Leave it be.
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Apr 25, 2024 01:56
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If anything I feel like All The Pretty Horses is due for another attempt. That seems like a slam dunk but what do I know?
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Apr 25, 2024 02:29
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Uhhhh maybe you should read the books again. Every time one of the characters stops in a town someone is there to give them a plate of beans and tortillas, and another person is there to give them the lecture of a lifetime
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May 3, 2024 12:25
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