Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy | BOOK REVIEW

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy spoiler free review #cormacmccarthy #bookreview #bookrecommendations #booktube #booktok

[joemad-]

Wendy is dancing, dancing. She says that she will never die

[RandoCommando]

Just an incredible novel, it stuck with me way more than The Road which is the only other McCarthy I've read so far. I know lot's of people who don't like it, so then they insist that people are only pretending to enjoy it to appear intelligent. Maybe there are some folks like that, but that doesn't mean some of us don't absolutely get it, understand it, and love it exactly for what it is, a masterpiece of novel writing.

[mindburnjw]

The way of the world is to bloom and to flower and die but in the affairs of men there is no waning and the noon of his expression signals the onset of night. His spirit is exhausted at the peak of its achievement. His meridian is at once his darkening and the evening of his day.

[dylankmitchell]

The kid is the protagonist, but the judge, that old hookwinker, tricks us in to watching him the entire time. Cormac tells us from the very beginning, “See the child”

[kurtfox]

"You can practically smell the piles of corpses as you read this." Love it!

[vincepax]

You should read Suttree if you haven't yet. It is criminally underrated and, imo, surpasses BM in practically every regard. Blood meridian is great dont get me wrong but, it is blunt in its themes and almost anti-human in its execution of those themes. Suttree is a kaleidoscope of pain, love, freedom, and indefatigable perserverance in the face of soul crushing austerity. Cant recommend it enough.

[masonduke]

Holden tends to monopolize the discourse around the novel, and for good reason. The more I reread it, however, the more The Kid captures my attention. He's resourceful, resilient, even funny on occasion, and as you point out, given to strange fits of mercy and camaraderie that are otherwise absent in the gang.

[lokidecat]

The arcs of blood... I mean this novel is so visceral. It really hits all the notes. What a masterpiece.

[mindburnjw]

The nature of the judge leaves the man's life most likely sexually assaulted and killed. That's the judges nature. Compare it to when he meets him in jail. " I would've loved you like a son (sic) " and he tries grabbing him. The judge is not above grooming children and the character is called the kid.

[humanbeing]

"See the child." I love that opening sentence.

[mawtymawty]

Just finished Blood Meridian. Absolutely my favorite book. McCarthy taps into something very human here, bringing to the forefront the darkest recesses of the mind. I think to fully enjoy this novel, you have to approach it from a truly neutral standpoint. He romanticizes nothing, he justifies nothing- he just invites you to *see* it all. From the first line: *"See the child, "* McCarthy beckons the reader to drop any pretense and take it all in- the brutality of the men and the sun, the beauty of the landscape, the miracle of a watering hole. It's the human condition depicted in the most savage, demonic way. It's the uncomfortable fact that Judge Holden exists within all of us, whether repressed or embraced or reconciled with, he is there and he is a part of us.

[ashenpanda]

Blood meridian was such a difficult book to read but the way that McCarthy writes is incredible!!

[humanbeing]

It's a dark book, but its prose is masterful. Poetic.

[ezequielcisneros]

That’s my favorite book. I underlined every word I didn’t know (which were many) and I highlighted everything that I found poetic and beautiful. It’s terrifying and beautifully breathtaking simultaneously. I think about it everyday and it has been a real life changing experience.

[TrueBlueAndrew]

It definitely really opened my eyes to what McCarthy was thinking when writing this when you know that he had Gnosticism on his mind. I think he confirmed it in an interview once.

[michaelporlier]

Just subbed. You are well spoken, and I enjoyed your perspective. Great video! I highly recommended Suttree as others have mentioned. I love BM but think Suttree is my favorite of McCarthys' work, the character work and the horror is grounded and feels so real.

[shamenbilly]

Great review. By how you spoke of the judge's distain for empathy, the kids empathy, how nothing existed without his leave, his will to dominate, his .. proclivities, I think I know what you thought happened at the end of the novel. I'm not going to type the word in a youtube comment section .... he killed him to.

[slave_to_cinema]

Def check out The Crossing and Suttree which i consider his other masterworks. Every novel he wrote is essential to his understanding. Even his last two novels The Passenger/ Stella Maris are phenomenal.

[greedylittlecoward]

The best quote in the book, or any book, is the Judge’s musings on war and human behavior.

[kurtfox]

The making gunpowder scene of the brim of a volcano is a nod to Book Vi of Paradise Lost (Milton).

Many of the violent scenes come directly from real world descriptions, supposedly Samuel Chamberlain's My Confessions.

Yale Courses online has 2 episodes on Blood Meridian; which I recommend.