An epic novel of the violence and depravity that attended America's westward expansion, Blood Meridian brilliantly subverts the conventions of the Western novel and the mythology of the "wild west." Based on historical events that took place on the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s, it traces the... show more
An epic novel of the violence and depravity that attended America's westward expansion, Blood Meridian brilliantly subverts the conventions of the Western novel and the mythology of the "wild west." Based on historical events that took place on the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s, it traces the fortunes of the Kid, a fourteen-year-old Tennesseean who stumbles into the nightmarish world where Indians are being murdered and the market for their scalps is thriving.Publisher's Note: The 25th Anniversary Edition has been reset, causing the text to reflow. Page references based on earlier editions will no longer apply, so Vintage Books has compiled the following chart as a conversion aid. Download the chart by copying and pasting the following link into your browser:http://knopfdoubleday.com/marketing/BloodMeridianPageReference.pdf
Classics, Novels, Literature, Book Club, American, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Horror, Western
I have tried multiple times to get thru this long winded, pretentious, repetitive and boring "masterpiece of American literature." I thought I was defective for not loving it (since it got a zillion 5 star reviews), but nope...I hate it and am finally at peace with my judgment.
There is no way to encompass this book in a few pithy phrases. I'll be thinking about this one for some time.
I'm gunna be harsh. Why not? McCarthy is. I novel is hanged with the fancy rope so many other reviewers extravagantly embroider for it: monotony, flatness, and one-dimensionality. Hold on there illiterate scum, you say, what about all that blood dripping symbolism (and bold historical perspective). ...
4/4 - I've read 23 pages and have come to the conclusion that I need to start again in order to comprehend this better and so I can start a glossary. I've already come across enough unfamiliar words in the 23 pages that I've read that I can't remember them all - I need to write them down. Here is a ...
Finally I finished this godforsaken book. It would be 1 stars if not for the setting which I kind of enjoyed. I disliked everything else about this book. Urgh, what a waste of time.