Blood Meridian

Cormack McCarthy’s most critically acclaimed novel, published originally in 1985, takes place in the middle of the nineteenth century on the roughly defined America/Mexico border, and stars a merry band of assholes who pillage and kill everything they can and make a fine living off of the scalps of Native Americans. The central character - called only the kid - will oftentimes not be referenced for large periods of time, which can be frustrating. He is also perhaps the only character with any semblance of a moral center, although another character called the judge is perhaps the book’s most interesting figure. At times psychotic, at other times eloquent, the judge’s perspectives on war, violence, humanity, and even dancing, all make the book worth reading. Also, McCarthy’s visual depictions are at times incredible, and even when he falters he can easily be forgiven. I’ve heard before that McCarthy is kind of like “Faulkner-lite” but based on this work and the Faulkner that I’ve read, while there are certainly similarities between the two men, McCarthy very much has his own voice. Blood Meridian is worth reading, although be forewarned that its characters are despicable and their acts savage and unforgiving. I may give it a second read at some point to glean further insight into the minds of the characters, and track down particularly haunting passages of violence or nature.