Having enjoyed the previous two of his book that I've read, not to mention my current ongoing love affair with the States, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy was something I had been meaning to get round to for a while. Finding a copy for £2 in a remainder bookstore kind of sealed the pact (probably in blood).
As I'd hoped for, the writing was superb. The evocation of the land of untamed America, of the rawness and vast expanse of Texas, Mexico, California and all places in between was phonomenal. It felt alive, positively humming with power. The use of simple colours and carefully chosen adjectives to achieve this effect was extremely impressive in the fact that it took a while to sink in, an effortlessness of language.
McCarthy's trademark tersity of prose was also highly effective here, in this ultra-brutal world. This didn't alway make it easy to follow and I can understand why some people might not like it. It certainly wasn't alwasy easy to connect with the characters, most of whom were less shades of grey than shades of black. The violence was in places shocking, yet I believe that its casual deployment was not for shock value but simply to say "this is how it was", which is almost certainly true. If war is hell, then here is a prime example. Certain images remain with me because they were powerfully, but not emotionally presented.
The lack of morals on the part of almost anyone, truly a dog-eat-dog battle simply for survival also meant that the power to surprise, the fact that nobody was sacred, kept you on the edge of your seat. It also resulted in the feel of the book as a moral tale, exposing the dark, bloated underbelly of humankind and just what people are capable of in a lawless land. The almost Biblical tone and the characters of the Judge and the Expriest only served to further heighten this. A very powerful depiction of America, exposing some of the truth that has probably been erased from history, it wasn't always a pleasant ride, but one that had you gripping on to your horse, praying you would not be gunned down. One to revisit, but not the sort of thing you probably could or would want to read too often.
Book number: 23
Title: Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West
Author: Cormac McCarthy
Category: Chris' choice
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