Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Blood Meridian, or The Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy

108 reviews

moonmisandrist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

An incredibly bleak and gruesome story, one that would have been impossible for me to finish if not for McCarthy's wonderful prose. Even with the great writing, it's a challenging read. The violence is so constant and explicit, yet written so casually you only take it what's happened after a few moments or even with a reread of the scene. The Kid, the main character, disappears into the background, and the supporting cast are some of the worst examples of men in storytelling. Very little happens in the book, it's not driven by characters or plot, simply by a cycle of violence.  

Even so, there were so many lines of dialogue I found beautiful, that made me sit and reflect on humanity and love and purpose. There are moments of mercy in this story, and moments of loyalty to brothers, even though no one is ever rewarded for this behaviour. Tobin's dedication to keeping the Kid away from the Judge, a consistent and selfless act, had me rooting for him in vain. The Kid's rejection of the Judge (who could possibly be satan himself), and his worship of war, is a brave act, a rejection of the American expansion into the West, though we know it to be futile.

I think it's very fair to not want to read/finish the book due to the darkness of it, I fault no one for this, at times, I felt the same. While it seems gratuitous, McCarthy knows what he is doing, very clearly so, by choosing one scene in the novel that he locks the readers out of. We do not know what happens, we get no descriptions and are only told by others that "it's bad in there". It's by far one of the most disturbing and haunting parts of the novel. 

Would I recommend this book? no <3 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Rape, Colonisation, Genocide, Gun violence, and Pedophilia

Minor: Child death and Ableism

linsolv's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Xenophobia, War, Medical content, Racial slurs, Death, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Murder, and Racism

fatherofmysteries's review against another edition

dark informative reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

There is no review I could write that could begin to sum up the journey that this book took me on

He is dancing, dancing. He says that he will never die.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Vomit, Genocide, Murder, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Blood, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Confinement, War, Violence, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Alcohol, Death, Child death, Drug use, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Gore, Stalking, Torture, Racism, and Colonisation

Moderate: Medical content, Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Incest, Addiction, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Body horror, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Grief

ablomso96's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Blood Meridian is a masterpiece. McCarthy’s prose is deeply evocative, and the images remain with you for days. It is not, however, for the faint of heart. McCarthy’s style is difficult to approach and his depictions of violent are extremely graphic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, and War

selftitled's review

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, Colonisation, Child death, Blood, Animal death, War, Racism, Racial slurs, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Rape, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Death, Cursing, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Gore, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Ableism, Child abuse, Sexual content, and Trafficking

matthewgrayson's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

You shouldn't read this book if you:

• Struggle with graphic depictions of violence and gore
• Don't like stories that focus on characters of low moral character
• Do not like poetic writing
• Are uncomfortable with allusions to child abuse and pedophilia
• Are offended or uncomfortable with realistic depictions of historical racism
• Avoid occasional nudity in literature
• Do not like stories based in the American Southwest and Northern Mexico in the 1800's
• Want something light to read
• Are nihilistic or are prone to nahilism

You should read this book if you:

• The above list can be tolerated
• Have a strong moral compass
• Are able to analyze and find meaning in the literature you consume

Version:

• Audiobook (Borrowed through the Libby app)
• Publisher: Recorded Books Inc. 
• Narrator: Richard Poe

Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West is about:

• The moral degradation and depravity of man after reaching the pinical of its societal achievement
• War
• Peoples, cultures, and groups striving to live up to the supposed achievements their predecessors with only the knowledge of their virtues and the absence of their faults
• The results of pride, racism, natural justice (or the justice of God), alliances with the immoral and depraved, colonization, genocide, violence, greed, nihilism
• Those that dance, and those that do not dance
• 
  

The most brutal violence is abrupt and sometimes out of nowhere. The book does not relish in the violence, but rushes the violence in a concentrated burst. It can be jarring, however, it helps illustrate the sudden finality of life and how something can be so quickly made into nothing... (unfinished)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pedophilia, Gore, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, and Child death

jimbo_cheezemas's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Murder, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Blood, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Hate crime, Genocide, Cursing, Child death, Death, Gore, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Child abuse, and Homophobia

siggney's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Animal death, Blood, Genocide, Gun violence, Violence, Physical abuse, and Torture

nyxlexica's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

3.0

Difficult to read. Very slow, very distant, no character to get behind. An intense depiction of a period in history I knew nothing about, though, with an incredible villain. Happy I've read it but can't say I enjoyed the process, exactly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual violence, Cursing, Death, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Ableism, Mental illness, Torture, Child death, Racism, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, War, Gun violence, Hate crime, Animal death, Colonisation, Genocide, and Racial slurs

sambam0728's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Body horror, Genocide, Gun violence, Murder, and War