Reviews tagging 'Violence'

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

141 reviews

luisatkinson's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Murder, Pedophilia, Genocide, Blood, Gun violence, Xenophobia, War, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Child abuse, Misogyny, Gore, Excrement, and Alcohol

redmarten83's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, War, Alcohol, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Xenophobia, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Gore, Racial slurs, Medical content, Mental illness, Blood, Cursing, Drug use, Kidnapping, Bullying, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Rape

eleewood's review against another edition

so slow; interesting but sloooooooow

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

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

michaelmac316's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Not for the faint of heart. Intense, Brutal and does not hold back. A masterpiece that I will read again one day but not for a long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Racism, Violence, Mental illness, Murder, Body horror, and Racial slurs

Minor: Sexual assault and Pedophilia

Not for the faint of heart. This book is brutal and does not hold back.

mcqconor's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Modern Moby dick

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Genocide, and Murder

phigerinadon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-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? No

5.0

Blood Meridian's enchanting descriptions of a desert wasteland filled with violent terror are a parable for Western colonialism and imperialism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

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