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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
This book is a minor miracle. (As I often do with a book this good, I read it in print and listened to the auido-book back to back.) It is just as beautiful and introspective as McCarthy’s best books, with fewer pretensions. (I find it interesting that McCarthy and Richard Powers—both men of immense linguistic ability—toned down the literary pretense as they aged, and perhaps got better for it.)
If you’re a plot person, this book may infuriate you. But I love its bold willingness to refuse to answer any story question, while trying along the way to answer so many things unanswerable.
Mercy is the province of the person alone. There is mass hatred and there is mass grief. Mass vengeance and even mass suicide. But there is no mass forgiveness. There is only you.
There's a really intriguing plot set-up that McCarthy uses for this novel, but he's not remotely interested in resolving it. Instead he veers off into his usual territory of a man alone (or nearly) in an unforgiving universe. He really hits his straps with some stunning prose at the end of the novel in particular, but along the way there is some wonderful dialogue.
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I barely understood this book and I think many of the larger motifs went over my head. This may not be the case for you reading it, but it was certainly one of the most thematically challenging books that I’ve ever read.
All of that said, I did find at least 75% of this book to be hugely enjoyable. The characters are extremely complex and they all build off of one another very well. McCarthy is either loved or hated for his writing style, and if you are someone who loves it then look no further because this is McCarthy at his best. Passages of extreme desolation and depression are immediately followed by hope and joy.
This book tells the strange tale of a salvage diver who is forced to reckon with his disturbing past to make choices about his bleak future. Who is the Passenger?
A final note - this book is sort of marketed as a mystery surrounding the sunken plane that is mentioned in the summary on the back. This IS NOT a mystery book in the traditional sense and if that is what you are looking for then avoid this one.
All of that said, I did find at least 75% of this book to be hugely enjoyable. The characters are extremely complex and they all build off of one another very well. McCarthy is either loved or hated for his writing style, and if you are someone who loves it then look no further because this is McCarthy at his best. Passages of extreme desolation and depression are immediately followed by hope and joy.
This book tells the strange tale of a salvage diver who is forced to reckon with his disturbing past to make choices about his bleak future. Who is the Passenger?
A final note - this book is sort of marketed as a mystery surrounding the sunken plane that is mentioned in the summary on the back. This IS NOT a mystery book in the traditional sense and if that is what you are looking for then avoid this one.
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Quite dark and poignant. Plot lines remain unresolved.
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Weird chapter on quantum particles
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes