Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

129 reviews

princemyshkin's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.0

Like nothing else, the pages and prose flow like spilled blood. Ultra violent, decedent. Pulling punches only to save the viewer from the worst abuses.
Initially feeling stilted, once you accept the patter, it rushes over you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

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

lintz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Blood, and Murder

malignantmoon'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: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Murder

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

Minor: Ableism and Child death

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

leo_mal's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

5.0

The buffalo hunter passage is gonna stay with me for a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pedophilia and Rape

anubiscanubis's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Murder

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

Minor: Pedophilia and Sexual assault

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: Genocide, Rape, Violence, and Murder

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

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