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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-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
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The story of Blood Meridian is, in basic terms, a story about the American West in the mid-1800s without any kind of sugar-coating, where bad things are done to everyone by everyone. And the character that the leader follows through all this is The Kid, a boy who leaves his home in Tennessee, wandering and fighting from town to town till he finally falls into a band of men whose entire purpose is to kill Apaches in Mexico, and anyone else whom they feel like.
I’ve seen this book talked about as one of the great American classics, and if that's true, I guess I don’t like American Classics. Outside of the egregious violence that someone somewhere can probably make an argument for in the line of “the brutality that actually took place in the west, the story just followed the gang around from one place to place, massacre to massacre. Which was pretty boring to read, since while there were definite moments of character, there really didn’t seem to be too much to follow in the way of character development or change. The strongest character was the judge, who is very much this off, borderline nonhuman character.
The prose was actually very interesting in certain areas, but a majority of the time, I struggled to follow what was happening and who was being referred to. Each character is referred to by many names and descriptions without being properly introduced. Personally, I don't see it as a negative thing; I enjoy puzzling things out. However, in this case, I was already struggling to comprehend the scenes, and this didn’t help. Granted, by the end, it's obvious who is being talked about at any point in time.
On top of the violence, there's also racism, although it's not as bad as I expected, given the rest of the book. I guess one thing it did well was make everyone as terrible as the next guy, so there is constant talk of savages and so on, the largely white gang is the only one scalping people.
I didn't know the book was violent, a bit gory, and not really my thing. Maybe I’ll reread it in a few years and annotate it as I go next time, and see if it seems better then, but there's an equal chance it’ll get given away or something.
I’ve seen this book talked about as one of the great American classics, and if that's true, I guess I don’t like American Classics. Outside of the egregious violence that someone somewhere can probably make an argument for in the line of “the brutality that actually took place in the west, the story just followed the gang around from one place to place, massacre to massacre. Which was pretty boring to read, since while there were definite moments of character, there really didn’t seem to be too much to follow in the way of character development or change. The strongest character was the judge, who is very much this off, borderline nonhuman character.
The prose was actually very interesting in certain areas, but a majority of the time, I struggled to follow what was happening and who was being referred to. Each character is referred to by many names and descriptions without being properly introduced. Personally, I don't see it as a negative thing; I enjoy puzzling things out. However, in this case, I was already struggling to comprehend the scenes, and this didn’t help. Granted, by the end, it's obvious who is being talked about at any point in time.
On top of the violence, there's also racism, although it's not as bad as I expected, given the rest of the book. I guess one thing it did well was make everyone as terrible as the next guy, so there is constant talk of savages and so on, the largely white gang is the only one scalping people.
I didn't know the book was violent, a bit gory, and not really my thing. Maybe I’ll reread it in a few years and annotate it as I go next time, and see if it seems better then, but there's an equal chance it’ll get given away or something.
slow-paced
Periaatteen tasolla ymmärrän, miksi tää on merkittävä teos. Käytännön tasolla jäin kaipaamaan hahmojen syvyyttä ja erityisesti tunteita, jotka McCarthy Tie-romaanissa tuo niin hyvin esiin. Aidosti mieleenpainuvin hetki oli se, jossa uudisraivaajanaiset säälivät "idioottia", polttavat hänen häkkinsä ja hellästi pesevät hänet. Ehkä se erottui erityisesti kontrastina kaikkeen väkivaltaan. Sitä inhimillisyyttä olisin kaivannut lisää.
Tämä on kirja niille, jotka tykkää ns. "no plot just vibes" -tyylistä. Jotenkin myös se, kun on tutustunut edes vähän alkuperäiskansojen kohteluun (ks. Tommy Orangen teokset!) ja nykykirjallisuuden moninaisiin näkökulmiin, on tämä jotenkin ääripää valkoisesta ja miehisestä tarinasta. Analysoidahan tätä vois loputtomiin.
Tämä on kirja niille, jotka tykkää ns. "no plot just vibes" -tyylistä. Jotenkin myös se, kun on tutustunut edes vähän alkuperäiskansojen kohteluun (ks. Tommy Orangen teokset!) ja nykykirjallisuuden moninaisiin näkökulmiin, on tämä jotenkin ääripää valkoisesta ja miehisestä tarinasta. Analysoidahan tätä vois loputtomiin.
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Good to read a classic. Fun metaphors but a touch too spacey and hard to keep track of progression through overly violent scenes
I still think the language employed in this book is masterful.
And yet, I couldn't help but feel let down.
This is my third time reading McCarthy's Blood Meridian, and it's my first time reading this book since I became a teacher.
When I was younger, I loved the isolation of this book. The each-in-it-for-his-ownness of it. Now, as a young adult partially responsible for the education, well-being, and future of 120 teenagers, I'd like to believe there's something in this mean and hungry country worth salvaging and passing on to a younger generation.
Maybe I'm getting sentimental in my old age....
And yet, I couldn't help but feel let down.
This is my third time reading McCarthy's Blood Meridian, and it's my first time reading this book since I became a teacher.
When I was younger, I loved the isolation of this book. The each-in-it-for-his-ownness of it. Now, as a young adult partially responsible for the education, well-being, and future of 120 teenagers, I'd like to believe there's something in this mean and hungry country worth salvaging and passing on to a younger generation.
Maybe I'm getting sentimental in my old age....
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes