Reviews

Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

benjaymon's review against another edition

5.0

Brain hurts

pegasusjones's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

angus_mckeogh's review against another edition

2.0

Reminded me of a Nicholson Baker book because the entire novel took place in one location and revolved around one event. Seems like this was extraneous storytelling from The Passenger and was likely cut by the editor so McCarthy had it published as a separate piece. For me it didn’t work in either scenario. The entire narrative was a conversation between a psychiatrist and one of his self-committed patients: a woman who worked as a mathematician and desired a sexual relationship with her brother. That’s it. Surrounded by a bunch of existential fluff and padding. Not the best McCarthy in my opinion.

painofboredom's review against another edition

5.0

Fuck my life

zeibeat's review against another edition

5.0

Stella Maris is the epilogue of 'The Passenger'. While it is directly connected to Bobby's story, it is a beast on its own that can be attacked as a standalone masterpiece story. The book is a raw transcription of the therapy sessions Alicia gets in Stella Maris, following McCarthy style where there's no words beyond what the two characters say, no descriptions, no "then Alicia says", no nothing.
Get ready for a deep text, sometimes witty, sometimes sad with a lot of maths, metaphysics, philosophy and psychology and an unbeatable reflection about the conscious and the unconscious mind. A hell of a ride

jackmiossi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

kdawn999's review against another edition

2.0

In this coda to The Passenger, we get a few story details which enable an alternate reading of the companion book. As written, however, Stella Maris can’t stand on its own. The entire book is written in dialogue—a transcript of the young patient and her latest psychiatrist in which he, the psychiatrist, digs for his patient’s salacious revelations of incestuous desire. Like in The Passenger, I find this animating focus problematic and, what’s worse, shallow. For all the pretentious prattle in the dialogue, nothing quite hits home. We don’t learn much emotionally about love, madness, or the nature of reality. No matter an author’s linguistic verve, I have a hard time investing in a book without heart.

melancholilt's review against another edition

dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

caryse's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

1.75

corwyng's review against another edition

3.5

 For a book made up exclusively of dialogue with no action, just conversation, this was surprisingly (or unsurprisingly, as it's Cormac McCarthy) and solidly engaging. McCarthy's philosophies of life are certainly more nihilistic than my own, but he's still quite thought-provoking all the same (which is impressive, as I generally consider nihilists to be dull and insufferable).