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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
I took a short break between The Passenger and Stella Maris upon advice from a fellow reader here on Goodreads. It was good advice. While still remembering the intensity of the Passenger I'd still put some distance in between so as not to be completely overwhelmed by sadness.
This second volume is less complicated – it's simply one long conversation between the protagonist of The Passenger's sister and her psychiatrist at the mental institution Stella Maris to which she's committed herself.
She is a math genius and also, you know, a genius in general, and her thought processes would be hard to follow even if she wasn't mentally disturbed and I'm certainly not claiming that I understood all of it. But, for instance, her musings about music and how it is different from other art forms are really interesting.
She is lying to the psychiatrist about important matters, something we (think we) know because we're read the first novel. It created interesting thought spirals in my head!
The audio version is very well performed.
This second volume is less complicated – it's simply one long conversation between the protagonist of The Passenger's sister and her psychiatrist at the mental institution Stella Maris to which she's committed herself.
She is a math genius and also, you know, a genius in general, and her thought processes would be hard to follow even if she wasn't mentally disturbed and I'm certainly not claiming that I understood all of it. But, for instance, her musings about music and how it is different from other art forms are really interesting.
She is lying to the psychiatrist about important matters, something we (think we) know because we're read the first novel. It created interesting thought spirals in my head!
The audio version is very well performed.
I enjoyed some passages of this book, but really feel as if it was an afterthought to the first book without a goal in mind - what was the trajectory that it was trying to take? Maybe I was not just expecting a million philosophical math conversations that were not as relevant to the story that I was hoping to hear more about (book 1 and actual characters).
Turns out I should have read The Passenger before this one. I might have liked it better if I had. As it is, it was interesting enough but I think I missed some of the emotional impact I was supposed to have.
This book has my favorite two end lines of all time. I love it. I truly do. Though I think I am going to read it again once I get more into physics
EDIT: 1/17/2023 - I read it after learning a little more about physics and understood some stuff but mostly understood nothing
EDIT: 1/17/2023 - I read it after learning a little more about physics and understood some stuff but mostly understood nothing
Thank god it was read like a play because it would have been completely unbearable otherwise
this absolutely ripped. far preferred it to the passenger. didn’t want it to end, especially because if you’ve read the other one you know what that end means.
I considered giving it a 4⭐️ rating for a minute, but that felt like Stockholm syndrome speaking lol. It was fine, and I liked it better than The Passenger, but it was still an odd book in my estimation.
I am treating my reviews of Stella Marris and the Passenger as one review.
I enjoyed both of these novels, but not for the reasons that I thought I would. The story is not what I wanted, and didn’t deliver a satisfying conclusion. But these books have a lot to say.
I wish that the plot line of the missing plan passenger was omitted, and this was just purely the story of a man dealing with the loss of his sister and the results of his families history. There is so much wonderful contemplation about death, existence and good vs evil that I think may have been lost on readers who just wanted to know what happened on the plane.
I’d put both of these at more of a 3.5 than a 4, but rounding up for what it’s worth. Not my favorite McCarthy, but I also don’t think it deserves the hate it gets. His writing in both these books is still so so good, and as I mentioned in my other review the themes of the book are so poignant knowing he was writing them in the final years of his life.
I enjoyed both of these novels, but not for the reasons that I thought I would. The story is not what I wanted, and didn’t deliver a satisfying conclusion. But these books have a lot to say.
I wish that the plot line of the missing plan passenger was omitted, and this was just purely the story of a man dealing with the loss of his sister and the results of his families history. There is so much wonderful contemplation about death, existence and good vs evil that I think may have been lost on readers who just wanted to know what happened on the plane.
I’d put both of these at more of a 3.5 than a 4, but rounding up for what it’s worth. Not my favorite McCarthy, but I also don’t think it deserves the hate it gets. His writing in both these books is still so so good, and as I mentioned in my other review the themes of the book are so poignant knowing he was writing them in the final years of his life.