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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book definitely made my question my own existence. I’m so sad that we lost the beautiful mind of Cormac McCarthy because he truly seemed like a one of a kind person, and this book really highlights that. I love that this is a book that you can reread over and over and find new things to contemplate. RIP Cormac ❤️
I tried, and even occasionally enjoyed, reading Alicia’s Stella Maris transcripts, but I ultimately don’t really get why this exists. It feels very supplemental, but not in a way that enhances The Passenger.
Absolutely brilliant, possibly my favorite read of the year. If I could write a novel it would be this except it’s not really a novel. The entire book is pure dialogue between a 20 year old math PHD who is simultaneously totally insane and completely clear headed and her psychiatrist at the mental institution she checked herself into. It’s not in script format and there are no line breaks or sign posting of « she said » « he said » etc it’s just like sentences (there’s definitely a word for this form but I can’t find it) - which kind of adds to the crazy raw mess. A lot of the dialogue deals with quantum physics and math and philosophy (weaved into love, mental illness, family etc) because this woman is supernaturally intelligent and well read, but it’s completely digestible and fascinating and I’m in love with her. So many short wry epic lines. I’m also in love with the writing style and will try to never use a semicolon again. McCarthy wrote this at 89 years old! Maybe getting old is ok? In conclusion this book is bewitching, gripping, beautiful and probably a very very very acquired taste for most people.
(Apparently it’s the second book in a pair but I haven’t read the first one (the Passenger) and I don’t know if I will.)
(Apparently it’s the second book in a pair but I haven’t read the first one (the Passenger) and I don’t know if I will.)
Just shy of 200 pages of an interview between a therapist and a young woman (Alicia Western) touted as a mathematical genius. As often as not, their conversation is about math and philosophy and the atomic bomb - I'd generally expect a conversation with a therapist to have more about the character's life. But then, this is Cormac McCarthy's version of a therapy session, not a true therapy session.
As for the conversation, Alicia is indeed believably brilliant. And by and large believable, or at least well-developed. At times the book made me feel more excited about reading math papers than I'd felt since my college years. Such is the power of this writing.
On the negative side (minor spoilers), the book has two or three pages of a detailed suicide fantasy, and two or three pages of an incest fantasy. And McCarthy continues to write about worlds whose god is purely evil. After reading this viewpoint multiple times in his books, it's difficult not to take this view as his own. The point is there is some remarkable bleakness and some edginess here that aren't exactly my favorite parts of this book. But also that as a whole the book was a very positive experience.
As for the conversation, Alicia is indeed believably brilliant. And by and large believable, or at least well-developed. At times the book made me feel more excited about reading math papers than I'd felt since my college years. Such is the power of this writing.
On the negative side (minor spoilers), the book has two or three pages of a detailed suicide fantasy, and two or three pages of an incest fantasy. And McCarthy continues to write about worlds whose god is purely evil. After reading this viewpoint multiple times in his books, it's difficult not to take this view as his own. The point is there is some remarkable bleakness and some edginess here that aren't exactly my favorite parts of this book. But also that as a whole the book was a very positive experience.