Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Is this the first time McCarthy has given us a female protagonist? I’m not sure. He’s certainly given us brilliant women—think the Dueña in All The Pretty Horses. But if I’m remembering right, every interesting woman he has written has served some story-purpose. She is an object of affection. She is a tool of exposition. While she may be deeply imagined, and even complex, we do not enter into her the way we do McCarthy’s male protagonists.
(Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge Cormac McCarthy fan. But this is a weakness.)
This is what makes Stella Maris so special. Finally, we get to see McCarthy bring us deep into the inner life of a woman. All the classic McCarthyisms are here: the language, the philosophy and science, the oppressive doubt.
This is a sad story about a remarkable woman brought down by her own brilliance. I see in her a person who wants to believe in something tangible. But who, when she picks that thing up, finds only paper and ash. Her yearning and her doubt are haunting and familiar. And the mental illness that is at the root of all this, well, you can’t help but turn that question inward.
It is a brilliant sad powerful work of imagination, unencumbered by traditional plot and made better for it. McCarthy, at 90-something, has earned the right to say just exactly what he wants to say, and I’m so glad he put it in the voice of this brilliant woman.
I waver on this follow-up to The Passenger. Sometimes I think it's really innovative and brilliant, other times merely good. It consists entirely of dialogue between Alicia Western (sister of Bobby, the main character of The Passenger) and a psychiatrist. It ranges across mathematics, science, history and philosophy and is always interesting, occasionally thrilling (in an intellectual sense).
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think I should have read The Passenger first, but then I remembered that I don't like Cormac McCarthy, as sad fact that this book reminded me of. I think I am very glad I audiobooked this because it was more like a 2 person play.
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It is: philosophical, mathematical, literary, introspective, amusing, witty and interesting.
McCarthy at his thoughtful best. Reminds me of No Country For Old Men but without the plot. For fans of Laurent Binet's 7th Function Of Language.
5 stars, easily. One to ruminate on for a while.
McCarthy at his thoughtful best. Reminds me of No Country For Old Men but without the plot. For fans of Laurent Binet's 7th Function Of Language.
5 stars, easily. One to ruminate on for a while.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes