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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Less a novel than a Socratic dialogue, Stella Maris centers around the late sister of Bobby Western from The Passenger. Presented as a series of psychiatric sessions at the titular Stella Maris institute, Alice/Alicia discusses the nature of reality and the purpose of existence through the lens of mathematics, physics, biology, music, and psychology.
I briefly considered trying to get into the sciences before my math skills failed me, but it gave me enough insight that I was able to see that the jargon used in many of the discussions is less about the specific concept being discussed than its implications. As such, an unfamiliarity with these topics should not intimidate prospective readers as the nature of the discussions is more philosophical in nature.
There are perhaps fewer answers here than even in The Passenger, and the format means that McCarthy's signature descriptive prose is lacking. His dialogue has always been excellent for how it captures tone and character without a single tag, but it works best when they outline his work, like the corners of some aged fresco.
The book and discussions themselves are interesting, but I think it's somewhat undermined by the fact it feels like something that was clipped out of The Passenger because it couldn't fit. Like that book, it is concerned with death and endings and the finality of existence. It contains perhaps the single most terrifying description of what it must be like to drown that I've ever read.
It's impossible not to view these two books, concerned as they are with death as a cessation of perception and the nature of perception itself, in tandem with the author's advanced age. The actuarial tables tell us these are likely to be his last novels, though obviously this is no guarantee. If that's the case these books - and this one's last line in particular - strike a chord that's been ringing since humankind's mind first turned inward and considered the inevitable.
I briefly considered trying to get into the sciences before my math skills failed me, but it gave me enough insight that I was able to see that the jargon used in many of the discussions is less about the specific concept being discussed than its implications. As such, an unfamiliarity with these topics should not intimidate prospective readers as the nature of the discussions is more philosophical in nature.
There are perhaps fewer answers here than even in The Passenger, and the format means that McCarthy's signature descriptive prose is lacking. His dialogue has always been excellent for how it captures tone and character without a single tag, but it works best when they outline his work, like the corners of some aged fresco.
The book and discussions themselves are interesting, but I think it's somewhat undermined by the fact it feels like something that was clipped out of The Passenger because it couldn't fit. Like that book, it is concerned with death and endings and the finality of existence. It contains perhaps the single most terrifying description of what it must be like to drown that I've ever read.
It's impossible not to view these two books, concerned as they are with death as a cessation of perception and the nature of perception itself, in tandem with the author's advanced age. The actuarial tables tell us these are likely to be his last novels, though obviously this is no guarantee. If that's the case these books - and this one's last line in particular - strike a chord that's been ringing since humankind's mind first turned inward and considered the inevitable.
dark
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
WHAT WAS THAT ENDING.
it reads like an essay but for the love of god please use apostrophes… i get the idea of a train of thought, but PLEASE. apostrophes in every word, not just selected ones😭
it reads like an essay but for the love of god please use apostrophes… i get the idea of a train of thought, but PLEASE. apostrophes in every word, not just selected ones😭
Thank goodness this was short. Maybe I’m not smart enough to understand the message. But this was a slog. Math theory, incest, mental illness. Jeez. I’m pretty disappointed.
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An immersive audiobook with great narration by Julia Whelan and Edoardo Ballerini. The format of the book as a series of therapy session transcripts works really well as an audiobook. While I didn't get most of the math references, it was still enjoyable (and I guess the listener can assume the perspective of the therapist who is also mostly uninformed about the field of mathematics).
This man can do no wrong. This thin volume of loosely knit conversations with one of the protagonists from the Passenger, may be a departure for Mr McCarthy, and it may not tie up many loose ends from it’s predecessor, but it’s absolutely a great read, particularly if you liked The Passenger. Somehow both conversational and incredibly profound, this also feels both fresh and summarily McCarthy. Not for everyone but certainly very much for me.
challenging
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
After finishing [b:Stella Maris|60526802|Stella Maris (The Passenger, #2)|Cormac McCarthy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658241766l/60526802._SX50_.jpg|95478000], I do think the duology should have just been one book. I think Stella Maris was better, but also the context of both enriches the other. I think the farce of the mystery aspects made the first worse, while Stella painted itself as simply conversation which, overall, both books were. I wasn't looking over my shoulder the whole book but simply living in the digressions.
The second book that I have read this year that deeply delves into mathematicians ([b:Singer Distance|60583990|Singer Distance|Ethan Chatagnier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1647960378l/60583990._SY75_.jpg|95494147], and despite not much formal math training besides college requirements, I do find this very readable for some reason.
The second book that I have read this year that deeply delves into mathematicians ([b:Singer Distance|60583990|Singer Distance|Ethan Chatagnier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1647960378l/60583990._SY75_.jpg|95494147], and despite not much formal math training besides college requirements, I do find this very readable for some reason.
What I like most about his other books is at the end you feel like you've gone through something. These two did not do anything for me.