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A review by angus_mckeogh
The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy
2.0
Seems like I’ve waited a long time for a new McCarthy book, and an even longer time for a really good McCarthy book, something on par with All the Pretty Horses. The Passenger sounded like an epic mystery and possibly with an even more engaging narrative; unfortunately, that turned out to be merely my interpretation of the blurb. The mystery, about the submerged aircraft, was touched upon, forgotten, revisited, and then seemed to vanish in importance. I found the dialogue absurd. Nobody I know or that I’ve ever heard speak, talks like the characters in this novel. And it really boiled down to a narrative that revolved around one-on-one conversations between characters about random topics that were never mentioned again once I reached the next chapter. Just average and disappointing, considering the wait. As an aside, it has always driven me crazy that McCarthy uses the phrase “in the floor”. I’ve always been under the impression you put something “on the floor” not “in the floor”. Well, whatever.
Merged review:
Seems like I’ve waited a long time for a new McCarthy book, and an even longer time for a really good McCarthy book, something on par with All the Pretty Horses. The Passenger sounded like an epic mystery and possibly with an even more engaging narrative; unfortunately, that turned out to be merely my interpretation of the blurb. The mystery, about the submerged aircraft, was touched upon, forgotten, revisited, and then seemed to vanish in importance. I found the dialogue absurd. Nobody I know or that I’ve ever heard speak, talks like the characters in this novel. And it really boiled down to a narrative that revolved around one-on-one conversations between characters about random topics that were never mentioned again once I reached the next chapter. Just average and disappointing, considering the wait. As an aside, it has always driven me crazy that McCarthy uses the phrase “in the floor”. I’ve always been under the impression you put something “on the floor” not “in the floor”. Well, whatever.
Merged review:
Seems like I’ve waited a long time for a new McCarthy book, and an even longer time for a really good McCarthy book, something on par with All the Pretty Horses. The Passenger sounded like an epic mystery and possibly with an even more engaging narrative; unfortunately, that turned out to be merely my interpretation of the blurb. The mystery, about the submerged aircraft, was touched upon, forgotten, revisited, and then seemed to vanish in importance. I found the dialogue absurd. Nobody I know or that I’ve ever heard speak, talks like the characters in this novel. And it really boiled down to a narrative that revolved around one-on-one conversations between characters about random topics that were never mentioned again once I reached the next chapter. Just average and disappointing, considering the wait. As an aside, it has always driven me crazy that McCarthy uses the phrase “in the floor”. I’ve always been under the impression you put something “on the floor” not “in the floor”. Well, whatever.
Merged review:
Seems like I’ve waited a long time for a new McCarthy book, and an even longer time for a really good McCarthy book, something on par with All the Pretty Horses. The Passenger sounded like an epic mystery and possibly with an even more engaging narrative; unfortunately, that turned out to be merely my interpretation of the blurb. The mystery, about the submerged aircraft, was touched upon, forgotten, revisited, and then seemed to vanish in importance. I found the dialogue absurd. Nobody I know or that I’ve ever heard speak, talks like the characters in this novel. And it really boiled down to a narrative that revolved around one-on-one conversations between characters about random topics that were never mentioned again once I reached the next chapter. Just average and disappointing, considering the wait. As an aside, it has always driven me crazy that McCarthy uses the phrase “in the floor”. I’ve always been under the impression you put something “on the floor” not “in the floor”. Well, whatever.
Merged review:
Seems like I’ve waited a long time for a new McCarthy book, and an even longer time for a really good McCarthy book, something on par with All the Pretty Horses. The Passenger sounded like an epic mystery and possibly with an even more engaging narrative; unfortunately, that turned out to be merely my interpretation of the blurb. The mystery, about the submerged aircraft, was touched upon, forgotten, revisited, and then seemed to vanish in importance. I found the dialogue absurd. Nobody I know or that I’ve ever heard speak, talks like the characters in this novel. And it really boiled down to a narrative that revolved around one-on-one conversations between characters about random topics that were never mentioned again once I reached the next chapter. Just average and disappointing, considering the wait. As an aside, it has always driven me crazy that McCarthy uses the phrase “in the floor”. I’ve always been under the impression you put something “on the floor” not “in the floor”. Well, whatever.
Merged review:
Seems like I’ve waited a long time for a new McCarthy book, and an even longer time for a really good McCarthy book, something on par with All the Pretty Horses. The Passenger sounded like an epic mystery and possibly with an even more engaging narrative; unfortunately, that turned out to be merely my interpretation of the blurb. The mystery, about the submerged aircraft, was touched upon, forgotten, revisited, and then seemed to vanish in importance. I found the dialogue absurd. Nobody I know or that I’ve ever heard speak, talks like the characters in this novel. And it really boiled down to a narrative that revolved around one-on-one conversations between characters about random topics that were never mentioned again once I reached the next chapter. Just average and disappointing, considering the wait. As an aside, it has always driven me crazy that McCarthy uses the phrase “in the floor”. I’ve always been under the impression you put something “on the floor” not “in the floor”. Well, whatever.
Merged review:
Seems like I’ve waited a long time for a new McCarthy book, and an even longer time for a really good McCarthy book, something on par with All the Pretty Horses. The Passenger sounded like an epic mystery and possibly with an even more engaging narrative; unfortunately, that turned out to be merely my interpretation of the blurb. The mystery, about the submerged aircraft, was touched upon, forgotten, revisited, and then seemed to vanish in importance. I found the dialogue absurd. Nobody I know or that I’ve ever heard speak, talks like the characters in this novel. And it really boiled down to a narrative that revolved around one-on-one conversations between characters about random topics that were never mentioned again once I reached the next chapter. Just average and disappointing, considering the wait. As an aside, it has always driven me crazy that McCarthy uses the phrase “in the floor”. I’ve always been under the impression you put something “on the floor” not “in the floor”. Well, whatever.