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A review by jacob_edwards985
Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy

5.0

This book contains some of the most haunting imagery I’ve read and does so in a way that doesn’t feel aimless. I wish I had more to say about this book, but anything that could be said has already been said. The judge is an incredible character and I feel like I could write a killer essay about what he means in the confines of the story, which is really the hallmark for good writing for me.

This absolutely could be pushed to a 5 on a reread. I didn’t catch everything I should have and I feel like understanding the deeper meaning through external explanation like I have doesn’t give nearly the same satisfaction as getting it straight from the source material.


Reread:

I did decide to upgrade this from a 4 to a 5. The last chapter is my favorite part of this book and the part I think is most crucial to understanding the book at large.

As I’ve read more of his work, I’ve come to understand that McCarthy is a master of symbol. One of my favorite symbols in this book comes in the aforementioned last chapter, in where we are told the kid (now man) carries with him a Bible he cannot read. There is also an incredibly poignant scene where the man attempts to help an elderly woman only to find that she is dead and has been dead for a long time. It’s probably the most on the nose symbol in the story, but I think putting it so out in the open makes it hit significantly harder in contrast to some of the other more hidden symbolic elements of the book.

The judge remains to me a very strong highlight. His philosophy feels like an exaggeration and further extortion of Chigurhs, almost as if Chigurh is just a disciple to the religion that the Judge is the godhead for. He doesn’t hold himself to the workings of fate because he is himself fate incarnate.