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My Review of "Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy

Brutal. Lethal. Operatic. Odd. Dense. Mesmerizing. Enigmatic. Rough. Illusory. Devilish. Immoral. Absurd. Nihilistic.

If a handful (or a lot, or all) of the above words, which correspond with the first letters of the work's title, seem to appeal to you; go read Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian (1985)

I think this is one of the most unique reading experiences I've ever had. It's horrifying, but McCarthy's prose is so imaginative, strange, and even beautiful at times, that I found myself wanting to keep reading. In the realm of cinema, I can name only a few films that can be compared to this novel, at least in terms of how similar an experience they offer me.

The first film that comes to mind, almost naturally, is the arthouse Western film by Alejandro Jodorowsky; El Topo. Jodorowsky's violent and symbolic journey through the desert is the closest cinematic companion to this novel. Some have said that There Will Be Blood (2007) is the closer one, yet, it's only atmospherically similar; for El Topo's imagery remains closest.

The second film is Salo (1975) by Pier Paolo Pasolini. If anything, Salo is how I see this novel; something so well-made, yet I find no desire to return to it after finishing it. Both works are like a nightmare, a masterfully crafted nightmare, that I'm glad to have experienced at least once...only to know why they're considered great works in the first place.

In the end, I give McCarthy's novel a high rating for its literary achievement, which is understandable now that I've read it. I still won't consider it a favorite. You see, my issue with this novel is that the writing contains some archaic words that confused me. It adds to the strangeness and uniqueness of the story, yes, but I believe McCarthy could've written it with more conventional terms and still ended up with the same story, the same symbolism, and the same great work.

Final rating: 9/10 - nine for the overall greatness of the novel, minus one for the usage of archaic words that butchered my reading experience.

With my time with McCarthy's work coming to an end, I need to heal myself from this nightmare...

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