Book Review – Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

I loved The Road. I think it is absolutely one of the best books to hurt you with depression. And yet…and yet…there is hope. McCarthy’s writing always has some touch of that and Blood Meridian does as well. This was an earlier novel of McCarthy and one not well received in 1985 which is to be expected. In the ’80’s you probably didn’t have the nihilism of today from the mainstream thought whereas today the book wouldn’t work well because of the bad words being the most offensive part of the book.

McCarthy definitely pulls from Paradise Lost and Heart of Darkness. Especially with Milton, I see why people want a backstory to why Satan did what he did. However, when I hear the story, my questions are to why God did what He did. The fallen state of man makes Satan too relatable a character. I want to know what the “alien” mind thinks and why.

McCarthy is never not going to be a talented writer. I may have found this book more middle of the road but that’s mostly due to what the author attempted to do with theme and plot and not with talent and phrase. There is some great moments of the story and those exist mostly in the subtly of letting the reader draw conclusions that could be debated among superfans. Some good speeches and dialogue by The Judge and some clear references to Prometheus and Paradise Lost story elements.

The Judge will probably be on a number of lists for the greatest villains in media. He’s clearly a personification of the devil/evil but I think he also portrays the flaws with McCarthy’s story. The Judge, like the story, relies too much on “man is ultimately evil” and while The Boy can be read as taking part in the evil or not, this type of story never highlights the other side of the metanarrative – if there is a devil then there is a God and the devil is God’s devil. This aspect is what made The Road so amazing – that hope could be found where none should exist and anything that did at the time was burned up. Unless you have The Boy take no part in any of the violence, which is hard to make that argument, the ending only works if he remained pure and then gave up.

All this to say that it doesn’t offer the reader, who can read the ultraviolent and racism, can see some good storytelling here. Maybe in 1985 there weren’t enough “ya, but what’s the devil’s side of the story” and I’m just burned out on the “villain is the person to root for” grimdark from those of less talent than McCarthy. I’ll leave the Blood Meridian and take The Road out.