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Jay Evans

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Jay Evans rated a book it was amazing

Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West

by Cormac McCarthy

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in November 2008

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Jay Evans said: " Stunning. I loved this novel. I've always loved a 1850s-1870s western setting. I read all of Louis L'amour's paperbacks (dad and grandpa had them them all, so the price was right) when I was 9-12 years old. If you're not familiar, that's a lot of thi Stunning. I loved this novel. I've always loved a 1850s-1870s western setting. I read all of Louis L'amour's paperbacks (dad and grandpa had them them all, so the price was right) when I was 9-12 years old. If you're not familiar, that's a lot of thin little paperback westerns. After a while he plagarized himself a little from time to time, which was amusing. But there was a formula, and like the many middling American western films the pattern repetition just gets tedious. I like the idea of a Western, but in practice there's a lot of rubbish to wade through to find a good book or film.
So why did it take me so long to get around to reading this? It was published in 1985. I need to work harder at my reading selections, and this is a small step in that process. I was shamed into doing so when I saw Steinbeck on the book table at Costco with a big Oprah book club logo on it...really? this is what it's come to? telling people to check out this Steinbeck guy? I wondered how many books I'd read because a Costco paperback is just so close to free I can't help it - but as picky as I am about it, I'm still letting their buyers have a ridiculous amount of control over my life by buying even 10 or so a year as I do...
I even want Glen to read this book, despite the massive body count and his aversion to such. It's profound and American and despite the intense amount of action it's not plot-driven in the way that makes Glen insane. Read it with internet access handy - despite the informal feel due to the slang, lack of punctuation, etc., I haven't had to look up so many words while reading a book since high school Latin class. The descriptions of the lands the characters are wandering through are dense and varied and frankly frustrating to me at times - every freaking bird and all the cacti with their proper names and me without my wild west fieldbook. The author had some time on his hands due to a grant, apparently, this was not written on a blackberry during a commute, there was a ton of background research here. Or he's a know it all nature freak. "Crenellated heat," huh? Showoff. But I'm just jealous of the man's skill, a feeling that welled up from time to time but didn't interfere with one of the best reads I've had in the last 5 years. Read this book soon, before they make the movie and you're saddled with the mental images of the idiot actors they pick for the lead roles.... ...more "

Nov 22, 2008 11:00PM · see review