Blood Meridian (1985)
So I’m finally back from a long break from reading fiction and I chose kind of a hard one to break back into. That book was Blood Meridian. To be honest, and maybe this shows how I can live under a rock sometimes, but I’ve never heard of this book until I later saw the edits on TikTok about who were some of the worst villains in fiction. That of course piqued my morbid curiosity. Only until later did I find out that Blood Meridian has also been labeled as one of those currently trendy, edgy books I’ve seen pop up on several “do not date this man if he says he likes this book” kind of lists haha.
As far as the actual book, I struggled through until about midway point and then it started to really hit for me. The beautiful Western atmosphere laid out by McCarthy really struck home being from Texas and all. I also enjoyed the raw emotion and language of the book as I can appreciate art that jars you out of your senses with targeted violence and unsettling storytelling that makes you reflect.
One thing that I will say about this book that I haven’t heard anyone else talk about is the rich, Western style dialogue. The conversations were archaic but had a hint of familiarity that felt comforting while also foreign at the same time. It was honestly poetic even if it came out of the mouths of cruel degenerates and criminals.
Overall, I did enjoy the book and will likely think more fondly of it as time goes on. What I can’t say though is that this stuck out to me as some type of masterpiece. That said, I’m probably not the best judge of what masterpieces are anyways because every classic I read, I usually enjoy but kind of miss out on the whole, “wow, this really will stand the test of time” type of sentiment. I’d give it a conservative 3-1/2 at most 4 stars for its rich dialogue and for the provocative, dark contemplation of the nature of violence and man.