Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy

Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Based on the activities of notorious Glanton gang, a group of rapacious scalp hunters and mercenaries who terrorized the borderlands of the American West of 1850, this book presents an extraordinarily vivid portrayal of one of the most brutal eras of human history. In it McCarthy deconstructs the mythology of the "Wild West" with language that is both poetic and savage, a contrast embodied in the central character of The Judge - a hairless giant of man who is both erudite and educated, and the catalyst for the blood shed that follows in his wake.

Does the book glorify violence? Not in the least. To coin a biblical metaphor, those who live by the sword will die by the sword. The violence of Blood Meridian is not glorious or heroic, rather it shown as the very worst of human nature.

Highly recommended as one of the very best American novels of the twentieth century.

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