The Passenger
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- Create Date：2022-10-26 08:21:43
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Cormac McCarthy
- ISBN：B09T9D8QY7
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Kenneth Grant
，
good book
Brett
，
Because his last book was published sixteen years ago， Cormac McCarthy's The Passenger will likely be read by folks approaching his work for the first time， and by folks who are used to the 'new' literary fiction。 Digestible， humane page-turners。There's no use here talking about the plot。 What many professional reviews， negative as well as positive， will fail to appreciate is this 'messy' novel's extreme aesthetic intensity。 Not to mention it contains swathes of McCarthy doing what we've always Because his last book was published sixteen years ago， Cormac McCarthy's The Passenger will likely be read by folks approaching his work for the first time， and by folks who are used to the 'new' literary fiction。 Digestible， humane page-turners。There's no use here talking about the plot。 What many professional reviews， negative as well as positive， will fail to appreciate is this 'messy' novel's extreme aesthetic intensity。 Not to mention it contains swathes of McCarthy doing what we've always loved about McCarthy except perhaps better， such as writing sentences like this:"The weather had warmed and on these nights he'd strip out of his clothes and leave them folded over his sandals on the beach and wade out into the soft black water and dive and swim out beyond the slow lope of the surf and turn and loll on his back in the swells and watch the stars where some few came adrift of their moorings and dropped down that vast midnight hall from dark to dark。"And if you didn't enjoy that sentence I'd absolutely recommend skipping this book and reading something else。This is a five-star rating not because The Passenger doesn't have flaws。 It's a five-star rating because of them。 Whether this is your favorite or least favorite book by McCarthy， it stands alongside Suttree and Blood Meridian as one of his most ambitious， rich and uncompromising compositions， and this is something that likely won't be recognized for years。 But will。 。。。more
Kristi
，
Got a migraine reading the first 4% in italics。 I've never never bailed this early in a book。 It wasn't for me。 Got a migraine reading the first 4% in italics。 I've never never bailed this early in a book。 It wasn't for me。 。。。more
Jen
，
I felt like I had a brain injury， attempting to read this book last night。 I couldn’t make sense of anything on the page。 It was such a bizarre and confusing experience。 The premise of the book sounded really interesting: divers going into a sunken plane wreck。 But that isn’t what any of the pages I read were about。 I started the book again this morning to make sure I had the right book…。。and yet again， couldn’t follow the plot。 I just don’t understand…？
Kelvin
，
Another phenomenal work from McCarthy。 Probably one of my favourites from him。
Mark
，
Writing was as usual well done。The book though was confusing from the start。Definitely not his best。Not going to bother with the sequel。
Elyssa
，
The long awaited and much anticipated new novel from one of the literary greats does not disappoint。 Fans of his other works will notice many similarities and the trademarks of a McCarthy novel。
Giga Nigga
，
Cormac， I'm excited。 Cormac， I'm excited。 。。。more
Dale Barlow
，
10。23。2022: per NY Times Fiction recommendation; this is actually part of a series with another book to be released later this year of 2022; I have read four other novels by this author with generally very good reviews; at both Madison County Public Libraries。。。;
Kelly_Hunsaker_reads 。。。
，
Cormac McCarthy writes such brutal but beautiful works， that push me into places I may not want to go but when I leave I feel gratitude for it。 The Passenger is a book that I believe I will need to revisit one day soon。 It is a slightly incoherent， rambling and confused。 Still the dialogue is brilliant， and the sense of place is vivid。 I was rooted to place immediately。 You go into this book thinking you know the plot and expecting to follow that mystery。 But， the bigger story here is the portra Cormac McCarthy writes such brutal but beautiful works， that push me into places I may not want to go but when I leave I feel gratitude for it。 The Passenger is a book that I believe I will need to revisit one day soon。 It is a slightly incoherent， rambling and confused。 Still the dialogue is brilliant， and the sense of place is vivid。 I was rooted to place immediately。 You go into this book thinking you know the plot and expecting to follow that mystery。 But， the bigger story here is the portrait of one man reckoning with life。 He hasn't always found things easy， and we see this in the chapters where his dead， schizophrenic sister is narrating the story。 These interludes are confronting and I found that they often pulled me out of the story。。。 and yet， the story wouldn't exist without her。The protagonist， Western， is surrounded by people who are sharing their lives， their views on death， and their philosophies add to the slight confusion of the book。 We are taken along as these characters ruminate about string theory， the atom bomb， old-school philosophers and even incest。 The book meanders in the same way that conversations meander。 That is the beauty of this book。 。。。more
Beth
，
My friends and fellow readers seem to be divided into two camps: those who love McCarthy and those who don't quite understand all the fuss。 I'm in the love camp。This is a complex novel that's difficult to sum up in a few short sentences。 Salvage diver Bobby Western and his colleague are called on to check out a private plane that crashed in the Gulf of Mexico。 The passengers and crew look undisturbed， belted in their seats; however， the peace is eerie， the black box is missing， and so is one of My friends and fellow readers seem to be divided into two camps: those who love McCarthy and those who don't quite understand all the fuss。 I'm in the love camp。This is a complex novel that's difficult to sum up in a few short sentences。 Salvage diver Bobby Western and his colleague are called on to check out a private plane that crashed in the Gulf of Mexico。 The passengers and crew look undisturbed， belted in their seats; however， the peace is eerie， the black box is missing， and so is one of the passengers。Meanwhile we meet Bobby's younger sister， Alicia， a schizophrenic mathematical genius who checked herself into a care facility。 She hallucinates a cast of bizarre characters， with whom she talks about higher math and physics， among other topics。 We know from the first pages that she ultimately commits suicide。 The Westerns' late-father was one of the physicists at Oak Ridge who worked on the atomic bomb。 At some point， Bobby's Tennessee grandmother's house was robbed--the weird part being that the only things taken were the elder Western's papers and notebooks。After Bobby's dive in the Gulf， he is visited several times by self-identified "agents" （but what kind of agents？）， who sometimes question him and at other times ransack his rooms looking for 。 。 。 。 what？ Does Bobby know more about the plane crash than he's letting on？ Or are the men interested in his father's projects？ Or does Bobby have other things to hide？ While trying to evade the agents， Bobby interacts with his own group of outlier characters--some friends， some acquaintances--most of whom are on the far ranges of conventional life。 He also mourns the sister he still loves or is in love with。As is often the case with McCarthy， the tale is not told in a straight line。 We have to work a bit， but the result is always worth it。 He takes us to the edges， and we're rewarded with breathtakingly beautiful passages and deeply felt emotions。 The story concludes in a second book， Stella Maris， which comes out later this year。The audiobook is brilliantly read by MacLeod Andrews and Julia Whelan。 Andrews captures every nuance of Bobby's character， emotions， inner thoughts， and brief dialogue。 Whelan performs Alicia's sections， drawing us so thoroughly into her hallucinations that we too can see the Vaudevillian characters and hear their voices。 This audiobook should be in the running for an Audies Award or two。Thanks to the publishers for review copies in various formats。 。。。more
Chris Haak
，
DNF at 43%McCarthy’s new book is certainly intelligent and has an intriguing plot， but it turned out not to be for me。 I found it a bit messy and hard work and I didn’t seem to care about the characters and the minute descriptions。‘The Passenger’ has many characters who aren’t properly introduced and it often isn’t clear who they are in relation to the main character。 Mostly they are men drinking， acting tough， talking disrespectfully about women， sometimes philosophising about science， life etc DNF at 43%McCarthy’s new book is certainly intelligent and has an intriguing plot， but it turned out not to be for me。 I found it a bit messy and hard work and I didn’t seem to care about the characters and the minute descriptions。‘The Passenger’ has many characters who aren’t properly introduced and it often isn’t clear who they are in relation to the main character。 Mostly they are men drinking， acting tough， talking disrespectfully about women， sometimes philosophising about science， life etc。 The main character is somewhat different though。 He does drink， but on the whole he treats women properly and does not seem to want to impress others。 He is a loner and a man of few words。 McCarthy writes with great detail， which I can sometimes appreciate。 But here it’s a bit too much for my liking。 It’s from going away with a car （checking oil and water， putting the key in the ignition， pushing the starter button， blipping the throttle， checking the gauges， reversing， backing out etc。） to stuff most people know nothing about， for example salvage diving and physics/science。 He uses terms like: Bevatron plates， leptons， S-Matrix theory， vector boson exchange model， etc。 for pages and there’s a lot of name dropping of scientists as well。 Personally， I found it hard to understand and not very interesting to read， plus it distracted me from the story。 I wanted to know more about the person missing from the plane， about Western and his background， and about his sister。 I became bored with the details， lost interest and started skipping whole passages just to get back to the story again。 In the end， I decided this just wasn’t for me。Thank you Penguin Random House and Edelweiss for the DRC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Ron Charles
，
For the last 16 years， Cormac McCarthy’s swelling fan base has been circling， picking at crumbs of information about his next project。 This month， the moment of unveiling has arrived with a tempest of publicity that’s sure to draw in even more readers。Prepare to be baffled。“The Passenger” exhibits McCarthy’s signature markings， but it’s a different species than we’ve spotted before。 In these pages， the author’s legendary violence has been infinitely reduced to the clash of subatomic particles。Bo For the last 16 years， Cormac McCarthy’s swelling fan base has been circling， picking at crumbs of information about his next project。 This month， the moment of unveiling has arrived with a tempest of publicity that’s sure to draw in even more readers。Prepare to be baffled。“The Passenger” exhibits McCarthy’s signature markings， but it’s a different species than we’ve spotted before。 In these pages， the author’s legendary violence has been infinitely reduced to the clash of subatomic particles。Bobby Western， the novel’s contemplative， haunted hero， works as a salvage diver。 We meet him at 3:17 a。m。 off the Gulf Coast。 He and a small crew are examining a private jet resting on the ocean floor。 After his partner cuts open the door with an underwater torch， Western swims into this fresh tomb:“He kicked his way slowly down the aisle above the seats， his tanks dragging overhead。 The faces of the dead inches away，” McCarthy writes。 “The people sitting in their seats， their hair floating。 Their mouths open， their eyes devoid of speculation。”A few minutes later， back in the inflatable boat， Western shakes his head。 “There’s nothing about this that rattles right。” The bodies look unaffected by a crash。 And the pilot’s flight bag and the data box are missing from the cockpit。Western’s partner asks， “You think there’s already been somebody down there， don’t you？”“I don’t know。”For several days， Western hears nothing in the news about a jet crashing into the Gulf。 Then two men with badges appear at his apartment in New Orleans。 They want to know how many bodies he saw in the plane because “there seems to be a passenger missing。”McCarthy has assembled all the chilling ingredients of a locked-room mystery。 But he leaps outside the boundaries of that antique form just as he reworked the apocalypse in “The Road。” Indeed， “The Passenger” sometimes feels more reminiscent of Franz Kafka’s “The Trial。” Western knows he’s suspected of something， but he’s not told what。 The two men who repeatedly question him never drop their formal politeness — never flash a bolt gun like Anton Chigurh in “No Country for Old Men” — but Western knows that his life is in danger and that he must run。。。。To read the rest of this review， go to The Washington Post:https://www。washingtonpost。com/books/。。。 。。。more
Ronald Koltnow
，
To be published by Knopf on 25 OctoberThe Passenger is part one of a diptych， with part II （Stella Maris） coming on 6 December。 It is difficult to voice an opinion until both halves had been read。 The book that most comes to mind when reading The Passenger is Mann’s The Magic Mountain。 Bobby Western spends the book meeting with characters and holding deeply philosophic conversations — about Vietnam， physics， the Kennedy assassination。 His friends are an erudite conman， a transsexual， and a PI。 B To be published by Knopf on 25 OctoberThe Passenger is part one of a diptych， with part II （Stella Maris） coming on 6 December。 It is difficult to voice an opinion until both halves had been read。 The book that most comes to mind when reading The Passenger is Mann’s The Magic Mountain。 Bobby Western spends the book meeting with characters and holding deeply philosophic conversations — about Vietnam， physics， the Kennedy assassination。 His friends are an erudite conman， a transsexual， and a PI。 Bobby is grieving for the death of his beloved， bipolar sister and is conflicted about his late father， who worked on the Manhattan Project。 There is humor and a serviceable thriller plot buried among the discussions of our mortality。 In many ways， this novel is a discussion about our attitudes toward death。 The novel has trajectory but no discernible plot。 The periodic interludes of Bobby’s sister Alice/Alicia’s hallucinations do not overlap with much of the narrative of this book。 Decision to follow after reading Stella Maris。 。。。more
Chandra Claypool （WhereTheReaderGrows）
，
My first McCarthy。。。 you read that right！ Big round of applause to MacLeod Andrews and Julia Whelan for their amazing narration that kept my ears at a perk even when I wasn't sure what was going on within the story！ Forget the synopsis， readers。。。 it doesn't give a hint to what is happening and， quite frankly， made me all the more confused。 But here's also the thing。。。 I DON'T CARE。Ok。 THE PASSENGER is the first in a two-volume set。 The second， STELLA MARIS， will be releasing in December and I'm My first McCarthy。。。 you read that right！ Big round of applause to MacLeod Andrews and Julia Whelan for their amazing narration that kept my ears at a perk even when I wasn't sure what was going on within the story！ Forget the synopsis， readers。。。 it doesn't give a hint to what is happening and， quite frankly， made me all the more confused。 But here's also the thing。。。 I DON'T CARE。Ok。 THE PASSENGER is the first in a two-volume set。 The second， STELLA MARIS， will be releasing in December and I'm truly thankful I already have a copy because I may need to dig into it soon so as to not lose the train of thoughts I already have with this first volume。 First， let's dish about the humor in these pages。 Some of the dialogue and interactions really tickled my bones and I just love that。 Nothing like snorting in public with my hair hiding my ear pods and getting。。。 well， actually no looks bc it's NYC and we are used to being weird here。 Second， I'm kicking myself for not reading this author sooner。 Obviously he's extremely talented and his writing style absolutely works for me。 My favorite parts were the conspiracy theories and how they picked apart some very poignant historical parts of our history。 Sometimes it got a little bit too detailed for my tastes but one assassination story had me on the edge of my subway seat。All in all， I would definitely recommend this read。 I also think it may be a reread contender as I think I'll get more out of it a second time around。 I'm curious as to how McCarthy fans feel about this one and how it compares to his backlist reads。 Where do I go now with his work？ After I read Stella Maris， of course。 *wink* 。。。more
Kevin Adams
，
Solid 4。5 ⭐️Not 5， that’s reserved to Suttree and Blood Meridian。 And when Stella Maris comes out （a sequel or part two to this） there’s a chance we’ll bump this up。 His patience in the writing is incredible。 Never giving us too much about Bobby Western it draws the reader in and doesn’t stop。 Much is always said about his Southern writing。 His Western writing。 His violence induced writing。 Not enough praise is given to C MaC to his character development。 Yes， he’s all of the above but whether i Solid 4。5 ⭐️Not 5， that’s reserved to Suttree and Blood Meridian。 And when Stella Maris comes out （a sequel or part two to this） there’s a chance we’ll bump this up。 His patience in the writing is incredible。 Never giving us too much about Bobby Western it draws the reader in and doesn’t stop。 Much is always said about his Southern writing。 His Western writing。 His violence induced writing。 Not enough praise is given to C MaC to his character development。 Yes， he’s all of the above but whether it’s Bobby Western or Cornelius Suttree or John Cole his characters are so well written and distinct that he truly is a unputdownable talent。 Can’t wait for December！ 。。。more
Kyle
，
Not one， but TWO new Cormac McCarthy novels in the fall of 2022？！ When I came across the article， the first place I went to was NetGalley！ A HUGE thank you to Knopf DoubleDay and NetGalley for an opportunity to read the first novel “The Passenger” to be released on October 25th。 The second novel “Stella Maris” set 8 years later from “The Passenger” will be released on November 22nd。 Both novels tell the grand story of Bobby and Alicia Western。I have read all of Cormac McCarthy’s novels， I am a h Not one， but TWO new Cormac McCarthy novels in the fall of 2022？！ When I came across the article， the first place I went to was NetGalley！ A HUGE thank you to Knopf DoubleDay and NetGalley for an opportunity to read the first novel “The Passenger” to be released on October 25th。 The second novel “Stella Maris” set 8 years later from “The Passenger” will be released on November 22nd。 Both novels tell the grand story of Bobby and Alicia Western。I have read all of Cormac McCarthy’s novels， I am a huge fan， that being said… Passengers is not as accessible as “The Road” and “No Country for Old Men” When we sit down to read a McCarthy novel， I know from the start that is going to be smarter than me， smarter than most of us in all likelihood。With Passengers， I knew there was symbolism and allegories of grief， but had a hard time discerning the theme specifically。 The plot was spelled out in the synopsis， which sounds very intriguing！ Also， the first chapter builds on the synopsis， but then the rest of the book， descends into meandering prose。 Again， I may not be smart enough to figure it out， if you are a longtime reader of McCarthy I absolutely suggest reading。 In fact if you are a longtime reader， you do not need me to tell you the brilliance of the author。 If you are new to Cormac McCarthy， I would suggest starting with “The Road” and “No Country for Old Men” I would also suggest doing some research on some of his themes and symbolism， I feel it adds to the enjoyment of his brilliant novels。Thank you for reading my hopefully not too meandering review。 Even though I found “The Passenger” a little tough to make through， I am still glad I read it， and will pick up both novels in hardcover this fall。 CM is a brilliant author， and I hope to understand his novels more with my research。Thanks for reading！ 。。。more
Adrianne B。
，
I CAN'T WAIT to read this book！I live on the MS Gulf Coast， about 45 miles east of where the book's events take place; I want to see how the author paints the city and the area in general！I hope Robin Roberts reads this; she's from the Pass （as we locals call Pass Christian）！ I CAN'T WAIT to read this book！I live on the MS Gulf Coast， about 45 miles east of where the book's events take place; I want to see how the author paints the city and the area in general！I hope Robin Roberts reads this; she's from the Pass （as we locals call Pass Christian）！ 。。。more
Nikki
，
The premise of this book is fascinating。 A salvage diver， Bobby， and his partner discover a plane with the black box and one passenger missing。 Shortly thereafter， federal agents appear to question Bobby， trash his place， and threaten him。 His partner is killed on another dive， and Bobby hits the road to avoid suffering the same fate。The other story that run through the book is about his genius sister who struggled with mental illness before succumbing to suicide。 We are pulled inside her halluc The premise of this book is fascinating。 A salvage diver， Bobby， and his partner discover a plane with the black box and one passenger missing。 Shortly thereafter， federal agents appear to question Bobby， trash his place， and threaten him。 His partner is killed on another dive， and Bobby hits the road to avoid suffering the same fate。The other story that run through the book is about his genius sister who struggled with mental illness before succumbing to suicide。 We are pulled inside her hallucinations which feature The Thalidomide Kid who has severe birth defects from in-utero exposure to the drug。 He and Alicia have long， somewhat adversarial conversations。As their stories unfold， we learn more and more about the forbidden romance between the siblings that haunts Bobby， as does his father's part in the creation of the nuclear bombs used in World War II。 Bobby becomes a recluse， his mind filled with his regrets， grief， and pain。 The actual missing plane passenger is a distant part of the story while at the same time being what drives Bobby to seclusion。 This book is overly long， and the passages with Alicia and Thalidomide Kid are excruciatingly so。 We do get a window into her mind， but the scenes are lengthy conversations with no point and they become tedious。The overall tone of this book is sadness， not unexpected from McCarthy。 While "The Passenger" leaves us hanging until the release of "Stella Maris"， I have to wonder if it will also be long-winded or worth the time investment。 I will read it but with lowered expectation。 In sum， a compelling premise that needs at least one hundred pages cut。 。。。more
Drew
，
At times frustrating （jokes that fall flat， in particular） but always inspiring thought。 The least necessary scenes are often the most fun to read （not sure why the Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory is included; maybe it will make sense upon a second reading）。 It is difficult to read this book without thinking how it fits in with the rest of McCarthy’s oeuvre—the way he uses words， the way he writes sentences， the bleakness of some scenes—and also how it differs—writing a woman as a major At times frustrating （jokes that fall flat， in particular） but always inspiring thought。 The least necessary scenes are often the most fun to read （not sure why the Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory is included; maybe it will make sense upon a second reading）。 It is difficult to read this book without thinking how it fits in with the rest of McCarthy’s oeuvre—the way he uses words， the way he writes sentences， the bleakness of some scenes—and also how it differs—writing a woman as a major character; also， it’s not a spoiler to say that hallucinations fit into the story in ways unimaginable in， say， All the Pretty Horses or Suttree。 A privilege to read this before it is published。 I sent snippets to friends to inspire jealousy and also because I had to share bits of dialogue that could only come from the pen of this writer。 。。。more
Wesley Harden
，
Extraordinary。 I have been thrown into a deep state of vacuous catharsis。 This novel embodies the idea of what the French would call， “l’appel du vide”。
Quinn
，
Living inside Cormac McCarthy’s mind while reading The Passenger is a fascinating exploration of grief that prompts questions about living with the past。 It’s about how to live a human life at all when that life is flawed， skewed by individual perception of reality， and tainted by experience。The plot is a framework for McCarthy’s main character， Western， to experience the hard-won ruminations on life from a motley crew of characters who reside in New Orleans。 The descriptions of the city are lus Living inside Cormac McCarthy’s mind while reading The Passenger is a fascinating exploration of grief that prompts questions about living with the past。 It’s about how to live a human life at all when that life is flawed， skewed by individual perception of reality， and tainted by experience。The plot is a framework for McCarthy’s main character， Western， to experience the hard-won ruminations on life from a motley crew of characters who reside in New Orleans。 The descriptions of the city are lush。 The characters pop off the page with their rough edges and direct assertions that fail to save them from their fallibility。McCarthy takes the reader in one direction only to pull back and redirect attention to Western’s sister and her perception of reality through mental illness。 He takes Western forward only to pull him back into his past。 There are people pursuing Western as he struggles to navigate the murky depths of past and present， sometimes one step ahead， sometimes too far behind。 Everyone will come away from The Passenger with their own interpretations of what it all means and that’s what makes Cormac McCarthy a legendary writer。 。。。more
Taylor Jones
，
Okay。 I'm done。 This book is fantastic。 If you're a fan of McCarthy the odds are you'll love it but for those who have not read him be prepared， this is not an easy read。 Difficulty aside， the complexity and depth of this novel are very enjoyable。 I'd hazard a guess that CM sees death coming which gives his writing a clarity and potency that is hard to describe other than "hard earned wisdom"。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。I'm Okay。 I'm done。 This book is fantastic。 If you're a fan of McCarthy the odds are you'll love it but for those who have not read him be prepared， this is not an easy read。 Difficulty aside， the complexity and depth of this novel are very enjoyable。 I'd hazard a guess that CM sees death coming which gives his writing a clarity and potency that is hard to describe other than "hard earned wisdom"。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。I'm in the last stretch of this （no rating yet） and all I can do is speculate。。。something along the line of。。。when you get old， like in your 80's （CM is 89） you sometimes， not always， get the wisdom in your bones and it rattles and pesters you because you know what it is but you cannot tell anyone what it is because you have to "live" your way into it。Trauma is nonlinear and Bobby Western is stuck in a perpetual retelling of family trauma。 The depth of this book is absurd。 I would liken the experience of reading The Passenger to something like trying to tell another human what living your life is like and all you have is approximation and narrative but you cannot close the gap completely and， fortunately that is the point。More to come when I'm done。 And then Stella Maris！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！ 。。。more
Darryl Suite
，
Prob 3。5 // Okay， I am finally finished。 I’m going to need a bit of time to digest。 McCarthy did not give a f*ck with this: I imagine his mindset was “if you can’t keep up， that’s on you。” This is nothing like what the plot summary on the back of the book would suggest: so scrap those expectations。 I can’t think of which past McCarthy book this most resembles （and I’ve read most）， it is its own thing， for sure。 My instinct wants to say that although it is ambitious， adventurous， and more surreal Prob 3。5 // Okay， I am finally finished。 I’m going to need a bit of time to digest。 McCarthy did not give a f*ck with this: I imagine his mindset was “if you can’t keep up， that’s on you。” This is nothing like what the plot summary on the back of the book would suggest: so scrap those expectations。 I can’t think of which past McCarthy book this most resembles （and I’ve read most）， it is its own thing， for sure。 My instinct wants to say that although it is ambitious， adventurous， and more surreal （yes！！） than we’re used to， it’s also a bit messy and unfocused， but I feel like people will love this one just because it’s McCarthy （that’s life）。 A lot of people won’t like this。 Am I one of them？ I don’t know yet， but the book did intrigue me for the most part， until the last third， which did lose me （detailed string theory， anyone？）。 Gimme time。 。。。more
Yesno S
，
Really satisfying。
Aaron Myles
，
I'd be hard pressed to think of an author that writes dialogue better than McCarthy。 There's an awful lot of trademark themes and style to this but with so many fresh ideas that just makes it read different to much of what's come before。An explosive return for my favourite author。 I'd be hard pressed to think of an author that writes dialogue better than McCarthy。 There's an awful lot of trademark themes and style to this but with so many fresh ideas that just makes it read different to much of what's come before。An explosive return for my favourite author。 。。。more
Nancy Mijangos
，
I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。 A novel about a young man whose life is spent dealing with unfathomable loss。
Corner Book
，
Masterpiece。
Alyssa Lentz
，
This is a contemplative book that follows a grieving man trying to make sense of his own life and the life of his family。 It was disorienting at first， because you definitely get the impression that you are reading half of a duo。 But it is decidedly character-focused and progresses mostly through meandering conversations， but I found myself hooked and turning the pages。 I will definitely be picking up Stella Maris when it comes out to see how all the pieces fit together。 Would recommend to reade This is a contemplative book that follows a grieving man trying to make sense of his own life and the life of his family。 It was disorienting at first， because you definitely get the impression that you are reading half of a duo。 But it is decidedly character-focused and progresses mostly through meandering conversations， but I found myself hooked and turning the pages。 I will definitely be picking up Stella Maris when it comes out to see how all the pieces fit together。 Would recommend to readers who are looking for ambitious books and are looking to explore themes of grief and legacy。Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Christian Hamilton
，