Fiction

The Passenger

The Passenger

  • Downloads：8583
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-10-29 00:16:35
  • Update Date：2025-09-23
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Cormac McCarthy
  • ISBN：0307268993
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

1980， PASS CHRISTIAN， MISSISSIPPI: It is three in the morning when Bobby Western zips the jacket of his wetsuit and plunges from the boat deck into darkness。 His divelight illuminates the sunken jet， nine bodies still buckled in their seats， hair floating， eyes devoid of speculation。 Missing from the crash site are the pilot’s flightbag， the plane’s black box， and the tenth passenger。 But how？ A collateral witness to machinations that can only bring him harm， Western is shadowed in body and spirit – by men with badges; by the ghost of his father， inventor of the bomb that melted glass and flesh in Hiroshima; and by his sister， the love and ruin of his soul。

Traversing the American South， from the garrulous bar rooms of New Orleans to an abandoned oil rig off the Florida coast， The Passenger is a breathtaking novel of morality and science， the legacy of sin， and the madness that is human consciousness。

Download

Reviews

Kerri D ，

I didn’t get it。 Probably some good writing。 But a lot going on here。

Paul Jennings ，

Writing was excellent。 Too bad I can’t say the same about the content。 The book hard to follow from the first chapter and didn’t get any better Definitely not the authors best best work。 It’s not something I would recommend。

matt ，

⛽

Bob Peru ，

both hilarious and the saddest book i’ve ever read。 right up with his best。

Luís ，

Recommended from Paulo Faria Recommended from Paulo Faria 。。。more

Ben Yaxley ，

The whole multiverse reveal is pretty cool。 The Kid in this book is actually the Kid from Blood Meridian- bold choice。 McCarthy， a real Moorcock fan， has even hinted that this Kid exists in his other works too- The Border Trilogy's Jimmy Blevins， Suttree's Gene Harrogate， The Boy from the Road- all Eternal Champions in different forms。 I cannot wait for the final crossover novel coming in 2025。 The whole multiverse reveal is pretty cool。 The Kid in this book is actually the Kid from Blood Meridian- bold choice。 McCarthy， a real Moorcock fan， has even hinted that this Kid exists in his other works too- The Border Trilogy's Jimmy Blevins， Suttree's Gene Harrogate， The Boy from the Road- all Eternal Champions in different forms。 I cannot wait for the final crossover novel coming in 2025。 。。。more

Jason ，

Let me first say that I’ve been a fan of his for a long time。 I’ve been looking forward to this book for ages。 And I give him credit for trying something different but…This didn’t feel or read like a Cormac McCarthy book。 It was confusing and hard to follow。 There was only one main character （Western， the only character with any depth） and he didn’t seem fully formed。 I never really got close enough to him to determine if I liked him or not。 I think at least part of the downfall here is the chap Let me first say that I’ve been a fan of his for a long time。 I’ve been looking forward to this book for ages。 And I give him credit for trying something different but…This didn’t feel or read like a Cormac McCarthy book。 It was confusing and hard to follow。 There was only one main character （Western， the only character with any depth） and he didn’t seem fully formed。 I never really got close enough to him to determine if I liked him or not。 I think at least part of the downfall here is the chapters of hallucination （one of the characters hallucinates and every few chapters we get a bit of it to read）。 These chapters are basically unreadable。 And I think it was a big mistake starting the book with one of these chapters。 Still， even without these chapters， I wouldn’t have enjoyed this book。 Some are claiming it was done on purpose， that this was all （the confusion， pacing issues， dialogue， etc。） part of his plan， his genius。 Those that don’t like this book just don’t understand it。 I mean， it’s possible I’m just not smart enough to grasp it and that he’s such a master that it’s all over my head （after all， it’s taken him 16 years to write this and， at 89， I’m certain he knows the craft better than anyone） but I think it’s just as possible （and much more likely） that he swung and missed here。 I’m sorry。 Truly。 I wanted desperately to love this book。 I finished it because I didn’t want to voice my displeasure without having read every page。 There were a few moments when I felt a little sputter of his old magic （and got excited） but they were droplets and there weren’t very many of them。 I think the ratings would be considerably lower if this was an unknown author。 But I can’t give him a pass。 I won’t。 It was a struggle to finish。 。。。more

Paulo Faria ，

«O Passageiro» é o primeiro romance de Cormac McCarthy desde «A Estrada» （2006）。 A espera foi tão longa que devo até confessar que cheguei a pensar que Cormac McCarthy não tornaria a publicar um romance em vida。 Felizmente， enganei-me。 A Relógio D'Água publica agora a minha tradução deste romance （que terá uma «segunda parte»， digamos assim， com «Stella Maris»， a editar em breve）， em simultâneo com a edição em inglês。Não quero estragar a ninguém o prazer da leitura。 Direi apenas， portanto， que C «O Passageiro» é o primeiro romance de Cormac McCarthy desde «A Estrada» （2006）。 A espera foi tão longa que devo até confessar que cheguei a pensar que Cormac McCarthy não tornaria a publicar um romance em vida。 Felizmente， enganei-me。 A Relógio D'Água publica agora a minha tradução deste romance （que terá uma «segunda parte»， digamos assim， com «Stella Maris»， a editar em breve）， em simultâneo com a edição em inglês。Não quero estragar a ninguém o prazer da leitura。 Direi apenas， portanto， que Cormac McCarthy continua em forma。 As suas qualidades mantêm-se intactas。 O romance é excessivo， pantagruélico， monumental， cheio de becos sem saída， repleto de coisas intrigantes。 Há momentos absolutamente sublimes。 。。。more

Brennan Miller ，

Cormac McCarthy can't be touched。 I've seen plenty of both amateur and professional reviews say that to get a grasp on this book， they'll wait until the "sister novel" is released before passing judgment。 My response。。。why？I read a review by a professional critic today asking why McCarthy feels the need to write about the meaninglessness of life and the inevitability of humankind's extinction。 I think this is a dumb question。 If that's your thinking， why not discredit almost everything he's writ Cormac McCarthy can't be touched。 I've seen plenty of both amateur and professional reviews say that to get a grasp on this book， they'll wait until the "sister novel" is released before passing judgment。 My response。。。why？I read a review by a professional critic today asking why McCarthy feels the need to write about the meaninglessness of life and the inevitability of humankind's extinction。 I think this is a dumb question。 If that's your thinking， why not discredit almost everything he's written thus far？"The Passenger" is maybe not a book for those who are only familiar with his most recent major works， "No Country。。。" and "The Road。" Not trying to gatekeep， just trying to keep expectations in check。 The closest novel within McCarthy's canon that this lines up with is "Suttree。" Despite the dust-jacket marketing that this a plot-heavy neo-noir， it's not。 I can see why that would disappoint people。 I truly do。But I think it's his most ambitious book since "The Crossing。" In some ways， more ambitious than anything he's ever written。 （An aside）: It's his most postmodern work （and maybe my ever-evolving taste reflects why I'm so taken with it）， referencing not only his own work but that of other significant 20th-century American authors。 I never thought I'd see a day where Pynchon very obviously influenced McCarthy but。。。here we are。 P's fingerprints are all over this thing。 There are so many other major late-20th American authors referenced， if not by name than by influence: Delillo， Morrison， et all。 Not to mention "A Confederacy of Dunces，" specifically in the character of Long John， who refers to the protagonist as Squire。 Can I get an amen from the Cervantes fans？ （Don't even get me started on the final chapter being a nod to Hemingway。。。）I mean it's just so layered and cool。 Reading this feels like finding a lost masterpiece from decades if not centuries lost， （and that makes sense bc McCarthy has reportedly been working on this for longer than I've been alive）， but it also feels so very present and modern and in touch with the ever growing paranoia of humanity's self-wrought armageddon。 And it's actually being published today！ We're getting to experience this in real-time！！！ Over the past two days， even when I wasn't reading， I'd glance at the cover and just be astonished that we have a new Cormac McCarthy novel。 Period。 That's a win for the literary community in its own right。 Look。 I know I'm biased here。 I've long proclaimed that this man is the GOAT， and as I've been increasingly drawn to postmodern works， he comes back with a work that is transparently drawing on postmodern aesthetics。 It's a miracle we get this book regardless。 And I admittedly read a dense dense DENSE book over the course of two days。 All of these are qualifiers to talk myself down from the high that I'm on after finishing this novel。 Maybe years from now I'll look back on this little post I've typed and see this work as an old man gazing at his navel and me being sucked into his gaze like a Tie Fighter to a tractor beam。 But I can confidently say that， at this moment， I believe that I'll be reading this again and again and again。 Not only in prep for "Stella Maris，" but h0pefullly （assuming the Bomb doesn't drop） over the succeeding decades of my life。 This novel is huge and ambitious and sloppy and maybe not up to the task of being a novel in the traditional sense。 And if you don't fck w McCarthy， I get it。 If you think he's pretentious or morbid。。。you're probably right。 But I couldn't put this down。 I'm so so so happy we got new work from him AND that it's this wild and creative and ambitious， especially considering he's 89 years old。 Wow。 WOOOOOOOW。 It's amazing。 I feel honored to have my life overlap with Cormac's。 。。。more

Jono Grondel ，

It's amazing and weird。 Read it。 It's amazing and weird。 Read it。 。。。more

Steven ，

upon The Passenger， McCarthy after reading Dostoevsky's The Brothers KaramazovIt seems to me that nearly most anything would not stand without withering near Dostoevsky’s last novel。 Yet， in this， both of these recently finished books reach the same feverish heights: here are my obsessions， here are all of my innermost minds。 There is a rapidity of thought in The Passenger that almost betrays a quickness in the composition （which is no matter， really， that is first and foremost all over my Stend upon The Passenger， McCarthy after reading Dostoevsky's The Brothers KaramazovIt seems to me that nearly most anything would not stand without withering near Dostoevsky’s last novel。 Yet， in this， both of these recently finished books reach the same feverish heights: here are my obsessions， here are all of my innermost minds。 There is a rapidity of thought in The Passenger that almost betrays a quickness in the composition （which is no matter， really， that is first and foremost all over my Stendhal）。 A slackness， a seemingly casual way to approach the tale—but it is that very quality， as if the ink is still wet， and always will be， that I find most beautiful and， when finished and set aside， I see ghosts and holy oscillations in my carpet。 。。。more

Donna ，

This book is awful！ I had to google about what the first chapter was all about。 The next chapter appeared to make more sense and then it was confusion again after that so I gave up。 I am not sure how this book made it to publishing！ No explanations whatsoever。 I agree with the other 1-stars。 No matter when you read it， it’s all gibberish！

Kel Midthnaetitulla ，

Cormac : Vzp=V+12∑iħωi fucks given。

Jessaka ，

What do you want to be when you grow up？ Dead。I am sitting on my couch reading this book by McCarthy， a book I waited years to read。 But it is not really McCarthy's writing， not his lyrical writing。 But at times it is。 It just doesn't have the flow。 I am disappointed。The story opens up with Bob， a salvage diver who looks for wreckages。 He has found one， and airplane that has crashed in the water。 Once inside he sees people strapped to their seats， dead， their hair waving in the water。。 But this What do you want to be when you grow up？ Dead。I am sitting on my couch reading this book by McCarthy， a book I waited years to read。 But it is not really McCarthy's writing， not his lyrical writing。 But at times it is。 It just doesn't have the flow。 I am disappointed。The story opens up with Bob， a salvage diver who looks for wreckages。 He has found one， and airplane that has crashed in the water。 Once inside he sees people strapped to their seats， dead， their hair waving in the water。。 But this story is not about these dead bodies， it's about his dead sister Who he is still in love with after all of these years。 It's about her love letters that he has kept for over 10 years and has hidden behind the medicine cabinet so that they cant find them。As I struggle with this difficult book， My mind has lost it's attention because there is a 7 year old girl standing next to me。 She is black and she is wearing an orange and white checkered dress with a white collar and white cups around Puffy sleeves。 Her tight curls are held up by 8 orange bows。 So pretty。 I don't mind her there except that she is moving her body from left to right， right to left。 Like little girls off and do。 The movement is distracting。 If I turn my head to look at her she is gone， but she is still there at the corner of my eye。Alicia is Bob's sister。 She is in a mental hospital getting shock treatments for her depression。 Maybe it will cure her of hallucinations， ， I don't know。 It is the summer of 1969， just after Woodstock had ended。 Rubinstein is the shock doctor at Herrick hospital in Berkeley California。 Maria goes for shock treatments daily for her depression， and when she leaves the room she is in a daze。。One morning she did not show up for group therapy， But her young， handsome therapist was there， depressed。 A young female patient in the group looked at him and said， Cheer up， the worst is yet to come。 They learned them that maria had killed herself and by the next day they learn that her therapist has also committed suicide。It is 1972 and Alicia has committed suicide。 Shock treatment never really works。Then they came and they ramsacked his room。 And this because he had been on the plane and a passenger was missing。 。。。more

Christopher McMullin ，

Incredible！ Read it the day it came out。 Breathtaking at parts。 Lines that are unforgettable。 An incredible read。 Ill be revisiting this piece often。

Paul H。 ，

I am， to say the least， a fan of Cormac McCarthy; when I sat down to create a list of my top 100 novels of the twentieth century， I was unsurprised to find that four of Cormac's novels made it into my top 40。 He's almost certainly the most talented living American author -- Pynchon is close？ -- and accordingly I've spent the past 15 years （most of my adult life！） eagerly awaiting the publication of The Passenger。 To be sure， however， he's had a few missteps。 I've read every book that the man has I am， to say the least， a fan of Cormac McCarthy; when I sat down to create a list of my top 100 novels of the twentieth century， I was unsurprised to find that four of Cormac's novels made it into my top 40。 He's almost certainly the most talented living American author -- Pynchon is close？ -- and accordingly I've spent the past 15 years （most of my adult life！） eagerly awaiting the publication of The Passenger。 To be sure， however， he's had a few missteps。 I've read every book that the man has published， and his plays/screenplays are seriously lacking; Sunset Limited， Stonemason， Counselor， and Gardener's Son are simply not very good。 But his novels have always been solid， which makes me think that The Passenger was originally a screenplay， maybe？Because holy crap， this is his worst novel by some margin。 The prose feels like a fanfic imitation （though some lines are good）， and the dialogue is so bad that I'm not even sure how to properly convey its badness。 Just picking at random from the first few pages: "They're going for the big Kahuna。 Boom boom time on the savannah， Hannah。 Plenty of broads in the mix too in spite of all the whining from the sci-fems" （？！？！）。 Most fatally， the story is disjointed and uninteresting， though possibly the sequel （Stella Maris） will pull things together 。 。 。 overall， an incredible disappointment。 。。。more

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

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Passenger

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Passenger&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Passenger&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0