The Passenger
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- Create Date：2022-10-20 06:52:53
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Cormac McCarthy
- ISBN：0593663551
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Reviews
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。
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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
，
“The Passenger” is the first book by the legendary Cormac McCarthy in over a decade。 McCarthy should rightfully be considered the Great American Author， and his books have all spoken to me in different ways。 I consider “Blood Meridian” to be my favorite book - and perhaps one of the best books ever written。 Having been able to obtain early copies of “The Passenger” and “Stella Maris”， I was thrilled to read these books - and in fact， threw aside a pile of to-reads to get here。 Yet， after finishi “The Passenger” is the first book by the legendary Cormac McCarthy in over a decade。 McCarthy should rightfully be considered the Great American Author， and his books have all spoken to me in different ways。 I consider “Blood Meridian” to be my favorite book - and perhaps one of the best books ever written。 Having been able to obtain early copies of “The Passenger” and “Stella Maris”， I was thrilled to read these books - and in fact， threw aside a pile of to-reads to get here。 Yet， after finishing the first of the two novels， I feel multiple conflicting emotions - joy， frustration， contentment， and impatience。 “The Passenger” follows diver Bobby Western as he discovers a sunken jet， a missing black box， and more importantly， a missing passenger。 To a lesser degree， the story also follows his sister， Alicia Western， as she deals with a “cohort” of characters she suffers with due to her schizophrenia。 Like all McCarthy books beforehand， the prose alternates between simple and complicated， harsh and angelic。 When you read McCarthy， you read him for his writing。 And it does not disappoint。So why the 4？ The main plot， following Bobby’s discovery， ultimately seems to diffuse into philosophy and psychobabble。 Without spoilers， I saw no real resolution to both plots， and I wonder， at the end， if the missing passenger is supposed to be us - the readers。 We’re just along for the ride， and may have fallen off along the way。 “The Passenger” is a book of careful symmetry。 It lacks the bravado of “All the Pretty Horses” and the violence of “Blood Meridian。” It avoids the desolate beauty of “The Road” and the actual promulgation of forbidden love in “Outer Dark。”Instead， it weaves a careful and safe path - as far as McCarthy is concerned - toward conclusion。 The cast of characters is as memorable as those found in “Suttree”， and some of the philosophy echoes that transcribed in “The Crossing。” Yet， I only wish we were provided with more plot。 Perhaps when I read “Stella Maris”， we’ll see many of our questions answered。 McCarthy states later in the novel， “The problem is that what drives the tale will not survive the tale。” I think this could be considered a meta commentary for the book as a whole。 Is it McCarthy’s best work？ No， not by far。 In fact， it is likely one of his weakest。 But that’s not saying much when every book he’s written is a masterpiece。 Is it an absolute giant of modern fiction？ Is there even any question？ 。。。more
Ryan
，
3。5 so far。 Definitely a weird one from McCarthy。 Going to hold off any reviews until I finish the second book。
Todd
，
Such a huge disappointment-- I love McCarthy， but this one left me underwhelmed。 I will read "Stella Maris"， the follow-up， but I must admit I'm hardly in a rush to do so。 Such a huge disappointment-- I love McCarthy， but this one left me underwhelmed。 I will read "Stella Maris"， the follow-up， but I must admit I'm hardly in a rush to do so。 。。。more
John Guffey
，
I received this book in advance and was asked to provide a review。 I enjoy Cormac McCarthy’s writing and his style a lot。 Many parts of this book were great。 McCarthy can do dark， humor， craft a plot， draw you in， repulse you， and then some。 This book has all of that。 However， this one was too short on narrative and too heavy on one of McCarthy’s favorite devices: the philosophical stranger meeting a main character。 Like I said， I enjoyed many of these interactions but it was just too much throu I received this book in advance and was asked to provide a review。 I enjoy Cormac McCarthy’s writing and his style a lot。 Many parts of this book were great。 McCarthy can do dark， humor， craft a plot， draw you in， repulse you， and then some。 This book has all of that。 However， this one was too short on narrative and too heavy on one of McCarthy’s favorite devices: the philosophical stranger meeting a main character。 Like I said， I enjoyed many of these interactions but it was just too much through the course of the book。 You also can never expect much resolution with Cormac and you’ll have to wait and see on this one。 。。。more
Diane Ferbrache
，
The first chapter is intriguing and sets the stage for a mystery/suspense story。 Then it gets confusing and just plain weird。I loved McCarthy's previous works， All the Pretty Horses and The Road。 His writing is so wonderful and unusual and captivating， but this one is just confusing。 Perhaps the issue is that it's volume one of a two book series， and perhaps （with perseverance） had I kept reading I would have come to love it。 I gave it a shot （up to about 25%）， but I have way too many books on m The first chapter is intriguing and sets the stage for a mystery/suspense story。 Then it gets confusing and just plain weird。I loved McCarthy's previous works， All the Pretty Horses and The Road。 His writing is so wonderful and unusual and captivating， but this one is just confusing。 Perhaps the issue is that it's volume one of a two book series， and perhaps （with perseverance） had I kept reading I would have come to love it。 I gave it a shot （up to about 25%）， but I have way too many books on my "too read" list and I found myself just putting this one down far too often。The story begins with Western， a salvage diver who is sent to explore a sunken airplane。 He and his partner find the plane and its passengers at the bottom of the sea， all bodies still strapped in except one。 And the "black box" is missing。 What happened？ Where did they go？ I was definitely interested。 The problem is that McCarthy doesn't stay with that story， but switches times and places with every chapter and the other main storyline is definitely odd， to say the least。 In fact， some will find it offensive since the main characters include a "thalidomide baby" with "flippers' and several carnival characters from a sideshow -- use your imagination。 I just didn't get it！ McCarthy is a modern genius with a unique writing style （punctuation， dialogue style， lyrical prose）， so perhaps given the time and effort， this one would have captured my attention。 Perhaps I'll give it another try at a later date， and perhaps taken as a whole （with volume 2） it all makes sense。 It is definitely NOT for the average reader。 。。。more
Ted Zarek
，
This was tough， McCarthy makes nothing about his writing easy - and this reads like he sat down with David Lynch and William Faulkner， to give you an idea of how difficult it is at times - and it was about half way through that I realized the story wasn’t the point。 This isn’t a mystery or science fiction， it’s just a series of conversations no different from what you might here at a bar or a college lecture （at least， at one time）。Despite the description of the book， and the set up at the begin This was tough， McCarthy makes nothing about his writing easy - and this reads like he sat down with David Lynch and William Faulkner， to give you an idea of how difficult it is at times - and it was about half way through that I realized the story wasn’t the point。 This isn’t a mystery or science fiction， it’s just a series of conversations no different from what you might here at a bar or a college lecture （at least， at one time）。Despite the description of the book， and the set up at the beginning， the story element involving the “missing passenger” isn’t important。 And there’s no real resolution to that problem （though maybe there’s a bigger metaphor there to the rest of the story; I’ll have to think on that）。 Rather， we just follow Western as he encounters bizarre people and deals with challenges to his way of life， whether that’s G-men or his own grief and guilt。 And throughout this， we get amazing descriptions of the places Western travels， places that somehow feel real and like a dream。 And the people discuss everything from their dreams to complex physics and history。Interspersed is what teases his part two， Stella Maris， as we get glimpses at the conversations between Western’s sister - perhaps his biggest guilt - and the voices she has to live with。 。。。more
JDL
，
I don't want to judge this one fully without having read Stella Maris， but I can tell already that while The Passenger contains many callbacks and parallels to his older works， it is still a unique work in his oeuvre and one which is more experimental than his previous novels。 There's a lot to unpack in its 383 pages， and it is definitely a bit harder to follow than his other works for certain reasons。 However it does not disappoint; I was enthralled by McCarthy's writing yet again。 I won't say I don't want to judge this one fully without having read Stella Maris， but I can tell already that while The Passenger contains many callbacks and parallels to his older works， it is still a unique work in his oeuvre and one which is more experimental than his previous novels。 There's a lot to unpack in its 383 pages， and it is definitely a bit harder to follow than his other works for certain reasons。 However it does not disappoint; I was enthralled by McCarthy's writing yet again。 I won't say much more so as not to spoil it but this is probably the most exciting new book（s） to be released in recent memory and I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to read it early！ 。。。more
Janelle Janson
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I am a long time fan of McCarthy’s work。 His writing style just works for me。 Review to come。
Corey
，
There is no better prose stylist alive today。 He writes the way God would write if he were a human being。 His dialogs are things of important beauty。 And this new novel is his wildest: it includes the terrible ghostly legacy of the atom bomb， fantasy circus performers， a submerged airplane with one passenger missing， a theory about JFK's assassination， and a man's love for his deceased sister， among other hallucinations of the spirit。 Next I will read its coda， published simultaneously， Stella M There is no better prose stylist alive today。 He writes the way God would write if he were a human being。 His dialogs are things of important beauty。 And this new novel is his wildest: it includes the terrible ghostly legacy of the atom bomb， fantasy circus performers， a submerged airplane with one passenger missing， a theory about JFK's assassination， and a man's love for his deceased sister， among other hallucinations of the spirit。 Next I will read its coda， published simultaneously， Stella Maris。 。。。more
Christine
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[Copy gifted by the publisher]READ IF YOU LIKE。。。• Philosophical and existential musings• Solitary， lonely protagonists• Winding， open-ended storiesI THOUGHT IT WAS。。。An interesting literary meander， less story and more an exploration of guilt， grief， and the purpose of life。 It's centered on Bobby Western， deep sea diver， mathematical genius， son of the man who worked on the atomic bomb， and in love with his sister， who passed away 10 years ago。 After working on an exceedingly strange dive job， [Copy gifted by the publisher]READ IF YOU LIKE。。。• Philosophical and existential musings• Solitary， lonely protagonists• Winding， open-ended storiesI THOUGHT IT WAS。。。An interesting literary meander， less story and more an exploration of guilt， grief， and the purpose of life。 It's centered on Bobby Western， deep sea diver， mathematical genius， son of the man who worked on the atomic bomb， and in love with his sister， who passed away 10 years ago。 After working on an exceedingly strange dive job， some form of authority is now after him and it forces him to make some hard decisions about his life。You'll either love or hate how McCarthy approached this novel， in both style and form。 I think I was surprised by how drawn in I was by the deep， dense conversations that took place between Western and various colorful characters that make up his social circle。 It's possible for them to go completely over your head， but it's also possible for you to be completely taken off guard by the truth of one， immaculately composed sentence。McCarthy is the master of fleshing out characters just through dialogue and he does so here repeatedly。 He's also the master of keeping you on edge， letting you know something is off without saying it。 He intersperses the hallucinations of Western's sister， Alicia， in with Western's story and I hope that Stella Maris， this book's companion novel， dives further into her mind， troubled life， and singular genius。 。。。more
Daniel McNulty
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The Passenger， along with Stella Maris， is a masterpiece！ Next to Blood Meridian， although completely different in many ways， this may be McCarthy's best and most transparent novel-it lays his philosophy all on the table for the reader while maintaining a sense of mystery。 Although 100% McCarthy， there are elements of William S。 Burroughs and Dostoevsky， with Stella Maris （much of which comes directly from an article McCarthy wrote on language and the unconscious in 2017 for Nautilus） serving as The Passenger， along with Stella Maris， is a masterpiece！ Next to Blood Meridian， although completely different in many ways， this may be McCarthy's best and most transparent novel-it lays his philosophy all on the table for the reader while maintaining a sense of mystery。 Although 100% McCarthy， there are elements of William S。 Burroughs and Dostoevsky， with Stella Maris （much of which comes directly from an article McCarthy wrote on language and the unconscious in 2017 for Nautilus） serving as his Grand Inquisitor moment。 This book made me want to go back and read all of McCarthy to look for what I've missed in the past and I'll definitely be revisiting this one for many years to come。 。。。more
Joe
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A masterpiece。
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