Fiction

Stella Maris

Stella Maris

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-10-25 04:52:33
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Cormac McCarthy
  • ISBN：0330457446
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Summary

1972， BLACK RIVER FALLS， WISCONSIN: Alicia Western， twenty years old， with forty thousand dollars in a plastic bag， admits herself to the hospital。 A doctoral candidate in mathematics at the University of Chicago， Alicia has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia， and she does not want to talk about her brother， Bobby。 Instead， she contemplates the nature of madness， the human insistence on one common experience of the world; she recalls a childhood where， by the age of seven， her own grandmother feared for her; she surveys the intersection of physics and philosophy; and she introduces her cohorts， her chimeras， the hallucinations that only she can see。 All the while， she grieves for Bobby， not quite dead， not quite hers。

Told entirely through the transcripts of Alicia’s psychiatric sessions， Stella Maris is a searching， rigorous， intellectually challenging coda to The Passenger， a philosophical inquiry that questions our notions of God， truth， and existence。

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Reviews

Wesley Harden ，

Spectacular summation of the predecessor。 Plus it got me interested in topology。

Nikki ，

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 If you have not read The Passenger， there are spoilers below。I have just finished The Passenger so the story and the characters here are fresh in my mind。 The Passenger left us hanging regarding both Bobby and Alicia even though we know from the beginning of that book that Alicia kills herself。 We had no idea what happened to Bobby next， or what the relationship between the siblings entailed。The entirety of Stella Maris is compos I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 If you have not read The Passenger， there are spoilers below。I have just finished The Passenger so the story and the characters here are fresh in my mind。 The Passenger left us hanging regarding both Bobby and Alicia even though we know from the beginning of that book that Alicia kills herself。 We had no idea what happened to Bobby next， or what the relationship between the siblings entailed。The entirety of Stella Maris is composed of a therapist's notes from his sessions with Alicia who has committed herself to the asylum Stella Maris。 The conversations are mostly about mathematics， philosophy， and how Alicia views the world。 Her thoughts and the way she sees herself and everyone around her are fascinating。 She makes strong arguments for her vision as opposed to the way 'normal' people see the world。 She is not the typical mentally ill person you see in literature。 However， unless you want a very deep dive into mathematics and philosophy， this book is going to be very tedious。 Every once in a while we get a tidbit about Alicia's life; her struggles with being a prodigy， having both of her parents die when she is young， and her incestuous relationship with her brother。 It should be noted that both characters lie to others about their relationship in the books; Bobby in Passenger and Alicia in this one。 That leaves the reader not knowing what their relationship truly was as the accounts differ。My take on this book and Passenger is that McCarthy wanted to be as mysterious and distant as possible。 Stella Maris and The Passenger are both extremely frustrating books with the majority of both comprised of conversations that lead absolutely nowhere and lend little to the plot or the development of the characters。 There does not seem to be a point to either book， especially this one as literally nothing happens， little is learned， and then it just stops。 I do not recommend this book to anyone， even diehard McCarthy fans。 From what I read， the only reason this got published was because of his name。 。。。more

Gary ，

Can something be too much and not enough？ Yes。 Yes it can。

Aaron Myles ，

I think Alicia may be one of my favourite McCarthy characters。A brilliantly opaque companion piece to The Passenger。

Christian Hamilton ，

A beautiful coda to “The Passenger”， this second of novels， “Stella Maris” answers some of the questions found within its larger sibling and provides a satisfying and heartbreaking conclusion to the novel itself。 Following Alicia Western as she enters a hospital/mental facility， the entirety of the story takes place as a conversation between Alicia and her doctor。 There is no description of location apart from what is found within the context of the conversation。 McCarthy weaves philosophy， theo A beautiful coda to “The Passenger”， this second of novels， “Stella Maris” answers some of the questions found within its larger sibling and provides a satisfying and heartbreaking conclusion to the novel itself。 Following Alicia Western as she enters a hospital/mental facility， the entirety of the story takes place as a conversation between Alicia and her doctor。 There is no description of location apart from what is found within the context of the conversation。 McCarthy weaves philosophy， theology， mathematics， love， death， hope， and anguish all within the tightly written 180ish pages found within the novel。 It’s a satisfying read - better in my opinion - than its predecessor， though both together were worth the 16-year wait between McCarthy’s last novel and these two。 McCarthy has outdone every other author to release a book this year and for years to come。 。。。more

Ryan ，

Review to come…

Ted Zarek ，

Somehow both harder and easier to understand than The Passenger， Stella Maris is simply the conversations between Alicia/Alice and her doctor at the sanitarium facility of Stella Maris。 The content of those conversations is what makes the story so difficult to understand: while we get more insights into the relationship and youths of Bobby and Alicia， there are deep and heavy conversations about mathematics and ethics and physics and philosophy。 My only criticisms of the book are the style （but Somehow both harder and easier to understand than The Passenger， Stella Maris is simply the conversations between Alicia/Alice and her doctor at the sanitarium facility of Stella Maris。 The content of those conversations is what makes the story so difficult to understand: while we get more insights into the relationship and youths of Bobby and Alicia， there are deep and heavy conversations about mathematics and ethics and physics and philosophy。 My only criticisms of the book are the style （but that’s McCarthy） makes it difficult to know who’s speaking （perhaps he should have written this like a script， lending it’s easy translation into being a short film）， and also the lack of footnotes。 References to Plato and Jung are easy enough to understand， but discussions about prominent and modern mathematicians have left me scouring Wikipedia for better understanding of Alicia’s mind and life。 。。。more

Janelle Janson ，

My initial thoughts are book one and two should be one novel or read back-to-back。 It’s brilliant just the same。

Corey ，

This， Stella Maris， is what the author calls 'a coda' to his novel， The Passenger， which is the best thing I've read in ages。 And， if you read the novel you will want to read the coda。 It's brilliant， fascinating， challenging。 About me and Cormac McCarthy。 We have the same birthday。 We have the same initials。 And， now， we've both written a novel in unattributed dialog。 This， Stella Maris， is what the author calls 'a coda' to his novel， The Passenger， which is the best thing I've read in ages。 And， if you read the novel you will want to read the coda。 It's brilliant， fascinating， challenging。 About me and Cormac McCarthy。 We have the same birthday。 We have the same initials。 And， now， we've both written a novel in unattributed dialog。 。。。more

Joe ，

A masterpiece。

Daniel McNulty ，

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

Tom Mooney ，

A companion novel to The Passenger， Stella Maris delivers many of the answers we were looking for in the first novel。 It is structured as seven conversations between Alicia （the sister of Bobby from The Passenger） and her psychiatrist after she checks in at a mental hospital with only a toothbrush and $40k in cash。 The two spar on a range of issues from mathematics and ethics to Alicia's family and relationship with her brother。 It's by turns thrilling and mind-expanding and is a brilliant coda A companion novel to The Passenger， Stella Maris delivers many of the answers we were looking for in the first novel。 It is structured as seven conversations between Alicia （the sister of Bobby from The Passenger） and her psychiatrist after she checks in at a mental hospital with only a toothbrush and $40k in cash。 The two spar on a range of issues from mathematics and ethics to Alicia's family and relationship with her brother。 It's by turns thrilling and mind-expanding and is a brilliant coda to The Passenger。 。。。more

Jonathan ，

“If you had to say something definitive about the world in a single sentence what would that sentence be？It would be this: The world has created no living thing that it does not intend to destroy。”。One woman， a therapist， a psychiatric hospital， seven recorded sessions， infinite scholarly discussions， and answers that we never knew we needed for McCarthy’s first book in this series “The Passenger”。 This was a hypnotic page turning scientific exploration into the depths of the mind of a genius th “If you had to say something definitive about the world in a single sentence what would that sentence be？It would be this: The world has created no living thing that it does not intend to destroy。”。One woman， a therapist， a psychiatric hospital， seven recorded sessions， infinite scholarly discussions， and answers that we never knew we needed for McCarthy’s first book in this series “The Passenger”。 This was a hypnotic page turning scientific exploration into the depths of the mind of a genius that is presumed crazy from years of hallucinations， being a social outcast， and reflection on suicide。 The events in Stella Maris take place prior to The Passenger as we find the already deceased sister of the first novels main character being the focal point， and honestly， one of the most fascinating and enticing literary characters Ive encountered in awhile， a rare feat for Cormac as he doesn’t tend to write female characters into the foreground。 。A book that spans seven separate conversations between two people could presumably grow tedious and stale but Cormac McCarthy is a master of dialogue， making your brain work and fulfilling the very reason why we read， to absorb knowledge。 Diving head first into the complicated ideas of existence and the truth of what life even is。 Constant mathematical theories， physics， biology and the various obscure forms of complex sciences， comparisons between famous psychologist and mathematicians， this book spared you the use of not a single brain cell。 Unconditionally cerebral， full of heart， but most importantly full of answers to questions we didn’t even know we had， a PERFECT follow up to an amazing novel that I feel I enjoyed even more than its predecessor。 Once all was said and done， McCarthy might have even taken us full circle and explained how we got to where we were on the very first page of ‘The Passenger”。 I know I get excited about a lot of books， but this one is special， and I can see myself re-reading it over and over as I’ve found myself doing with my other favorite McCarthy novel， Blood Meridian 。。。more

Meike ，

Wow wow wow wow - I think my head just exploded。 Short recap: In The Passenger， we heard the story of Bobby Western， salvage diver， physics expert， former race car driver， and grieving brother who is still in love with his beautiful sister who killed herself （my review）。 This very sister is the protagonist of Stella Maris， the book's title being the name of the psychiatric facility she admitted herself to， now for the second time。 The whole text is made up of seven （hello， religious motif） sessi Wow wow wow wow - I think my head just exploded。 Short recap: In The Passenger， we heard the story of Bobby Western， salvage diver， physics expert， former race car driver， and grieving brother who is still in love with his beautiful sister who killed herself （my review）。 This very sister is the protagonist of Stella Maris， the book's title being the name of the psychiatric facility she admitted herself to， now for the second time。 The whole text is made up of seven （hello， religious motif） sessions with her therapist Dr。 Cohen， rendered in pure dialogue， McCarthy style， so no superfluous adornment like "he said， she said" or excessive punctuation。 And here's the kicker: The text is set in 1972， and she tells Cohen that Bobby， who is afraid of depths （！）， was in a coma after a car accident， that he was brain dead and the doctors wanted her to agree to stop life-support。 What that means for the parts of The Passenger that take place up to 10 years after the sister's suicide？ You decide。 It definitely has to do with The Kekulé Problem， McCarthy's 2017 essay that ponders the relation between language and the subconscious， between thinking and narrating - the discussion of August Kekulé in "Stella Maris" is central for understanding the workings of the double book project as a whole， as the mechanics of the subconscious are a main concern: "the actual process of thinking—in any discipline—is largely an unconscious affair。 （。。。） The truth is that there is a process here to which we have no access"， writes McCarthy in The Kekulé Problem。 While in "The Passenger"， the sister is alternately called Alice and Alicia， we now learn that she changed her name from Alice to Alicia， which plays into the core theme: Alice/Alicia is desperate because， not unlike Faust， she wants to make the sense of the world， but can't; but while Faust， also a scholar， strives for God-like knowledge and thus ultimately power， Alice/Alicia searches for meaning: What are we？ And why are we here？ There are no answers， just anger， and then， desperation and suffering: "The world has created no living thing that it does not intend to destroy。" （Meanwhile the devil in Faust: "For all that comes to bedeserves to perish wretchedly; 'Twere better nothing would begin。" - Alice/Alicia agrees and wishes to have never existed in the first place）。 These ideas permeate McCarthy's work as a whole。 "Stella Maris" is thus a work that consists mainly of philosophical ponderings and to a degree， it reads like McCarthy talking to himself about his worldview。 As in "The Passenger"， the natural sciences play a major role: Pages and pages confront the reader with higher physics and mathematics， with （mainly German） philosophy， with questions of intergenerational guilt and American history （the siblings' parents were both involved in the Manhattan Project）， with destiny and determination。 Alice/Alicia is a math prodigy who worked at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques with Alexander Grothendieck。 With Dr。 Cohen， she talks about （and this is not a full list）: Ludwig Wittgenstein， G。K。 Chesterton， George Berkeley （especially An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision）， Immanuel Kant， Richard von Krafft-Ebing， Geoffrey Chaucer， Sigmund Freud， C。G。 Jung， Willard Van Orman Quine， J。 Robert Oppenheimer， Edward Teller， Kurt Gödel （especially mathematical platonism）， Emmy Noether， Ernest Lawrence， Jean Piaget， Johann Sebastian Bach， Martin Heidegger， Edmund Husserl， David Hawkins， Oswald Spengler， Gregory Chaitin， T。D。 Lee， David Bohm， John Dillinger， Rosemary Kennedy， Charles Chihara， etc。pp。In relation to the classic trope of "what does craziness even mean？"， Alice/Alicia and her therapist grapple with the very concept of reality and what constitutes it: Alice/Alicia dismisses language （which she deems a parasite in the biological system and an epidemic）。 She ponders philosphy and religion （she is Jewish）， of course science， but also music - due to her synesthesia， she melts those systems into each other。 In context with （heavenly） rules that structure reality， there is the incest motif: Alice/Alicia does not care about the taboo and wants to have sex with her brother。 Understandably， Dr。 Cohen is rather unsettled by his patient， and there are recurring lines in their dialogue: "I don't know whether you're serious。" - "I know。"。 Alice/Alicia despises people who want to repair her， she just wants to talk。 Ultimately， Alice/Alicia， a devotee of solipsism， assumes that all problems are spiritual in nature。 Dreams play a major role in her life， and here's the key one （I say）: In the dream， Alice/Alicia looks through a peephole into a world where guards protect a door， and she knows there is something terrible behind that door， and that human longing for connection only serves to evade that presence: She calls this presence "Archatron" （Archatron does ritual sacrifices in Cities of the Plain， much like "Kid" is not only the name of one of her hallucinations， but also a protagonist in Blood Meridian， or the Evening Redness in the West ）。 Life is fear and suffering， just read， you know， everything by Cormac McCarthy。 I'm firmly convinced that "The Passenger" and especially "Stella Maris" will keep literary scientist on their toes for many， many years to come， as there is so much going on there， and the books stand on the shoulders of everything McCarthy has written before。 I will now check out Outer Dark， because I have a hunch that the baby we hear about in "The Passenger" and "Stella Maris" as well as the very beginning of "The Passenger" are a direct references to McCarthy's other incest drama。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Stella Maris

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

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