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The Passenger & Stella Maris: Boxed Set

The Passenger & Stella Maris: Boxed Set

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-12-20 08:51:52
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Cormac McCarthy
  • ISBN：1035003805
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Summary

A beautiful， limited edition slipcase containing Cormac McCarthy's two-book masterpiece

THE PASSENGER

Cormac McCarthy’s first novel in more than a decade。

‘[McCarthy] writers prose as clean as a bullet cutting through the air and constructs tales as compelling as any you will read’ – Telegraph

A SUNKEN JET。 NINE PASSENGERS。 A MISSING BODY。
The Passenger is the story of a salvage diver， haunted by loss， afraid of the watery deep， pursued for a conspiracy beyond his understanding， and longing for a death he cannot reconcile with God。

STELLA MARIS

The masterful coda to The Passenger from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Road。

‘One of the greatest American novels of this or any other time’ – Guardian

GOD。 TRUTH。 EXISTENCE。

Stella Maris is the story of a mathematician， twenty years old， admitted to the hospital with forty thousand dollars in a plastic bag and one request: She does not want to talk about her brother。

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Reviews

Jaime Fernández Garrido ，

Hay que reconocer que el arranque del nuevo libro de Cormac McCarthy es totalmente desconcertante， tanto la página introductoria como la presentación de la protagonista femenina。 Poco a poco todo cobra sentido y vemos que hay una narración en diferentes planos， similar a la que el autor ya había probado en "No es país para viejos"。 Y desde el momento del descubrimiento del truco narrativo ya sólo queda disfrutar y empaparse de esos diálogos maravillosos que caracterizan la literatura de este aut Hay que reconocer que el arranque del nuevo libro de Cormac McCarthy es totalmente desconcertante， tanto la página introductoria como la presentación de la protagonista femenina。 Poco a poco todo cobra sentido y vemos que hay una narración en diferentes planos， similar a la que el autor ya había probado en "No es país para viejos"。 Y desde el momento del descubrimiento del truco narrativo ya sólo queda disfrutar y empaparse de esos diálogos maravillosos que caracterizan la literatura de este autor y que llevan la historia prácticamente en volandas y sin necesidad de mucha más narración。 En este libro McCarthy nos habla de Vietnam， de la transexualidad， de los turistas， de los rescates submarinos y las soldaduras hiperbáricas， de los coches de carreras， de los hombres de negro， de Oppenheimer y la bomba atómica， de mecánica cuántica， del asesinato de Kennedy y la conspiranoia， de los violines Amati y de Bach， de Grothendieck y las matemáticas， de las terapias psiquiátricas y la enfermedad mental， del suicidio。。。 Y también de ese pasajero que está en el título de la novela， que realmente se diluye en la narración y que en un momento dado deja de ser relevante。"Stella Maris" se presenta como un apéndice de 200 páginas a "El pasajero"， y transcurre íntegramente en el psiquiátrico que lleva ese nombre。 Realmente yo no la veo como una novela aparte， sino como un capítulo largo que McCarthy decide separar para darle entidad propia y así darle mayor consistencia a la protagonista femenina。 De hecho el final del libro se encadena de manera directa con el arranque， acabando con todo el desconcierto que sentimos nada más empezar。 Ahí descubres que hay frases del principio que son imposibles de entender sin acabar el libro。De tal manera， y viendo que es un círculo sin fin， al llegar a la última página he decidido leerme la novela entera de nuevo， haciendo algo que no había hecho jamás， que es leerme el mismo libro dos veces seguidas。 Y tengo que reconocer que lo he disfrutado más todavía que la primera vez。 。。。more

Laura ，

Mi favorito de entre todos los suyos。 Una obra maestra terrorífica y hermosísima a la vez。 Lynchiano。 Como un sueño hipnótico。

Roger DeBlanck ，

The Passenger:The same as McCarthy’s legions of fans， I’ve been waiting a long time for The Passenger。 Over the last decade and a half， I’ve often wondered if its publication might be posthumous， lending to speculation that McCarthy had never reached satisfaction to declare it finished。 Everyone who reveres McCarthy is now posed with assessing whether The Passenger deserves distinction as another “masterpiece” alongside many of his other incomparable works， which tower to some of the greatest he The Passenger:The same as McCarthy’s legions of fans， I’ve been waiting a long time for The Passenger。 Over the last decade and a half， I’ve often wondered if its publication might be posthumous， lending to speculation that McCarthy had never reached satisfaction to declare it finished。 Everyone who reveres McCarthy is now posed with assessing whether The Passenger deserves distinction as another “masterpiece” alongside many of his other incomparable works， which tower to some of the greatest heights in American literary history。Having read every McCarthy work， I would not rank The Passenger among his best， but that’s unfair and irrelevant because who can do what he does？ No one。 That’s the reason I loved The Passenger。 It’s vintage McCarthy: his utilization of transcendent prose with minimal punctuation to meditate on death， grief， despair， loneliness， the struggle of existence， and the incomprehension of the universe。The Passenger gripped and stirred me with intrigue and compassion where my heart was constantly racing about where the narrative was taking me。 Bobby Western， the protagonist， is fascinating。 He’s a salvage diver who has recently examined a plane crashed in the Gulf Coast off New Orleans。 When he reaches the wreckage and enters the cabin， he discovers a passenger missing along with the plane’s black box。 As Western grapples with the inexplicability of the plane’s circumstances and other haunting events that have him eluding danger， the novel balances back and forth from past to present with scenes heavy on philosophical dialogue， whether in seedy bars or within mesmerizing landscapes and cityscapes。 Western is also mourning the suicide of his beloved sister， who suffered from schizophrenia。 Their father worked on the Trinity Project and the eventual atomic bombs that erased Hiroshima and Nagasaki。 Experiencing the recreation of historical tragedies the way only McCarthy can describe them transports you to places where you can feel every sentient detail and painful memory。The Passenger is riveting and haunting at every turn， and what makes it splendid is its incandescent， entrancing prose。 McCarthy’s hymnal-like lyricism reinvents language like prophecy， and no one conjures breathtaking images like he does both for the physical and metaphysical worlds he examines。 I marveled over the range， beauty， and ingenuity of his language and ideas。What makes The Passenger different in relation to McCarthy’s other astounding works is that it actually reads faster than most of his books。 At the same time it’s also daunting and challenging and rewarding in the best way that hard work is not work at all if you love what you’re doing。 McCarthy’s dark wit and grave humor are often underappreciated， and he truly outdoes anything he’s ever done with the amount of comedic moments in this novel。 Of course， it’s dark， disturbing， and eerie， but I also smiled a lot—that is， when I wasn’t catching my breath from the suspense and the unknowable journey McCarthy was taking me on。 No different than every McCarthy work， The Passenger takes you to a spellbinding world， entirely rooted in reality yet seeking for something unnamable and seemingly unattainable， which for McCarthy might be “God” or the genesis of a godlike source。 The Passenger may haunt you， enlighten you， or perhaps baffle or frustrate some readers， but if you’re like me， I savored every page and didn’t want it to end。Stella Maris: Stella Maris is the addendum novel， or might I say the “sister” piece to The Passenger in McCarthy’s masterful two-book series carrying the latter’s name。 While the focus of The Passenger is on the journey of Bobby Western as he grapples with threatening forces that derail his ability to live a normal life， Stella Maris focuses on Bobby’s younger sister Alicia and her devastating struggles to maintain her sanity。The title of the “sister” novel refers to the psychiatric facility in Wisconsin where Alicia has admitted herself in efforts to delay her intent to commit suicide。 The novel comprises seven dialogue sequences between Alicia and Dr。 Cohen， a psychiatrist at Stella Maris。 These sessions are engaging and fascinating， but mostly profound in their intellectual musings and contemplations， while also offering details about Alicia’s life and insight to her mental instability， which are peripheral topics throughout The Passenger。 Alicia is a genius of mathematics， and her conversations with Dr。 Cohen reveal both her prodigious intelligence and her obsession with wanting to understand the meaning and mystery of life and the universe。 Although Alicia’s lengthy expositions on math， science， and philosophy in efforts to probe human consciousness and the dreamworld are often beyond summarization， I was locked in and gripped to her brilliance and vulnerability， and I had compassion for her lifelong struggles to control her innermost demons causing her paranoia and schizophrenia。 If you’re an unwavering fan of McCarthy like me， I’m fine with his decision to examine the lives of Bobby and Alicia in separate books。 However， I also think if he had incorporated Alicia’s dialogue sessions as chapters within Bobby’s story from the first book， it might have made for an even more riveting and haunting literary experience。 Regardless， as many McCarthy fans will attest to， both novels are satisfying in their yearning for truth and meaning about the inexplicability of human existence。 What makes McCarthy such a great writer is that he is a seeker， who seemingly declares his uncertainty about the very nature of life and death， before he sets out in search of ways to believe in a “godlike” consciousness beyond ourselves。 For me， I’ll travel with his mind and vision anywhere he wants to lead， and if The Passenger series serves as his coda， he has given us a lifetime of ideas to contemplate。 。。。more

Marco Antonio ，

El Pasajero tiene reminiscencias de DeLillo y Stella Maris es GolemXIV de Lem， todo ello revisitado， clásico y actual a la vez。 Todo es una excusa， un andamiaje， una trampa de diálogos。 Pura trascendencia。 Todo ello escrito por un maldito genio de 90 añazos （acabo de ver su edad y flipo fuerte） que siempre ha sabido transitar por el abismo。 Un libro difícil de narices en el que si entras， no sales。 También entiendo que podía haber salido escupido a las 30 páginas， pero mira， ha tocado hueso y aú El Pasajero tiene reminiscencias de DeLillo y Stella Maris es GolemXIV de Lem， todo ello revisitado， clásico y actual a la vez。 Todo es una excusa， un andamiaje， una trampa de diálogos。 Pura trascendencia。 Todo ello escrito por un maldito genio de 90 añazos （acabo de ver su edad y flipo fuerte） que siempre ha sabido transitar por el abismo。 Un libro difícil de narices en el que si entras， no sales。 También entiendo que podía haber salido escupido a las 30 páginas， pero mira， ha tocado hueso y aún no sé por qué。 Ni me importa。 。。。more

CharlieBitsMe ，

16 años pueden parecer un largo periodo para escribir un libro。。。 Hasta que uno lee esta novela y piensa en que no parece ni razonable que todo esto provenga de una sola mente。Dos personajes， Bobby y Alice， que sirven como protagonistas de 2 historias interrelacionadas en periodos temporales diferentes （1980 y 1972）。 Dos hermanos que deben soportar cargas demasiado pesadas: la familiar （ser hijos de uno de los inventores de la bomba atómica）， la personal （ser personas excepcionalmente dotadas en 16 años pueden parecer un largo periodo para escribir un libro。。。 Hasta que uno lee esta novela y piensa en que no parece ni razonable que todo esto provenga de una sola mente。Dos personajes， Bobby y Alice， que sirven como protagonistas de 2 historias interrelacionadas en periodos temporales diferentes （1980 y 1972）。 Dos hermanos que deben soportar cargas demasiado pesadas: la familiar （ser hijos de uno de los inventores de la bomba atómica）， la personal （ser personas excepcionalmente dotadas en sus capacidades intelectuales， especialmente Alice， una genio matemática que acabará auto-internándose en un psiquiátrico） y la relacional （amor incetuoso）。Sin lugar a dudas estamos ante la obra más "diferente" de Cormac McCarthy。 Para él no es nueva la exploración de la psicología de personas que viven aisladas o en los márgenes de lo socialmente aceptable; y la historia de Bobby， acosado por misteriosos funcionarios del Gobierno， con pocos y extraños amigos es un buen reflejo de otras obras como Suttree o El Guardián del Vergel。 Pero si bien en anteriores ocasiones aceptamos cierto nihilismo o determinación hacia el fracaso， en esta ocasión nos interpela con continuas reflexiones y disertaciones sobre la raíz y la naturaleza del problema del Hombre， que según Alice es puramente espiritual。 Recopilando la obra y la visión del mundo de decenas de matemáticos y filósofos de una forma realmente enciclopédica （utilizo este adjetivo de forma deliberada）， McCarthy construye una miriada de reflexiones utilizando como principal herramienta el diálogo， del cual McCarthy es todo un maestro。Esta forma es literalmente toda la segunda parte del libro （Stella Maris）， en la que se reproducen las entrevistas de Alice con su psiquiatra y en las que la parte de la reflexión filosófica se hace explícita y se erige como verdadera protagonista。Y al final siempre las mismas preguntas sin respuesta: ¿qué somos？ ¿qué consideramos qué es la locura o qué la cordura？ ¿estamos diseñados para entender el Universo？ y lo más importante ¿podemos llegar a entenderlo sin destruirnos a nosotros mismos？ 。。。more

José Nebreda ，

Después de 50 aburridisimas páginas repletas de， por supuesto， correcta， experimental y muy cargante gramática ， he decidido cerrar este tostón y empezar otra cosa。 Tal vez no era el momento。 Tal vez en otra ocasión。 Y es una pena， siempre he disfrutado con el autor de La carretera… Necesito una historia y no experimentos literarios。

Luis Miguel ，

Rayada de principio a fin difícil de digerir。 Capítulos en los que tienta no terminar los párrafos。 Uno de los dos personajes protagonistas es el arquetipo de hombre en otros libros de McCarthy。 No digo que esté mal construido pero sí deja la impresión de haberlo encontrado antes。 Otros parecen sacados de las novelas de Palahniuk （deben ser muy "normales" en USA）。Me ha dejado frío， y eso que lo esperaba con ganas。 Rayada de principio a fin difícil de digerir。 Capítulos en los que tienta no terminar los párrafos。 Uno de los dos personajes protagonistas es el arquetipo de hombre en otros libros de McCarthy。 No digo que esté mal construido pero sí deja la impresión de haberlo encontrado antes。 Otros parecen sacados de las novelas de Palahniuk （deben ser muy "normales" en USA）。Me ha dejado frío， y eso que lo esperaba con ganas。 。。。more

Mateo Toledo ，

Difícil

Repix ，

No es Meridiano de sangre ni La carretera， esto es tedioso， disperso y sin sentido。

Albert Kadmon ，

Hace casi veinte años que Cormac McCarthy instaló su mesa de escritura en el Santa Fe Institute， entre físicos teóricos， astrónomos y matemáticos。 Un periodo de tiempo similar al abandono de la lectura de novela moderna para volcarse en los principales retos científicos y su relación con la lingüística。 Similar al encierro que realizó Ferlosio para volcarse en sus altos estudios eclesiales de lingüística， aquí el autor americano ha compartido similar obsesión gramatológica en la tercera edad que Hace casi veinte años que Cormac McCarthy instaló su mesa de escritura en el Santa Fe Institute， entre físicos teóricos， astrónomos y matemáticos。 Un periodo de tiempo similar al abandono de la lectura de novela moderna para volcarse en los principales retos científicos y su relación con la lingüística。 Similar al encierro que realizó Ferlosio para volcarse en sus altos estudios eclesiales de lingüística， aquí el autor americano ha compartido similar obsesión gramatológica en la tercera edad que， en su caso， ha encontrado ecos en científicos pioneros de la teoría de cuerdas， la teoría de la gravitación universal o de la matriz que discuten los personajes de su nueva doble novela。https://theobjective。com/cultura/2022。。。 。。。more

Meike ，

Part 1: The PassengerCormac McCarthy， America's finest author of postmodern westerns， switches gears and gives us a kafkaesk pageturner about a salvage diver named Bobby Western （A+ for literary trolling， love it）。 But make no mistake: This novel still ponders American myth， the 89-year-old author creatively twists his classic themes into a novel that feels fresh and only familiar if you look closer at what McCarthy does。 Let's try to disentangle the intricate plot: Bobby and his colleagues dive Part 1: The PassengerCormac McCarthy， America's finest author of postmodern westerns， switches gears and gives us a kafkaesk pageturner about a salvage diver named Bobby Western （A+ for literary trolling， love it）。 But make no mistake: This novel still ponders American myth， the 89-year-old author creatively twists his classic themes into a novel that feels fresh and only familiar if you look closer at what McCarthy does。 Let's try to disentangle the intricate plot: Bobby and his colleagues dive for a sunken airplane， but find one body and the black box missing。 Suddenly， agents start chasing Bobby， rumaging his apartment and questioning him， one of his colleagues mysteriously dies in Venezuela， the government strips Bobby of his financial means and voids his passport， citing tax issues。 Yes， folks: Plotline A is Kafka's The Trial， McCarthy style。Meanwhile， we learn that Bobby was in love with his schizophrenic sister Alice/Alicia （both names exist in the novel， adding to the general feeling of destabilization） who killed herself， and that he is still grieving her。 In intersections， we meet Alice/Alicia - and her hallucinations， worn out vaudeville and minstrel characters she has philosphical conversations with。 At least that is we as readers think， until Bobby meets one of them in real life。。。 or is it a dream？ a coma？ The whole novel is one big oscillation， a mirage。And， as promised， we have smart twists on American myth: Bobby inherits gold and has to dig for it in his grandmother's basement （the poor man's goldrush）; he gets into oil - at least at an oil rig （hello， No Country for Old Men）; he takes trips that complement his inner journey ， but not only to the West （frontier pushing/On the Road）， but in all directions， even becoming a race car driver in Europe at some point; aaaand - you've been waiting for it， you get it！ - this is my fellow Catholic McCarthy， so we ponder one of the original sins of America， which in this case is not the genocide the country was build on （Blood Meridian， or the Evening Redness in the West）， but the atom bomb: Bobby's father worked with Oppenheimer， and Bobby is haunted by intergenerational guilt。The novel heavily relies on dialogue， it is almost an oral history of everyday America and its relationship with American history: We get many， many scenes in bars and other closed quarters where Bobby talks about all kinds of things， from love to John F。 Kennedy， with friends and acquaintances， including a transwoman - McCarthy is usually not a writer that incorporates many female perspectives， this is his first work that， with Alice/Alicia， even has a female protagonist。 The many dialogues mirror the theme of reflection and inward travel， but also allow the author to touch upon all kinds of additional subjects。 Between that， we get many slower ruminations and highly complex scientific explanations: Not only was Bobby's father a physicist， Bobby also studied physics at Caltech， and his late sister was a math genius。The time- and plotlines are fragmented and readers have to play close attention to stay on top of this ambitious work。 As the plot progresses， Bobby gets further and further reduced， turning more and more inward。 While most of McCarthy's other novels （just look at the border trilogy） describe nature as both beautiful and relentless， we now get powerful， luminous descriptions of the underwater world， a world that is also scary， cold， and deadly。 This protagonist does not venture West， he ventures into the deep。Sure， there is too much going on here， and the scientific details that now juxtapose the religious motif are excessively intricate， but you know what？ This is a masterfully crafted， intelligent， ambitious pageturner， and I loved reading it （although what unsettled me is how McCarthy， as mentioned: 89， employed the passenger motif: There is A LOT of nonchalance here when it comes to passing over to the realm of the dead）。 On to the sibling novel that focuses on Alice/Alicia， Stella Maris。Part 2: Stella MarisWow 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。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， August Kekulé， 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）， 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。 。。。more

Reference

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

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

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