Fiction

Stella Maris

Stella Maris

  • Downloads：8789
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-12-26 07:51:34
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Cormac McCarthy
  • ISBN：1447294017
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

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。

Download

Reviews

John Marius Gjersvold ，

Eksistensiell！

Luke Foster ，

This book was like a wavelength。 The sections about characters was it hitting the peaks， and the sections about science and mathematics was it hitting the troughs。 I'm sure Cormac McCarthy would like that comparison。 This book was like a wavelength。 The sections about characters was it hitting the peaks， and the sections about science and mathematics was it hitting the troughs。 I'm sure Cormac McCarthy would like that comparison。 。。。more

Max Cannon ，

Not a narrative but an enthralling， philosophical （insofar as it covers the “ideas” of almost all major and minor academic disciplines） dialogue for the entirety。 Watching the recent interviews McCarthy has so graciously given， it is clear everything in this book is what he has been contemplating for a very long time。 McCarthy is a genius far surpassing just that of literature。 He is a polymath that writes out of an overflow and for the same reason as Hunter S。 Thompson: to remain forever autono Not a narrative but an enthralling， philosophical （insofar as it covers the “ideas” of almost all major and minor academic disciplines） dialogue for the entirety。 Watching the recent interviews McCarthy has so graciously given， it is clear everything in this book is what he has been contemplating for a very long time。 McCarthy is a genius far surpassing just that of literature。 He is a polymath that writes out of an overflow and for the same reason as Hunter S。 Thompson: to remain forever autonomous。 。。。more

BOOKSTHATSTAY ，

I have always enjoyed reading mysteries but to read a mystery on a chilly winter day or even better， night， is altogether a different experience！😍😍 I read The Passenger by Cormac Mc Carthy last month and couldn't wait to read Stella Maris - a masterful coda to The Passenger 😍And my mind was blown away when I read it！In The Passenger， we got to know about Bobby Western， a former race car enthusiast， diver， and physics expert。 We also got to know that he was grieving for his sister who took her ow I have always enjoyed reading mysteries but to read a mystery on a chilly winter day or even better， night， is altogether a different experience！😍😍 I read The Passenger by Cormac Mc Carthy last month and couldn't wait to read Stella Maris - a masterful coda to The Passenger 😍And my mind was blown away when I read it！In The Passenger， we got to know about Bobby Western， a former race car enthusiast， diver， and physics expert。 We also got to know that he was grieving for his sister who took her own life。 In Stella Maris， we get to know about his sister， Alicia Western， who was a doctoral student in Mathematics at the University of Chicago at the mere age of 20。Told entirely through the transcripts of psychiatric sessions， we get to know about her hallucinations， her troubled childhood， her brother who she grieved after he went into a coma due to a car accident， and her mental illness for which she enrolled herself。Alicia who was diagnosed with Schizophrenia discussed with her therapist， Dr。 Cohen， her views and philosophy on the meaning of life。 It was interesting and at times terrifying to read her thoughts on life， science， and her brother。 While Stella Maris answers some of the questions that I had in The Passenger， like the alternate use of the names， Alice and Alicia， by her brother Bobby， some questions still remain。I reread The Passenger after reading Stella Maris， and it felt like I was reading a different book。🙈 These books together form one big puzzle and I must say that I absolutely enjoyed reading them！ There is so much going on in them。 They are brilliant and I have never read anything like this before！ 😍😍 。。。more

Nicole ，

Vielen Dank an Netgalley und den Argon Verlag für das kostenlose Hörbuch-Leseexemplar。Nachdem ich für das Hörbuch bestätigt wurde， realisierte ich， dass es ein zweiter Teil ist。 Weil ich dachte， ich müsste "Der Psssagier" zuerst lesen， habe ich dieses Hörbuch gekauft und zu hören begonnen。 Leider kam ich mit dem Passagier überhaupt nicht klar und gab es zurück。 Mit Stella Maris hatte ich von Anfang an ein viel besseres Hör-Erlebnis und hatte nicht im geringsten das Gefühl， dass mir etwas fehlte， Vielen Dank an Netgalley und den Argon Verlag für das kostenlose Hörbuch-Leseexemplar。Nachdem ich für das Hörbuch bestätigt wurde， realisierte ich， dass es ein zweiter Teil ist。 Weil ich dachte， ich müsste "Der Psssagier" zuerst lesen， habe ich dieses Hörbuch gekauft und zu hören begonnen。 Leider kam ich mit dem Passagier überhaupt nicht klar und gab es zurück。 Mit Stella Maris hatte ich von Anfang an ein viel besseres Hör-Erlebnis und hatte nicht im geringsten das Gefühl， dass mir etwas fehlte， da ich den ersten Teil nicht kannte。 Dennoch fand ich den Psychiater und seine Fragen wirklich nervig。 Ständig wiederholte er Alicias Aussagen in Frageform。 Oder frug endlos "Warum？"。 Da wir hier nur diese beiden Charaktere haben， hätte mir eine "Full-Cast-Audio-Produktion" wohl besser gefallen。 Abgesehen davon beinhaltete die Geschichte viele interessante Denkansätze。 Dreieinhalb Sterne von mir。 #argonverlag #StellaMaris #NetGalleyDE 。。。more

Michael Suire ，

I finish this book on Christmas day on purpose， a way to look back on it in the future and remember it fondly， hoping that the association with fond， childhood memories of this special day will make the book the better for it。 My little contribution to maintaining my view of McCarthy as one of the best writers in history。 But maybe Christmas doesn't have that shine anymore。 I finish this book on Christmas day on purpose， a way to look back on it in the future and remember it fondly， hoping that the association with fond， childhood memories of this special day will make the book the better for it。 My little contribution to maintaining my view of McCarthy as one of the best writers in history。 But maybe Christmas doesn't have that shine anymore。 。。。more

Gregory ，

Written entirely in dialogue as a therapy session between a doctor and his patient Alicia （the sister of Bobby Western） from The Passenger who constantly interrupted that book with the conversations she had with her multiple personalities。 But now it's just analysis; of her life as a prodigy， mathematics， philosophy。 All of which were done better in The Passenger。 The only interesting hint at Alicia's character is the last twenty or so pages， where we finally get some answers about her and Bobby Written entirely in dialogue as a therapy session between a doctor and his patient Alicia （the sister of Bobby Western） from The Passenger who constantly interrupted that book with the conversations she had with her multiple personalities。 But now it's just analysis; of her life as a prodigy， mathematics， philosophy。 All of which were done better in The Passenger。 The only interesting hint at Alicia's character is the last twenty or so pages， where we finally get some answers about her and Bobby's incestuous relationship， before the book ends abruptly。 。。。more

Bart ，

Tedious

benny b ，

What's a gluon？ What's a gluon？ 。。。more

Sol Smith ，

Have you ever had such an accident attack of existential angst that you thought the only possible thing that could help you make sense of the world would be if one of the greatest writers of the 21st Century wrote a two-book series about math and grief and mental illness？ If so， 2022 is the literary year for you。 This is McCarthy’s second book about the mathematical savant who probably suffers from schizophrenia。 This was， honestly， maybe better this “The Passenger，” though very short and could Have you ever had such an accident attack of existential angst that you thought the only possible thing that could help you make sense of the world would be if one of the greatest writers of the 21st Century wrote a two-book series about math and grief and mental illness？ If so， 2022 is the literary year for you。 This is McCarthy’s second book about the mathematical savant who probably suffers from schizophrenia。 This was， honestly， maybe better this “The Passenger，” though very short and could have served as a simple part two of the same novel。 It’s simply a series of interviews between a patient and her doctor as they cover exactly why she has checked herself in to a hospital。 I recommend the audio version， though the $20 price tag is sort of insane for a four hour read （two hours， at my speed）。 Excellent book， though。 。。。more

Nigel ，

A call for human decency in a world filled with terror。

Joyce ，

More than “Alright。” A lot more。 Intriguing。

Mike ，

Intriguing， interesting， must read in combination with / after The Passenger。

Drew Norwood ，

This is more like an appendix to The Passenger than a separate novel。 It also felt like The Sunset Limited 2。0。

Dan Falkenheim ，

Eludes rating。 Stella Maris is closer to a Socratic dialogue than a narrative-driven novel， and it’s best to be prepared for that。 The novel harps on the philosophy of mathematics: if math isn’t an invention of our mind and exists independent of it， what *is* math？ How do we *do* it？ What does that say about the universe？ Not every question is answered。 Stella Maris takes similar plunges into the nature of the unconscious， the notion of “objective” reality， psychology and the universe itself。 Ea Eludes rating。 Stella Maris is closer to a Socratic dialogue than a narrative-driven novel， and it’s best to be prepared for that。 The novel harps on the philosophy of mathematics: if math isn’t an invention of our mind and exists independent of it， what *is* math？ How do we *do* it？ What does that say about the universe？ Not every question is answered。 Stella Maris takes similar plunges into the nature of the unconscious， the notion of “objective” reality， psychology and the universe itself。 Each inquiry is carried through Alicia， our protagonist， who is trapped in a world that denies her love， peace and justice。 Her hallucinations splinter her reality and her mathematical genius provides no help。 Minor quips: Alicia， billed as McCarthy’s first female protagonist since Outer Dark， feels like she’s there to serve his philosophical musings at points。 The construction of Alicia’s Jewishness feels very fraught。 There’s also a weird fetishization of a maverick type of intelligence。 And don’t get me started on “girljuice”Liked it less than The Passenger but found it engaging。 。。。more

Randi Hermening ，

The lesson I will take from this is that when you （or Bobby） go to dark places looking for answers， you won’t find them。 You may even end up with more questions。

Paulette Lasota Harnach ，

Maybe I should have read The Passenger first。 It was too abstract for my liking。

Alex O'Connor ，

A deeply moving and beautiful book that only made the tragedy of Alicia's death more acute。 Incredibly interesting and thoughtful。 Every word was powerful。 Passenger/Stella Maris duology is absolutely my favorite McCarthy。 A deeply moving and beautiful book that only made the tragedy of Alicia's death more acute。 Incredibly interesting and thoughtful。 Every word was powerful。 Passenger/Stella Maris duology is absolutely my favorite McCarthy。 。。。more

Michael Rhoda ，

Cormac spends most of his career writing about cowboys who barely grunt at each other， then in his last book you have to follow some deep philosophical and mathematical conservation that you need a doctorate in both to fully follow。 Not much of a story as opposed to a dissertation on his view of life， but better than The Passenger。

Paulette Ponte ，

Stella Maris is all about Bobby Western's sister Alicia。 The format is 7 chapters between Alicia and her therapist at Stella Maris， a psych hospital where she has admitted herself。 We know from the Passenger that Alicia is schizophrenic and she's a mathematical genius。 The book describes Alicia's life。 We met Alicia in The Passenger at times when she was talking to her hallucinatory friends。 This is all explained in Stella Maris。 Her relationship with Bobby is explained more deeply than in The P Stella Maris is all about Bobby Western's sister Alicia。 The format is 7 chapters between Alicia and her therapist at Stella Maris， a psych hospital where she has admitted herself。 We know from the Passenger that Alicia is schizophrenic and she's a mathematical genius。 The book describes Alicia's life。 We met Alicia in The Passenger at times when she was talking to her hallucinatory friends。 This is all explained in Stella Maris。 Her relationship with Bobby is explained more deeply than in The Passenger。 I don't think that many answers to the Passenger were answered， however， I feel that Stella Maris could be a book on it's own。 So much about Mathematics and philosophy。 I loved this book。 。。。more

Lauren ，

3。5

Julia ，

This book has reached my soul on a level I don’t fully understand。 How can the last exchange of dialogue between Dr。 Cohen and Alicia be so simple， yet so hauntingly beautiful that I find myself crying each time I go back to read their words again？ If I could only ever read one book for the rest of my life， this would be it。Since that’s not the case， I’m looking forward to going back and re-reading The Passenger， which was an admittedly much slower read for me， one I spent a lot more time thinki This book has reached my soul on a level I don’t fully understand。 How can the last exchange of dialogue between Dr。 Cohen and Alicia be so simple， yet so hauntingly beautiful that I find myself crying each time I go back to read their words again？ If I could only ever read one book for the rest of my life， this would be it。Since that’s not the case， I’m looking forward to going back and re-reading The Passenger， which was an admittedly much slower read for me， one I spent a lot more time thinking about， whereas I spent all of Stella Maris in my feelings。 I read both titles on Kindle and had purchased the box set for my Mom’s Christmas gift earlier today。 But now I don’t think I want to give them away （sorry Mom）。 I’m off to change all other 5 star reviews I’ve left on Good Reads to 4 stars and no， I’m not kidding。 。。。more

Oliver Goddard ，

A disruptive coda。 Deceptively straight-forward。 The dialogue crackles。

Tom ，

I thoroughly enjoyed this but， again， it’s an odd book to rate。 There are a few clues about the narrative aspects of The Passenger， but McCarthy’s not interested in wrapping up those parts of the story。 Instead he focuses on that relationship between our theories and reality that seemed to occupy the characters in that book。 It’s main strength as a “companion” novel is that it retrospectively grew my appreciation of some of my least favourite parts of the other book。 I’m probably an outlier in t I thoroughly enjoyed this but， again， it’s an odd book to rate。 There are a few clues about the narrative aspects of The Passenger， but McCarthy’s not interested in wrapping up those parts of the story。 Instead he focuses on that relationship between our theories and reality that seemed to occupy the characters in that book。 It’s main strength as a “companion” novel is that it retrospectively grew my appreciation of some of my least favourite parts of the other book。 I’m probably an outlier in that I happen to be working on some of the more philosophically-minded stuff that is discussed in the novel （Frege， Russell， and Wittgenstein all get a run out）。 But I’m no mathematician or physicist and I enjoyed the use to which McCarthy puts those discussions too。 。。。more

Trace Nichols ，

Talk about "hit"。。。 after Part I was such a "miss" for me。 Hard to describe how much these felt like different authors at times。 "。。。the second volume of The Passenger series: Stella Maris is an intimate portrait of grief and longing， as a young woman in a psychiatric facility seeks to understand her own existence。" Smart， sad， thought-provoking novel。 The audio book is a treasure as two greats of narration - Edoardo Ballerini and Julia Whelan - bring this story to life。 The whole book is a conv Talk about "hit"。。。 after Part I was such a "miss" for me。 Hard to describe how much these felt like different authors at times。 "。。。the second volume of The Passenger series: Stella Maris is an intimate portrait of grief and longing， as a young woman in a psychiatric facility seeks to understand her own existence。" Smart， sad， thought-provoking novel。 The audio book is a treasure as two greats of narration - Edoardo Ballerini and Julia Whelan - bring this story to life。 The whole book is a conversation between the two （therapist and patient）。 。。。more

Wanda Keith ，

I might rate this book higher if I weren't hoping for some answers to #1。 What I found with #2 is a conversation with McCarthy and his philosophy on life。 I enjoyed the banter between Alicia and her therapist， but I was hoping for more of a tie in with #1。 In this book， Bobby has died。 Therefore， how did he show up years later after Alicia had already killed herself？ Where did the person from the airplane disappear to and why were the men wanting to kill Bobby？ I have enjoyed previous McCarthy b I might rate this book higher if I weren't hoping for some answers to #1。 What I found with #2 is a conversation with McCarthy and his philosophy on life。 I enjoyed the banter between Alicia and her therapist， but I was hoping for more of a tie in with #1。 In this book， Bobby has died。 Therefore， how did he show up years later after Alicia had already killed herself？ Where did the person from the airplane disappear to and why were the men wanting to kill Bobby？ I have enjoyed previous McCarthy books， but I am not going to praise him for his vast intelligence when he has left me with a couple of hours that I can't get back and zero understanding of why I wasted them。 。。。more

MissionManSF ，

Oddly enough， I found this short work more compelling， focused and less self-indulgent than The Passenger， although again the quantum physics feels like McCarthy’s obsessive need to prove his characters’ （and his own， and maybe the reader’s） exceptionalism。 Stella Maris is perhaps just an addendum to The Passenger， lacking some of the letter’s flashes of brilliance， but it worked far better for me overall。Not really sure all this adds up to， finally， a believable female character for McCarthy—th Oddly enough， I found this short work more compelling， focused and less self-indulgent than The Passenger， although again the quantum physics feels like McCarthy’s obsessive need to prove his characters’ （and his own， and maybe the reader’s） exceptionalism。 Stella Maris is perhaps just an addendum to The Passenger， lacking some of the letter’s flashes of brilliance， but it worked far better for me overall。Not really sure all this adds up to， finally， a believable female character for McCarthy—the trans character from The Passenger comes closer perhaps， although both characters are defined almost entirely by their desire for the male protagonist。 Western may not appear in this work， but…his absence structures and drives this narrative as well， even while it ostensibly strives to “explain” his sister。 The audio version of Stella Maris is quite good， especially Julia Whelan， and while I could always listen to the much-praised Edoardo Ballerini’s voice quite happily， his suave delivery here perhaps adds too much dimension and attention to his opaque character。 In fact， I felt at times I was listening to Kai Ryssdal do Marketplace， which here was a bit distracting。 。。。more

K's Bognoter ，

Stella Maris， der er et slags coda til Cormac McCarthys seneste roman， The Passenger， er kompositorisk en noget strammere sag end forgængeren。 Men den er ikke desto mindre også en rodet omgang og prætentiøst overlæsset med matematiske og filosofiske referencer， der gør romanen unødvendigt vanskelig at læse。Læs hele min anmeldelse på K’s bognoter: https://bognoter。dk/2022/12/23/cormac。。。 Stella Maris， der er et slags coda til Cormac McCarthys seneste roman， The Passenger， er kompositorisk en noget strammere sag end forgængeren。 Men den er ikke desto mindre også en rodet omgang og prætentiøst overlæsset med matematiske og filosofiske referencer， der gør romanen unødvendigt vanskelig at læse。Læs hele min anmeldelse på K’s bognoter: https://bognoter。dk/2022/12/23/cormac。。。 。。。more

Joe Hobson ，

I was trying to save this one to read during the holidays， but I couldn't resist and it's short， and even though I read slowly and only about a chapter per day， I was through it quickly。 I agree with some other reviewers that it's more about McCarthy himself， and his contemplation of The Kekulé Problem， a piece that I've revisited several times over the last few years， and will undoubtedly read again this week。 There's a context and a connection to the Passenger， but if anything it just feel I was trying to save this one to read during the holidays， but I couldn't resist and it's short， and even though I read slowly and only about a chapter per day， I was through it quickly。 I agree with some other reviewers that it's more about McCarthy himself， and his contemplation of The Kekulé Problem， a piece that I've revisited several times over the last few years， and will undoubtedly read again this week。 There's a context and a connection to the Passenger， but if anything it just feels like I was given another reason to reconsider that book， and what he really wanted to talk about， under the cover of another fiction。 。。。more

Natalie DiDomenico ，

This book put my brain in a blender

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