Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy review:
The book "Blood Meridian" transports the reader to the wild, untamed American West and reveals the cruelty and bloodshed that characterized its past. The story paints a distressing and challenging picture of humanity's deepest inclinations through its vivid, frequently beautiful words.
Judge Holden, a tall and mysterious character who personifies the evil that permeates the novel's world, stands at the center of the narrative. He dominates every page, and he frequently has strange and unsettling interactions with the other characters.
The work contains explicit descriptions of unrelenting brutality. The senselessness and banality of the violence, though, are arguably what stands out the most. The characters in the book murder without cause or regret, and they frequently do so out of a sense of perverted pleasure, bloodlust, or avarice.
Although having a depressing and pessimistic attitude, "Blood Meridian" is a powerful literary work. McCarthy paints a vivid and lasting picture of a world that is both beautiful and horrible in his often magnificent words. The book is difficult to read, but for those who are prepared to face its grim realities, it is also rewarding.
Ultimately, "Blood Meridian" is a book that resists simple classification. It is a work of historical fiction that also explores the nature of evil and critiques the myths of progress and manifest destiny that are prevalent in America. It is a frightening and difficult book that will stick with the reader long after the last page is turned.