Today I want to talk about a book I absolutely love, Blood Meridian. Its a magnificently complex and exquisitely well written master piece. I read it in my Eng 223 class which focused on "Satan as a Literary Figure" (I'm catholic btw). The language the author uses transports you directly to the desolated brutality of the Old West with a lyricism that's so beautiful, so alienating, that the violence of those times feels freshly exposed. The book explores the depths of humanity and the evils within mans reckless tirades. Its a hard read. Not just because its complex but because it can be emotionally draining.
It follows a character known as the kid, (we never get to know his name) as he aimlessly transverses the old west, walking among government hired murders, devils walking among men. I don't want to give up too much because the story is a twist and turn of expectations and its really about what you make of it.
One of the quotes that stuck with me the most is the following:
“Whatever exists, he said. Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent.
He looked about at the dark forest in which they were bivouacked. He nodded toward the specimens he'd collected. These anonymous creatures, he said, may seem little or nothing in the world. Yet the smallest crumb can devour us. Any smallest thing beneath yon rock with out of men's knowing. Only nature can enslave man and only when the existence of each last entity is routed out and made to stand naked before him will he be properly suzerain of the earth.”
I thought about that quote alot while I was sick. Any crumb. We reach for stars and artificial voids, with out even turning over the wobbly rocks we stand on.
Another reason I loved the book is because it mentions my hometown, briefly and swiftly, in a list of all the places the kid passes through, but it was a surprise and gave me a shocking perspective of the role places like my little alcove played in history. I grew up hearing of the atrocities committed in those quiet deserts and I never quite got it. Anyways its an amazing read! I lovveeee it. But maybe read it while listening to the audio book (its on YouTube for free if I remember right), I did that the second time around and I wished I'd done it in the first place.
How cool that your hometown is mentioned in the book. I had to look up 'bivouacked' 'suzerain', thanks for introducing me to 'new' words :-)
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing your slideshow presentation on your hometown to the class this Saturday ^_^
Your statement, "We reach for stars and artificial voids, with out even turning over the wobbly rocks we stand on," touches me because I feel like it is so true amongst most people. Very interesting blog post, Linda.
ReplyDeleteI've added this book to my amazon wish list for future reading :) I am currently working on a different "heavy" book: Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Blood Meridian looks like an interesting read, I look forward to purchasing in the near future.
ReplyDeleteBlood Meridian sounds like a must read, you have a way with words painting a picture in your blogs. I also like the quote, thank you for the read.
ReplyDeleteWhen I worked at Borders Cormac McCarthy was a very popular author among some of our regulars. I have never read any of his books but after reading your post now I'm interested. If I can recall correctly I think The Road is his most famous novel. They even made a movie out of it. Have you read that one?
ReplyDeleteIt pretty awesome when you see or hear your hometown in a book or movie. The first line in your quote, “Whatever exists, he said. Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent." ,this has a great underlying theme. Humans believe that we have so much control of our surroundings, but in reality what was before and will be, man has no true control over.
ReplyDeleteBlood Meridian definitely sounds like an excellent book. I agree with Adrian about the statement.
ReplyDeleteBlood Meridian sounds like a good book, maybe I will check it out next time I go to the library. Thank you.
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