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Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West Audiobook
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(4.00) - 33,692 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Author of the National Book Award winner All the Pretty Horses Cormac McCarthy is one of the most provocative American stylists to emerge in the last century. The striking novel Blood Meridian offers an unflinching narrative of the brutality that accompanied the push west on the 1850s Texas frontier.
His birth ended his mother’s life in Tennessee. Scrawny and wiry, he runs away at the age of 14. As he makes his way westward, the impoverished and illiterate youth finds trouble at every turn. Then he’s recruited by Army irregulars, lured by the promise of spoils and bound for Mexico. Churning a dusty path toward destiny, he witnesses unknown horrors and suffering—and yet, as if shielded by the almighty hand of God, he survives to breathe another day.
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"This one was difficult for me due, in part, to the seamless way McCarthy blends slang, Spanish, and broken English with more conventional language. Has all the qualities of a fever dream blended with an ultra-violent western and some kind of "from-above" commentary on the history of the southwest - there's lots of material out there to help readers understand the references, context, etc. and I think looking through them AFTER you've read the book is a great idea. I also think I'd enjoy this more if I went over it again with a group of people interested in exploring some of the ideas behind the narrative and wall-to-wall prose (in some ways this is harder to read than "The Melancholy of Resistance"). Lots of amazing, unforgettable scenes and one antagonist (if you can call him that? What is an antagonist in a book full of them?)that stands hairless and peerless above the rest. Enjoyed this way more than "The Road" and felt that the craftsmanship fit the content better. In "The Road" McCarthy is just showing off, but here his writing makes everything more intense, desperate, and sometimes tedious, though that's less a fault and more an effect."
— Lucas (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“McCarthy employs a neo-Biblical rhetoric, a soaring, pulsing…Always stirring diction without parallel in American writing today.”
— USA Today -
“Blood Meridian…seems to me clearly the major esthetic achievement of any living American writer.”
— New York Observer -
“The book reads like a conflation of the Inferno, the Iliad, and Moby-Dick…An extraordinary, breathtaking achievement."
— Independent (London) -
“If what we call ‘horror’ can be seen as including any literature that has dark, horrific subject matter, then Blood Meridian is, in this reviewer’s estimation, the best horror novel ever written. It’s a perverse, picaresque Western…Imagine the imagery of Sam Peckinpah and Heironymus Bosch as written by William Faulkner, and you’ll have just an inkling of this novel’s power. From the opening scenes about a fourteen-year-old Tennessee boy who joins the band of hunters to the extraordinary, mythic ending, this is an American classic about extreme violence.”
— Amazon.com, editorial review
Awards
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Time Magazine: 1 of the 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923-2005
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A Publishers Weekly Pick for 10 Best Books Set in the American West
Blood Meridian Listener Reviews
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" McCarthy's book is definitely not for the week of heart; gore pervades his fictional work but it is not in an uncompelling way. His prose draws readers in. I would definitely recommend! "
— Caitlin, 4/12/2017 -
" By far the most terrifying book I've ever read in that it likens the west to a maelstrom of death, violence, and pure evil. Nothing is sacred in Blood Meridian. Also, it is one of the most poetically written books I've ever read. McCarthy's depictions are eloquent beyond measure and attain full bloom in this novel. "
— Nick, 2/8/2014 -
" Probably the most hideously grotesque work to date... and I loved it. "
— Pole, 1/31/2014 -
" Remarkable and horrifying, Blood Meridian is as strong a reminder as there has ever been that violence and depravity were not invented by the twentieth century, nor have they ever been absent from America. There is a curt, cold detachment to McCarthy's prose (as always) but what comes through most is the realization that deep down, humans are generally terrible people. Pretending otherwise will leave you dead in a ditch. "
— Fraser, 1/25/2014 -
" I will never again read this book. It was just way too intense. Despite the fact that the book had me looking up obscure words in the dictionary every other page and rereading paragraphs because of the complicated sentences that lacked punctuation, I was amazed by it. The vivid descriptions of the Southwestern landscapes and the incredibly violent acts committed by the characters were incredibly absorbing. I couldn't read the book for long stretches of time because it was so brutal, and yet I kept coming back to it. I've never read anything like it. "
— Ryo, 1/13/2014 -
" Macabre. Really good. I don't speak Spanish, so it would have helped to be less lazy, so that I could have looked up a lot of the Spanish language. "
— Daniel, 1/5/2014 -
" Yeah. Cormac McCarthy is a good writer. "
— Pat, 1/5/2014 -
" Cormac McCarthy at his bleakest, darkest, most chillingly awesome. "
— Rather, 1/4/2014 -
" Spietato, epico, poetico. Apocalisse americana, tra romanzo storico e tragedia shakespeariana. Scrittura sublime, a tratti arcaica. Il western definitivo. "
— Andrea, 12/26/2013 -
" I am in a minority here, but I loathe this book (having nothing to do with its content, as most people assume when you say you dislike this particular work/author) and would give it zero stars, were that an option. "
— Cameron, 12/16/2013 -
" One of my faves of all time. "
— Eryne, 12/9/2013 -
" A little difficult to read at first but once you get into the writing style McCarthy employs you can't put it down. It is one of those books that changes you. "
— Darren, 7/13/2013 -
" Wow - not for the faint of heart. Takes you to a place you'd may not want to see - love it or hate it. "
— Christine, 5/20/2013 -
" Could not finish. Too bloody, mean and sick. And I have a high tolerance for all three! "
— Sharon, 9/29/2012 -
" No, sir. . . I didn't like it. "
— Popebrak, 8/25/2012 -
" What is god if not war? "
— Bruce, 7/20/2012 -
" A blood colored diamond of American literature shaped by macabre dance of unrivaled prose. "
— Tms, 3/9/2012 -
" The most violent novel I've ever read. Extremely disturbing but also eerily beautiful. Of the McCarthy novels I've read, this is the best, and I can't imagine any I'll read in future having as much of an impact. "
— Joe, 8/6/2011 -
" Brilliant, graphically violent, dark and absolutely classic McCarthy. The Judge is one of the great villains in literature. "
— Raimo, 6/20/2011 -
" Here's an author who has truly mastered the English language. Blood Meridian is even better than Moby Dick! "
— Falice, 6/20/2011 -
" I'm speechless for now, will need to digest and collect my thoughts for a while before commenting. "
— Dave, 6/19/2011 -
" Loved it to the last page. A sinister western with proper villians and horrific deaths. Definite page turner. "
— Sarah, 6/18/2011 -
" A chilling illustration of the barbarity of humanity. Not for the faint hearted. "
— Mikaila, 6/17/2011 -
" Modern American masterpiece. The best American novel of the last fifty years? A definite contender. "
— Ben, 6/11/2011 -
" Evil will never die. A terrifying book, but I couldn't stop reading it. "
— Steven, 6/10/2011 -
" Experimental language describing horrid events and picking apart human nature; a violent philosophical adventure. There is a lot to pick at in this book. Fully engrossing and overwhelming. "
— Teej, 6/10/2011 -
" McCarthy is a master of language and his prose is incredible. The vision of humanity he portrays, however, is as bleak and empty as the color he paints it with. Admired much more than loved. "
— Matt, 6/5/2011 -
" WHAT HAPPENED? TELL ME! WHAT HAPPENED TO KID? SHIT! "
— César, 6/4/2011
About Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy (1933-2023) was an award-winning American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. The Road won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. All the Pretty Horses won the National Book Award. His works adapted to film include All the Pretty Horses, The Road, and No Country for Old Men—the latter film receiving four Academy Awards, including the award for Best Picture.
About Richard Poe
Richard Poe, a professional actor for more than thirty years, has appeared in numerous Broadway shows, including 1776 and M. Butterfly. On television he has had recurring roles on Star Trek and Frasier. His films include Born on the Fourth of July and Presumed Innocent. Poe is a well-known and prolific audiobook performer and the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards.