I haven’t really read a book for my own entertainment since like 5th or sixth grade (I’m in 9th now) and I requested my schools librarian to get blood meridian. I heard that judge Holden was a very good villain and I wanted to read this book since I really like a good villain or antagonist. Do you think I would like blood meridian considered I haven’t really read a book. (For my own pleasure) in a while.
by niggleme
18 Comments
It is good. It is not an easy read, (it is a hard read) but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. Lonesome Dove might be a better first Western novel.
It’s great! Very tough read; don’t get down on yourself if you struggle with it, especially at 14!
Cormac is especially hard to read sometimes but very rewarding. Give it a shot!!
It’s a special book and requires special effort. I don’t mean that it’s totally opaque and confusing like Ulysses; it’s pretty straightforward. The language is really biblical and poetic and heavy. Judge Holden is fascinating, but if you like villains and want to read McCarthy, No Country For Old Men is MUCH easier to read and just as good.
It’s the greatest American novel of the 20th century. It’s also an incredibly challenging, violent, and disturbing read. The prose is dense and unforgiving.
I would not typically recommend the novel to a 9th grader, especially one that is not a very strong reader. It’s a bit like going for a new personal best when weight lifting immediately following a few years break of not lifting at all.
Do with that information what you will.
It is extremely good.
It’s great but be warned you’re jumping into the deep end with that one because it is DENSE
If you’ve never read McCarthy do NOT start with this.
Do not, do not, do not.
From reading your comment, I think it’s more likely than not Blood Meridian will be frustrating enough that it could turn you off reading for pleasure altogether.
If you’d like to read McCarthy, start with The Road.
It’s good and you could try it, but don’t get down if it’s too tough of a read. It’s a really dense book. If I were you I’d read No Country or something like that to see how that feels.
It’s very well written, whether or not it’s suitable to someone picking up reading for pleasure for the first time in a few years is a different question especially considering how young you are. Perhaps put it on a to be read list for once you’ve decided whether or not reading is actually pleasurable for you?
Then again I found a new love for reading via Dostoevsky just slightly younger than you so who am I to talk?
Seems to be a very polarising book, I finished it recently and I struggled all throughout and ended disappointed. I expected more from the judge who was supposed to be the ultimate vilain of literature. Instead I just come across a vain blathering nudist vaguely poet vaguely philosopher. Not to mention the style of McCarthy, very tedious.
Terrible book it tries too hard to be edgy and the punctuation is atrocious
I’m going to go against the grain a bit and say that if you want to get back into reading Blood Meridian might be the worst possible book short of, say, Beowulf. Yes it has its place, no it’s not for the average reader (or even the average “good” reader). It’s not just a matter of whether you *can*, it’s also a matter of whether you’d *want to*.
If you want a gripping story and solid villains and such, I would pick a Stephen King novel. Salem’s Lot scratches the itch, or Misery. Much more accessible, and it will get you back into the swing of things. If you feel like those were too simple or didn’t challenge you enough, then by all means jump to Blood Meridian.
so far im currently reading it with my husband and am kind of bored, some of the darker stuff doesnt really bug me in books or anything else so im not really phased by seeing the n word over and over again, or in my case hearing it, i grew up in the south mind you, im listening to the audiobook.
i find there are sections ive totally checked out on and i come back like oh the judge is doing something evil again thats nice and i go back to what i was doing.
my husband and i both like mccathy’s writing style and how he describes things though, this is his second books weve read/listened to together, the first being no country for old men which was more modern but i had the same issue with both books now.
It’s really good, but I absolutely would not recommend it for someone your age. Start maybe with No Country For Old Men or The Road if you want to get into reading McCarthy.
Structurally and narratively it’s very well put together. However, it’s very grotesque and thinks a lot of itself. I like to read literary books that make me a better person, but this book in particular felt self congratulatory.
It’s fucking gnarly in a good way, for me at least. Intense
It’s a great book. I wouldn’t recommend it for someone who doesn’t read much though. It’s a very dense and hard read, even literature nerds really struggle with it. Maybe cut your teeth on something more fun like George R R Martin or Stephen King if you want a good villain.