Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

How do you review a book that you didn't like when others far more intelligent than you consider it a literary masterpiece? "Blood Meridian" is one of two books that I've had to force myself to finish, the other being "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. While Cormac McCarthy is obviously a legitimate and gifted writer, his painstakingly extensive descriptions and use of run-on sentences (often 100 plus words long) become overbearing with repetition. The attempt to reconstruct (or invent) unfamiliar words and phrasing intended to be 'period correct' for the southwest 150 years ago constantly throws off the reader's rhythm, causing the reader to go back for rereads to verify the author's intent. The author's continued use of Spanish requires the unschooled reader to continually refer to a Spanish dictionary in order to follow conversations. Many critics have described this work as a great horror story. It does tell of horrific events caused by evil men in an unforgiving environment. However it does so by repetitively slapping the reader in the face with these events, kind of like a modern splatterpunk novel. It doesn't take the reader long to accept the activities and environment as a 'new normal', thus lessening the psychological impact and the shock value. A horror story typically is a cohesive tale that follows a (sometimes) wandering path to its ultimate and impactful conclusion. True horror novels include "The Exorcist" and Jack Ketchum's "The Girl Next Door". Readers need to acknowledge that the atrocities and brutality of the old American southwest 150 years ago were no different than events that unfolded in Vietnam. Tom Berenger's character in Platoon could easily take the place of Judge Holden, and Charlie Sheen's character is similar to 'the kid'. Bad men will always sink to the same level and use their evil actions to justify their own sense of self worth. There will always be a king of these men who wallows around in the mud with them but still manages to emerge unscathed. And there will always be the relative innocent who will play in the mud but doesn't really want to get dirty. Hopefully this review will give you a different perspective on "Blood Meridian". Take on this 'masterpiece' at your own risk. I sincerely hope that you enjoy it more than I did.