Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy - Book review

Blood Meridian follows a character only known as “the Kid.” The Kid was a drifter, wandering around the United States and eventually finding his way to Texas somewhere in the 1840’s. After he joins a band of thieves, the Kid sets off to steal cattle and other things but is arrested and his band is mostly killed.

A man named the Judge releases the Kid and a few other prisoners from jail and they set out for the Mexican Frontier to scalp Apaches and claim the bounty from the Mexican government. What follows is a mad quest of violence and blood as the murderous gang led by the Judge goes on a killing spree through Mexico, killing Indians and Mexicans alike and taking their scalps.

This book is rich. It’s rich in storytelling and violence. McCarthy once again proves his flawless grasp of realism in taking the reader through a blood-soaked tour of Northern Mexico. He describes the scrub grass and vegetation as well as he describes the brutal murders of the band of killers, and the killers themselves (although at times the detailed descriptions border on madness.

He talks about the grass and sand for pages and pages at a time). He’s created a whole gang of unique and ruthless outlaws, all with their own quirks and all equally unabashed in their killing.

The dialogue is vague but intensely satisfying. The shootouts are wild and tense. The brutality makes you sick – but the kind of sick where you can’t look away. The whole book is amazing. I think never has there been such a true and accurate description of the early American west on the Mexican border.

It was violence upon violence, and McCarthy showcases this in an entertaining and thoughtful way. Every book this man does is gold.