BLOOD MERIDIAN

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by Cormac McCarthy (1985)

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A blood soaked journey down into the dark murderous depths of America’s black soul. Where the sanctity of man is no more and likely never was. The Kid, walking away from nothing and perhaps to nothing still, is apprenticed to a roving band of scalphunters who traverse the sandy deserts of Texas and northern Mexico to claim their bloody receipts and thereby enrich themselves. Hot desert sun, scarce water, lizards eyeballing, wolves trailing, little trust shared amongst this touring party, but they remain united against a common enemy. Which is pretty much everyone they encounter who retains their hair and scalp. An alternative history, likely truer than commonly acknowledged, that describes the lived reality of manifest destiny made true upon the wind swept plains of the American and Mexican borderlands. Relentless action and beautifully written. Fiction? 355 pages.

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DETAILS:

Title: Blood meridian

Year: 1985

Author: Cormac McCarthy

Pages: 355

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Book review by Keith Salter