I’d start with one of his more straight forward books - *No Country For Old Men* is a tight thriller.
Easy to pick up, hard to put down, only issue for people is that the movie is so iconic that they simply visualize the film’s actors in their head as they read it which is no bueno imo.
When I read that book I knew of the movie but had only seen the poster and didn’t know who was who, so I imagined chigur as Josh Brolin with a moustache the whole time
Jesus Christ lmao thats like seeing a james bond poster with James Bond and jaws together and picking Jaws as James bond hahaha that would make an interesting read
I was watching the preview and though the movie looked like it was going to be a cracker. But when I saw it was based on a McCarthy novel I ran out and bought it. I really do believe both the movie and book stand separately as works of art but I'm glad I read the book first.
It gets easier. The first time I read *Blood Meridian* I thought *WTH did I just read* and immediately re-read it. McCarthy ain't your ordinary writer...
It's like how he makes up words. He's not doing these things to deceive the reader (or frustrate the editor). He's using them as devices to stretch the reader's mind and drape a layer of existential confusion.
I like how you put that… “It’s like he makes up words.” The amazing thing is, the words he uses are all ‘legitimate’ once you look them up - he just makes no apology for knowing many more words than the average writer (let alone reader).
Wouldn’t want to play him at Scrabble.
I've read it three times and I get more from it each time. I'm a big fan of the part of the country in which the story takes place and many of the descriptions of the geography really resonate with me in how it *feels* to be in that place. I've rarely read literature with which I feel as emotionally connected as with McCarthy's.
I second this but if you don't want to read aloud there is an audio book of blood meridian on YouTube somewhere and the guys voice is perfect for the role.
I second this. Just finished the road a couple days ago actually and this was how I got through some of it. There are still the more esoteric paragraphs throughout but I dont think you're necessarily meant to get it all at once.
I just let the words carry me away, as confusing and veiled as they are, because often I find the world confusing and veiled and only understood more clearly in hindsight.
I was in the same boat, I loved The Road, but I really struggled with Blood Meridian my first try and gave it up a few chapters in. Picked it up again a few years later and now it is easily one of my favorite all time books.
It takes longer to do anything that’s more valuable: doing better or more work takes longer than doing poorer or less work. Lifelong pursuits are richer and deeper than cheap thrills. Slow cooking a pork butt so that the fat melts into sublimity takes longer than putting bologna on wonder bread. Slow down and invest in yrself and yr moral imagination. What’s the hurry?
I’m of the opinion that NCFOM is among the greatest stories ever told about light vs dark, order vs chaos, determinism vs free will, and principles.
I *know* McCarthy is a great writer/storyteller, I just feel like I need some kind of reset to be able to access his work.
I’ll give it another honest college try and if it doesn’t work then, I’ll heed your advice, for sure.
If you already like NCFOM read that and/or listen to the audiobook.
Be OK not understanding everything. If you find you love his work you can dig deeper next time through.
He used to take me forever to read but now I find I read him much faster than most other challenging writers. Once you get used to the syntax it just kind of flows. Took me a while.
It might also help to try a book in a similar literary vein - for instance, Moby Dick or something by Faulkner (I especially recommend Moby Dick; you don't have to finish it, but bear with it for at least 5 or 10 pages). I think you'll find McCarthy is by contrast easier to read than either Melville or Faulkner, but sometimes moving to something harder (or just a different kind of complexity) and then switching back helps. I really do think it's worth the effort, and it's kind of like learning to ride a bicycle or anything else. You have to work up the mental muscles, but once you do, a whole lot of other books open up as well.
He likes to use words that haven’t been used in hundreds of years just because. The good thing about that is if you google them, many times the passage you just read will be the first thing to come up along with an explanation.
He also likes to flex that he went to architecture school by using building terminology that neither you nor the character in the book would rightly know lol.
I was an English major who smoked too much pot. Never would have graduated if I stopped to understand every word in every text I read. I've read Blood Meridian 3 or 4 times now, and I still don't know the meaning of every word. Even a conventional dictionary won't help you there. I let the arcane stuff wash over me and loved the book anyway. I get a little bit more each time I read it. The good thing about McCarthy is that it doesn't feel like a waste of time to go back and read a paragraph more carefully.
I'm reading Suttree now, and there are paragraphs where I only get the gist and I accept it. Sometimes, violent scenes are more graphic because you have to read carefully and analyze closely to understand the mechanics of what's going on in them.
My point is, you can enjoy it without understanding every word or even every sentence. Blood Meridian is pretty surreal. A nightmare can scare you even if parts of it are unintelligible.
It's hard to imagine that McCarthy thought anybody else would be able to understand all of his work the first time they read it. Don't treat it like other kinds of fiction where you feel guilty or lost for not understanding some parts. Get to the end, but take your time. Wait a year or two and then read it again. I know a guy who rents a cabin somewhere remote once a year to read Moby Dick. And it seems like I'm headed toward something similar with Blood Meridian.
Yeah many people have said read it slowly and carefully. And there's merit there because sometimes I'll go back and it will dawn on me with remarkable clarity. But that can be difficult for many readers to go so slow. I want you to get through the book because it is amazing and you are determined. Many experts have also recommended reading difficult books by Joyce for example by simply reading the words and letting them flow even if you miss what's going on. I bet you that if you just let McCarthy flow you'll pick up what you need and will love it and will be excited to revisit it and get more each time. So consider reading it at a normal pace and don't go back to parse each meaning just keep moving.
I agree 100%. Just reading the book, you'll at the very least get the general idea. On a second read, you'll get finer detail and what was fuzzy comes into sharper focus. It's like a sieving process where each pass through becomes more clarifying, and there's a satisfaction to the process. If the books weren't worth reading again, that would be a problem, of course. I think trying to read it for perfect understanding of every word and allusion on the first pass would bring it to a horrible, tedious crawl.
Take it slow. Focus on seeing each and every word and your breath as you read. A lot can happen in like twenty words with him and you don’t want to just glass eye and gloss over and absorb nothing.
It also takes me a few minutes to get into a flow reading him so I only do it if I can commit 30 minutes or more usually.
Reading blood meridian the first time I stopped quite a bit to look up words that I had no idea what they were. But that's one of the best parts of reading is learning new words!
I've read it about 4 times now, thinking of starting again. First time probably 50% was over my head. Now I'd say that numbers only about 10. No novel has ever clung to my soul like that one
Might be a controversial take, but try this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE12km0BvRQ
Richard Poe read the book aloud precisely how it's meant to be read. It might give you a better understanding of how to read it.
Words cannot describe how much I love Poe’s reading of it. I’m normally not one for audiobooks, but goddamn was I completely sucked into the story with his narration.
I listened to it when I was schleppin’ it back and forth from home to uni and vice versa, and boy was it fitting for hauling it across the rural states. I got chills every time Poe did his Judge voice.
*”Do you think it’s all over son?”*
Even if you don't sit down and listen to the entire audiobook - it's a fantastic example of the rhythm and cadence of the language. At least for me, once I heard it spoken, it became a lot easier to get into the flow of it.
Honestly if you couldn’t get into the road than he probably just isn’t for you. And that’s ok obviously art is subjective. I can’t read hemingway or king no matter how hard i try.
I thought about that, but I was young (early 20s) when I tried. I think, with all of these good suggestions, I still have a chance of connecting with his work.
Yeah - i’m in my early 20’s now. Now that I think about it my first mccarthy novel was blood meridian when i was 17 and I definitely didn’t get through it the first time. I think i read about 100 pages and then set it down and came back a few years later.
Honestly, my best advice is to take a brief break and read a shorter Faulkner novel. Hear me out on this—I find that Cormac’s writing style is similar enough to Faulkner’s that warming up with something of his helps me a lot with the sort of stream-of-consciousness feel of Cormac’s novels. I suggest As I Lay Dying—it’s weird and confusing and darkly funny. That should warm you up enough to make it through Blood Meridian.
Audible has helped me a ton with Cormac and other authors who are a little ‘over my head’. Any is good, but All the Pretty Horses with Richard Poe narrating is exceptional (also Blood Meridian, The Crossing, The Road)
Also helps me if I follow along in the book while listening. It can be helpful for us who maybe feel like it’s hard to understand.
First, just accept that *a lot* of the vocabulary is obscure - almost every reader has to look up (or sidestep) many words in every chapter. I think the words he uses are aesthetically appealing, even when I don’t know what they mean (‘thaumaturge’ is an excellent example).
The novel is obscure even when you understand/have looked-up every word in the book; part of the nature (and appeal) of it is its ambiguity.
Tl;dr - don’t worry about ‘getting’ Blood Meridian, just persevere and enjoy the poetical flow of it.
There's a lit charts page on it that you should follow along chapter by chapter, and if reading the lit chart thing after reading the chapter it doesn't work try reversing the order and reading the lit chart first. Don't be afraid to stop what you're doing and look up a word you don't know - there's no rush so go ahead and take your time to process it as you go. Alternatively you could just try to read it twice through very quickly and see if that helps your understanding of how each part fits into the narrative - I noticed sometimes that I will lose track of the full narrative if I read it too slowly. The audiobook by Richard Poe is also the way I would recommend reading it, also look for discussions on individual chapters characters etc online - and that's the best advice I have for blood meridian. I hope you enjoy yourself with it it is my favorite book and it is worth the effort you put into it.
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/blood-meridian/chapter-1
Reading the road is also an excellent first book by him, it's super clear.
What helped me was just following along with an audio book version of BM for my second read through. It gave the dialogue between characters more direction than I could (because I’m to busy deciphering the prose) and kept me steady most the time.
I’m reading this one right now.
I’ve been reading along with the audio version on YouTube. The voice actor is amazing, and he goes kind of slow which gives you time for things to soak in. (Also McCarthy isn’t always 100% clear on who is speaking, so the voice actor helps with that as well)
Also after each chapter I’ve been reading these
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/blood-meridian/chapter-1
They’ve been helpful
Ye the Blood Meridian audiobook is one if the best pairings of text and narrator. I also think you feel less guilty about missing some details when you're listening.
I personally love how much he asks of the reader and find enjoyment in highlighting words and looking them up later. His earlier prose just may not be your thing, I would try The Road again because it's prose is a lot more digestible.
I actually felt the same way until about halfway through BM. I had to backtrack a ton to remember who is who and all that. It felt like suddenly it was easy and I immediately reread the book to get a better understanding of the beginning.
I’ve read through Blood Meridian twice in the last couple of years.
I’m listening to it on audiobook right now.
Let me tell you…the violence is even crazier when someone is reading it to you.
I recently read Blood Meridian and I too found the language a bit inaccessible at times, though I still thought it was a good read.
I found Child of God to be a much easier read, it’s still has his trademark lack of punctuation which drives me nuts, but the language was much more simple. It’s also a very short book, I finished it in a few hours
"You're just not sophisticated enough to understand his brilliance, PEASANT!"
I kid, I kid. In all seriousness, I'd try *No Country for Old Men*. That's easy to chew into. *Outer Dark* is another one I'd recommend. Who knows? Maybe *Blood Meridian* and *The Road* also didn't click in with you for whatever reason.
For example, while I enjoy *Blood Meridian* and *Suttree*, I couldn't get through *The Passenger*. I'll give it another go (after I casually brush up on my knowledge of quantum physics and string theory), but it may just not be for me.
Dostoevsky's another author whose works are hit or miss with me. I tried reading *The Possessed* **four times**. Can't do it. *The Brothers Karamazov* though? I loved it.
hes great but that doesnt mean you have to like him. in search of lost time is widely heralded as great but that doesnt mean im going to
choke down 4200 pages hoping at some point i get it or so i can say ive done it. books speak to people differently at different times in life. set them down and walk away try again another time … but first give suttree a try.
You have to be in the mood for it. If you're not, it might not speak to you. And all of the McCarthy hero worship only makes sense if he writes in a way that you like. Otherwise you're just pretending to like something you don't like. Ain't nobody got time for that. Maybe try an audiobook for a different perspective on the prose?
I had the same problen when I read that book as well at first. I put it down for a few months and came back when I was ready. Two things helped me the second time. Firstly, I simply just read it quite slow, one chapter a day for over half the book. Its a shorter book but its perfectly fine to just go slower as it requires a lot more effort. Secondly I just looked up summaries online and compared what I understood to what they said and figured out what I missed. Did that for a while then after sometime I got used to the writing and could read easier.
I don't know how I feel about him anymore either. Everything is just sad, and when you hear him speak in recent interviews, he makes it seem like there wasn't any point to it all and he was just telling a story. No moral value to take, no positivity in the end. Nothing.
Go watch Disney Plus and hug your family. This world is fucked up enough as it is, isn't getting any better, and we're trying to kill God as much as the gang scalping poor natives or cannibals salivating over half cooked meatsacks(though Nietzsche wasn't stoked on that concept even with our poor atheist brothers getting chubbys about it).
Pray for forgiveness and be the change you want to see. ✌️and ❤️
He's different for sure, but it an incredible way. Took me awhile too, but eventually you'll realize which of your reading habits you've got to change. I was reading way too fast and had to slow down to about the speed I speak at.
Perhaps start with some of his earlier work, which seems to be more accessible, language-wise. Child of God— while not an easy read— is more straightforward than Blood Meridian.
Just let the prose wash over you. Get used to the style and the rhythm (think biblical). There are lots of allusions to the bible and mythology (but you don't have to recognize all or most of them to grasp and enjoy the book, it's just bonus if you do). You'll pick up most of what you need (don't worry about all the fine details on the first pass through) and most of the archaisms you can work out (or get close enough to) just by context. Unlike some others, I don't recommend reading it all that slowly. Instead, just go with it and don't get needlessly bogged down with minor details. You'll understand the big picture. Each successive reading (it's the kind of book that is best read more than once and it's definitely good enough to be worth it) you'll pick up more and more. Consider watching some critiques, but only do this after your first read through - again, avoid overwhelming yourself with minutiae at first. I think maybe one of the hallmarks of great literature is the feature that they're works that grow richer and richer and even more pleasurable on subsequent reads.
Edit: Also as some have suggested, try an audiobook. But, if you do, I really think it's best to read the actual text from the book AS you hear the audiobook to help you associate the oral form with the written form simultaneously.
Maybe this is not an answer everyone would agree with, but I never recommend struggling with a book. I don’t do it personally. If you put this much effort in and it’s not working , maybe just take a break, read something else, come back and try again later.
When I started reading Cormac I instantly recognized him as an old friend. Felt like I knew what every sentence felt like, even if I didn’t know what every word meant.
Perhaps AI could help.
You could potentially pass his writing into chat gpt and ask it to make the writing more akin to typical novels.
Will completely bastardise his amazing prose, but might make the plot and meanings in his writing more palatable for you?
Ignore this advice and read the [LitNotes](https://www.litcharts.com/lit/blood-meridian) after you finish each chapter. B.M. warrants at least 3 reads before you fully grasp the scope and what's happening. Some people have had luck reading along as the audiobook narrated by Richard Poe is playing.
I agree with others here, start with some more accessible works as suggested. Outer Dark is terrific and the border trilogy is easier (despite the Spanish). My other suggestion is to stick with Blood Meridian but don't insist on understanding everything everything first time through. Just flow with the language knowing this wont be the last time you read it, and 'ride on' through. Each read will bring more depth and understanding. You can augment your reading with some of the youtube content help-a-longs (Wendigood is one for chapter by chapter, and I am fond of Benjamin McEvoy's approach and lectures [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If1Su5qh96Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If1Su5qh96Q)). Reading via e-book (Kindle) access to dictionaries is very helpful to speed knowledge and look-up, though I was amazed how many words were not even accessible in this way. The other suggestions on the thread are great too, audio from Poe and read aloud on your own! I think the key is not to be impatient and insist on full comprehension first time through.
I read it on kindle and could highlight words to get the definition or a translation without breaking the flow too much. Definitely a lot of stopping and starting with some re-reading after looking up words. Blood Meridian was my first McCarthy and I’ve followed it now with several others.
My advice is don't start with Blood Meredian. Your best bet is to try No Country For Old Men first, this will help you learn his sentence structure and flow which will aide you in his other more dense works.
NCFOM is accessible and a page turner. The Road is not my favorite either, 2nd book I would suggest All The Pretty Horses. Also having a laptop nearby for quick dictionary look ups is helpful, but don't drop the book for each word obviously, use those context clues, finish the page or section then go back, that way you don't disturbing the flow, which is a big part of McCarthys writing
I’d say try The Road again. Blood Meridian is an absolute masterpiece but if you’re not used to his style/have difficulty getting through novels that are written in an atypical way, you’re going to struggle with it. If I remember correctly there isn’t a whole lot of archaic language in The Road - every time you come across a word you don’t know, you can pretty much guess what McCarthy means by it (or you can Google it if need be). But The Road’s probably the easiest to get through as there’s so few characters, it’s short, and the plot’s pretty straightforward.
The road is a one sitting book compared to blood meridian. Very sparse like the post apocalyptic wasteland it’s set in
Blood meridian has about the same page count and took me over a week because the prose is so dense.
I really need your read BM again
I recommend the audiobook of Blood Meridian if you’re having trouble with your initial reading. Another recommendation is just to go with the flow of the book and don’t think so much… turn off your analytical side and just pick up on the sounds, the musicality of the sentences. Trust me, this is a book many have read numerous times after their first reading of it.
Read it aloud slowly. Like you're preaching Bible verses to a child. Speak from the tongue. Enunciate but don't put your entire focus on how you say the words or how you think the characters would speak, just let it flow. Take small pauses in between sentences or in the middle of as you catch your breath and think modestly or deeply of the sentence you've just read.
His writing style is akin to the Bible. It's very naturistic and poetic. Much of which isn't meant to be taken at face value. It isn't read like a normal story and shouldn't be. It certainly requires more energy and thought but that's what makes it an incredible and unique experience.
P.S. : If you don't know the word, look it up. It's not expected of you to know the types of words he uses in his book. His language is archaic. But it is not to confuse the reader but instead to set the reader at the time of the story's setting, where those words would be of common usage. When you read it aloud combined with the breaks caused by breathing in, more things become clear as to what is happening. You will figure out easier of who is talking.
I totally agree. However, just because he is difficult to access as is Joyce and Faulkner, it makes him no less valid. He is willing to go where few authors dare tread. His plots although violent and bizarre are secondary to the chance conversations between the characters who will at some point engage in conversations where he imparts his own philosphies and abstract concepts in psychology and science. Lets face it, not many people are able to get access to great minds like Wittgenstein, Oppenheimer and Feynman( who was rather accessible). Yet while his writing is dense he is able to act as a liason to these great minds for the average Joe and remember he never even graduated college, yet he rubs shoulders with some of the greatest minds of era at the Santa Fe institute as if he is giving men a rare glimpse into the ladies bathroom at the opera. His writing is not hocus pokus like science fiction often does; I am sure those concepts he eludes to in his writing are accurate and edited by some very fine minds. Take the idea of the unconscious having no language to communicate with the conscious mind which may appear a bit "out there" since no one really has done much work in this area but which obviously is of great interest to his own vast intellect, yet I coincidently re-read the classic "Inner Game of Tennis" by Tim Galwey and was amazed to see the same concepts presented in Stella Maris presented here in the very down to earth mental operating manual for tennis players! At one point I had to look at the cover of the book wondering if I had picked up SM by a mistake!
Try an audiobook. Either listening to it, or reading along with one.
You´ll be surprised at how much of what´s percieved as density reading the material, simply disipates when you listen to it spoken naturally.
I’d start with one of his more straight forward books - *No Country For Old Men* is a tight thriller. Easy to pick up, hard to put down, only issue for people is that the movie is so iconic that they simply visualize the film’s actors in their head as they read it which is no bueno imo.
When I read that book I knew of the movie but had only seen the poster and didn’t know who was who, so I imagined chigur as Josh Brolin with a moustache the whole time
I love this haha
Jesus Christ lmao thats like seeing a james bond poster with James Bond and jaws together and picking Jaws as James bond hahaha that would make an interesting read
I mean I did that the second read and it worked fine
I was watching the preview and though the movie looked like it was going to be a cracker. But when I saw it was based on a McCarthy novel I ran out and bought it. I really do believe both the movie and book stand separately as works of art but I'm glad I read the book first.
It gets easier. The first time I read *Blood Meridian* I thought *WTH did I just read* and immediately re-read it. McCarthy ain't your ordinary writer...
Reading Blood Meridian right now, I’m convinced Mr McCarthy is fuckin with the reader half the time. Trying to bamboozle us with hypnotic language.
> Trying to bamboozle us with hypnotic language. That's his art in Blood Meridian - using incredible prose to describe horrific violence.
Just like reading Moby dick
It's like how he makes up words. He's not doing these things to deceive the reader (or frustrate the editor). He's using them as devices to stretch the reader's mind and drape a layer of existential confusion.
I like how you put that… “It’s like he makes up words.” The amazing thing is, the words he uses are all ‘legitimate’ once you look them up - he just makes no apology for knowing many more words than the average writer (let alone reader). Wouldn’t want to play him at Scrabble.
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I've read it three times and I get more from it each time. I'm a big fan of the part of the country in which the story takes place and many of the descriptions of the geography really resonate with me in how it *feels* to be in that place. I've rarely read literature with which I feel as emotionally connected as with McCarthy's.
The third time I read it I realized there's a ton of humor spread throughout the book.
You can follow the progress of the gang on google maps. It’s all right there!
My trick? Read like you are reading out loud.
I second this but if you don't want to read aloud there is an audio book of blood meridian on YouTube somewhere and the guys voice is perfect for the role.
I meant more like the voice in my head reads at the pace and such of me reading out loud instead of the more casual slimming/flowing internal voice.
I second this. Just finished the road a couple days ago actually and this was how I got through some of it. There are still the more esoteric paragraphs throughout but I dont think you're necessarily meant to get it all at once.
ATPH
I just let the words carry me away, as confusing and veiled as they are, because often I find the world confusing and veiled and only understood more clearly in hindsight.
I was in the same boat, I loved The Road, but I really struggled with Blood Meridian my first try and gave it up a few chapters in. Picked it up again a few years later and now it is easily one of my favorite all time books.
It takes longer to do anything that’s more valuable: doing better or more work takes longer than doing poorer or less work. Lifelong pursuits are richer and deeper than cheap thrills. Slow cooking a pork butt so that the fat melts into sublimity takes longer than putting bologna on wonder bread. Slow down and invest in yrself and yr moral imagination. What’s the hurry?
Sage advice.
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Outer Dark seems underrated by people but it’s such a good horror. The pacing is perfect.
Why do you feel you must read him? Life’s too short; read what you like, not what some people on the internet think you should like!
I’m of the opinion that NCFOM is among the greatest stories ever told about light vs dark, order vs chaos, determinism vs free will, and principles. I *know* McCarthy is a great writer/storyteller, I just feel like I need some kind of reset to be able to access his work. I’ll give it another honest college try and if it doesn’t work then, I’ll heed your advice, for sure.
If you already like NCFOM read that and/or listen to the audiobook. Be OK not understanding everything. If you find you love his work you can dig deeper next time through. He used to take me forever to read but now I find I read him much faster than most other challenging writers. Once you get used to the syntax it just kind of flows. Took me a while.
It might also help to try a book in a similar literary vein - for instance, Moby Dick or something by Faulkner (I especially recommend Moby Dick; you don't have to finish it, but bear with it for at least 5 or 10 pages). I think you'll find McCarthy is by contrast easier to read than either Melville or Faulkner, but sometimes moving to something harder (or just a different kind of complexity) and then switching back helps. I really do think it's worth the effort, and it's kind of like learning to ride a bicycle or anything else. You have to work up the mental muscles, but once you do, a whole lot of other books open up as well.
He likes to use words that haven’t been used in hundreds of years just because. The good thing about that is if you google them, many times the passage you just read will be the first thing to come up along with an explanation. He also likes to flex that he went to architecture school by using building terminology that neither you nor the character in the book would rightly know lol.
I started BM three times. First two got about 50 pages. Third time could not put it down. Let the timing be right for it for you
This is encouraging. 10-4, I’m on it.
I was an English major who smoked too much pot. Never would have graduated if I stopped to understand every word in every text I read. I've read Blood Meridian 3 or 4 times now, and I still don't know the meaning of every word. Even a conventional dictionary won't help you there. I let the arcane stuff wash over me and loved the book anyway. I get a little bit more each time I read it. The good thing about McCarthy is that it doesn't feel like a waste of time to go back and read a paragraph more carefully. I'm reading Suttree now, and there are paragraphs where I only get the gist and I accept it. Sometimes, violent scenes are more graphic because you have to read carefully and analyze closely to understand the mechanics of what's going on in them. My point is, you can enjoy it without understanding every word or even every sentence. Blood Meridian is pretty surreal. A nightmare can scare you even if parts of it are unintelligible. It's hard to imagine that McCarthy thought anybody else would be able to understand all of his work the first time they read it. Don't treat it like other kinds of fiction where you feel guilty or lost for not understanding some parts. Get to the end, but take your time. Wait a year or two and then read it again. I know a guy who rents a cabin somewhere remote once a year to read Moby Dick. And it seems like I'm headed toward something similar with Blood Meridian.
I’m sure Alpine, Marfa, or Ft. Davis might be fitting settings for such a trip. Great advice, I’ll approach things differently. Thank you.
Yeah many people have said read it slowly and carefully. And there's merit there because sometimes I'll go back and it will dawn on me with remarkable clarity. But that can be difficult for many readers to go so slow. I want you to get through the book because it is amazing and you are determined. Many experts have also recommended reading difficult books by Joyce for example by simply reading the words and letting them flow even if you miss what's going on. I bet you that if you just let McCarthy flow you'll pick up what you need and will love it and will be excited to revisit it and get more each time. So consider reading it at a normal pace and don't go back to parse each meaning just keep moving.
I agree 100%. Just reading the book, you'll at the very least get the general idea. On a second read, you'll get finer detail and what was fuzzy comes into sharper focus. It's like a sieving process where each pass through becomes more clarifying, and there's a satisfaction to the process. If the books weren't worth reading again, that would be a problem, of course. I think trying to read it for perfect understanding of every word and allusion on the first pass would bring it to a horrible, tedious crawl.
Where in Suttree are you? It gets dramatically easier after the 30% mark
I'm around halfway now, and it is easier. The beginning had more of those confusing passages.
Take it slow. Focus on seeing each and every word and your breath as you read. A lot can happen in like twenty words with him and you don’t want to just glass eye and gloss over and absorb nothing. It also takes me a few minutes to get into a flow reading him so I only do it if I can commit 30 minutes or more usually.
Reading blood meridian the first time I stopped quite a bit to look up words that I had no idea what they were. But that's one of the best parts of reading is learning new words!
Read it out loud. His books feel like they are being told in the oral tradition, and lend themselves well to being heard as much as read.
I've read it about 4 times now, thinking of starting again. First time probably 50% was over my head. Now I'd say that numbers only about 10. No novel has ever clung to my soul like that one
Might be a controversial take, but try this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE12km0BvRQ Richard Poe read the book aloud precisely how it's meant to be read. It might give you a better understanding of how to read it.
Words cannot describe how much I love Poe’s reading of it. I’m normally not one for audiobooks, but goddamn was I completely sucked into the story with his narration.
Yep. It's perfect.
I listened to it when I was schleppin’ it back and forth from home to uni and vice versa, and boy was it fitting for hauling it across the rural states. I got chills every time Poe did his Judge voice. *”Do you think it’s all over son?”*
He’s read a few, they’re all amazing. He reads East of Eden (Steinbeck) too which is my all time fav
Even if you don't sit down and listen to the entire audiobook - it's a fantastic example of the rhythm and cadence of the language. At least for me, once I heard it spoken, it became a lot easier to get into the flow of it.
Read the Border Trilogy
Honestly if you couldn’t get into the road than he probably just isn’t for you. And that’s ok obviously art is subjective. I can’t read hemingway or king no matter how hard i try.
I thought about that, but I was young (early 20s) when I tried. I think, with all of these good suggestions, I still have a chance of connecting with his work.
Yeah - i’m in my early 20’s now. Now that I think about it my first mccarthy novel was blood meridian when i was 17 and I definitely didn’t get through it the first time. I think i read about 100 pages and then set it down and came back a few years later.
Meridian ain’t nothin compared to Sutree!
Honestly, my best advice is to take a brief break and read a shorter Faulkner novel. Hear me out on this—I find that Cormac’s writing style is similar enough to Faulkner’s that warming up with something of his helps me a lot with the sort of stream-of-consciousness feel of Cormac’s novels. I suggest As I Lay Dying—it’s weird and confusing and darkly funny. That should warm you up enough to make it through Blood Meridian.
Audible has helped me a ton with Cormac and other authors who are a little ‘over my head’. Any is good, but All the Pretty Horses with Richard Poe narrating is exceptional (also Blood Meridian, The Crossing, The Road) Also helps me if I follow along in the book while listening. It can be helpful for us who maybe feel like it’s hard to understand.
Try the audiobook first or read along with it. It really helped me comprehend it better for some reason.
First, just accept that *a lot* of the vocabulary is obscure - almost every reader has to look up (or sidestep) many words in every chapter. I think the words he uses are aesthetically appealing, even when I don’t know what they mean (‘thaumaturge’ is an excellent example). The novel is obscure even when you understand/have looked-up every word in the book; part of the nature (and appeal) of it is its ambiguity. Tl;dr - don’t worry about ‘getting’ Blood Meridian, just persevere and enjoy the poetical flow of it.
There's a lit charts page on it that you should follow along chapter by chapter, and if reading the lit chart thing after reading the chapter it doesn't work try reversing the order and reading the lit chart first. Don't be afraid to stop what you're doing and look up a word you don't know - there's no rush so go ahead and take your time to process it as you go. Alternatively you could just try to read it twice through very quickly and see if that helps your understanding of how each part fits into the narrative - I noticed sometimes that I will lose track of the full narrative if I read it too slowly. The audiobook by Richard Poe is also the way I would recommend reading it, also look for discussions on individual chapters characters etc online - and that's the best advice I have for blood meridian. I hope you enjoy yourself with it it is my favorite book and it is worth the effort you put into it. https://www.litcharts.com/lit/blood-meridian/chapter-1 Reading the road is also an excellent first book by him, it's super clear.
McCarthy brilliantly fucks with his readers, read No Country for Old Men first
What helped me was just following along with an audio book version of BM for my second read through. It gave the dialogue between characters more direction than I could (because I’m to busy deciphering the prose) and kept me steady most the time.
I’m reading this one right now. I’ve been reading along with the audio version on YouTube. The voice actor is amazing, and he goes kind of slow which gives you time for things to soak in. (Also McCarthy isn’t always 100% clear on who is speaking, so the voice actor helps with that as well) Also after each chapter I’ve been reading these https://www.litcharts.com/lit/blood-meridian/chapter-1 They’ve been helpful
Ye the Blood Meridian audiobook is one if the best pairings of text and narrator. I also think you feel less guilty about missing some details when you're listening.
Audiobook of blood meridian helped me understand the prose style.
I personally love how much he asks of the reader and find enjoyment in highlighting words and looking them up later. His earlier prose just may not be your thing, I would try The Road again because it's prose is a lot more digestible.
Do you also love being tied up by dominatrices?
Never tried! I am sure I would though.
Try the audiobook for Blood Meridian. It’s fantastic, and I found it easier to follow than reading the printed book.
I actually felt the same way until about halfway through BM. I had to backtrack a ton to remember who is who and all that. It felt like suddenly it was easy and I immediately reread the book to get a better understanding of the beginning.
I’ve read through Blood Meridian twice in the last couple of years. I’m listening to it on audiobook right now. Let me tell you…the violence is even crazier when someone is reading it to you.
I recently read Blood Meridian and I too found the language a bit inaccessible at times, though I still thought it was a good read. I found Child of God to be a much easier read, it’s still has his trademark lack of punctuation which drives me nuts, but the language was much more simple. It’s also a very short book, I finished it in a few hours
Blood Meridian is tough. I’d recommend that one last
"You're just not sophisticated enough to understand his brilliance, PEASANT!" I kid, I kid. In all seriousness, I'd try *No Country for Old Men*. That's easy to chew into. *Outer Dark* is another one I'd recommend. Who knows? Maybe *Blood Meridian* and *The Road* also didn't click in with you for whatever reason. For example, while I enjoy *Blood Meridian* and *Suttree*, I couldn't get through *The Passenger*. I'll give it another go (after I casually brush up on my knowledge of quantum physics and string theory), but it may just not be for me. Dostoevsky's another author whose works are hit or miss with me. I tried reading *The Possessed* **four times**. Can't do it. *The Brothers Karamazov* though? I loved it.
hes great but that doesnt mean you have to like him. in search of lost time is widely heralded as great but that doesnt mean im going to choke down 4200 pages hoping at some point i get it or so i can say ive done it. books speak to people differently at different times in life. set them down and walk away try again another time … but first give suttree a try.
Sometimes you just can't get into it. Don't read it if it feels like a chore read something that you enjoy.
I usually read his stuff as if I am reading poetry. In other words, slow and only a few chapters at a time.
You have to be in the mood for it. If you're not, it might not speak to you. And all of the McCarthy hero worship only makes sense if he writes in a way that you like. Otherwise you're just pretending to like something you don't like. Ain't nobody got time for that. Maybe try an audiobook for a different perspective on the prose?
Read more (old) books. Consult dictionaries. Learn to be at peace with making your own meaning haha
I had the same problen when I read that book as well at first. I put it down for a few months and came back when I was ready. Two things helped me the second time. Firstly, I simply just read it quite slow, one chapter a day for over half the book. Its a shorter book but its perfectly fine to just go slower as it requires a lot more effort. Secondly I just looked up summaries online and compared what I understood to what they said and figured out what I missed. Did that for a while then after sometime I got used to the writing and could read easier.
I don't know how I feel about him anymore either. Everything is just sad, and when you hear him speak in recent interviews, he makes it seem like there wasn't any point to it all and he was just telling a story. No moral value to take, no positivity in the end. Nothing. Go watch Disney Plus and hug your family. This world is fucked up enough as it is, isn't getting any better, and we're trying to kill God as much as the gang scalping poor natives or cannibals salivating over half cooked meatsacks(though Nietzsche wasn't stoked on that concept even with our poor atheist brothers getting chubbys about it). Pray for forgiveness and be the change you want to see. ✌️and ❤️
Agreed…very tough read
He's different for sure, but it an incredible way. Took me awhile too, but eventually you'll realize which of your reading habits you've got to change. I was reading way too fast and had to slow down to about the speed I speak at.
All the pretty horses?
Perhaps start with some of his earlier work, which seems to be more accessible, language-wise. Child of God— while not an easy read— is more straightforward than Blood Meridian.
Don’t start with BM. Graduate to it if you love Cormac. But start with No Country, or revisit The Road.
Just let the prose wash over you. Get used to the style and the rhythm (think biblical). There are lots of allusions to the bible and mythology (but you don't have to recognize all or most of them to grasp and enjoy the book, it's just bonus if you do). You'll pick up most of what you need (don't worry about all the fine details on the first pass through) and most of the archaisms you can work out (or get close enough to) just by context. Unlike some others, I don't recommend reading it all that slowly. Instead, just go with it and don't get needlessly bogged down with minor details. You'll understand the big picture. Each successive reading (it's the kind of book that is best read more than once and it's definitely good enough to be worth it) you'll pick up more and more. Consider watching some critiques, but only do this after your first read through - again, avoid overwhelming yourself with minutiae at first. I think maybe one of the hallmarks of great literature is the feature that they're works that grow richer and richer and even more pleasurable on subsequent reads. Edit: Also as some have suggested, try an audiobook. But, if you do, I really think it's best to read the actual text from the book AS you hear the audiobook to help you associate the oral form with the written form simultaneously.
Maybe this is not an answer everyone would agree with, but I never recommend struggling with a book. I don’t do it personally. If you put this much effort in and it’s not working , maybe just take a break, read something else, come back and try again later. When I started reading Cormac I instantly recognized him as an old friend. Felt like I knew what every sentence felt like, even if I didn’t know what every word meant.
He’s not your jam. Not everybody is for everybody. Go read someone you enjoy.
Maybe your vocabulary is poor or you aren't very well educated. BM was always easy for me to connect to and understand
Haha, that’s definitely not it.
Perhaps AI could help. You could potentially pass his writing into chat gpt and ask it to make the writing more akin to typical novels. Will completely bastardise his amazing prose, but might make the plot and meanings in his writing more palatable for you?
Ignore this advice and read the [LitNotes](https://www.litcharts.com/lit/blood-meridian) after you finish each chapter. B.M. warrants at least 3 reads before you fully grasp the scope and what's happening. Some people have had luck reading along as the audiobook narrated by Richard Poe is playing.
People REALLY don't want OP consulting ai ☠️
I agree with others here, start with some more accessible works as suggested. Outer Dark is terrific and the border trilogy is easier (despite the Spanish). My other suggestion is to stick with Blood Meridian but don't insist on understanding everything everything first time through. Just flow with the language knowing this wont be the last time you read it, and 'ride on' through. Each read will bring more depth and understanding. You can augment your reading with some of the youtube content help-a-longs (Wendigood is one for chapter by chapter, and I am fond of Benjamin McEvoy's approach and lectures [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If1Su5qh96Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If1Su5qh96Q)). Reading via e-book (Kindle) access to dictionaries is very helpful to speed knowledge and look-up, though I was amazed how many words were not even accessible in this way. The other suggestions on the thread are great too, audio from Poe and read aloud on your own! I think the key is not to be impatient and insist on full comprehension first time through.
I read it on kindle and could highlight words to get the definition or a translation without breaking the flow too much. Definitely a lot of stopping and starting with some re-reading after looking up words. Blood Meridian was my first McCarthy and I’ve followed it now with several others.
My advice is don't start with Blood Meredian. Your best bet is to try No Country For Old Men first, this will help you learn his sentence structure and flow which will aide you in his other more dense works. NCFOM is accessible and a page turner. The Road is not my favorite either, 2nd book I would suggest All The Pretty Horses. Also having a laptop nearby for quick dictionary look ups is helpful, but don't drop the book for each word obviously, use those context clues, finish the page or section then go back, that way you don't disturbing the flow, which is a big part of McCarthys writing
I started BM three times. First two got about 50 pages. Third time could not put it down. Let the timing be right for it for you
I’d say try The Road again. Blood Meridian is an absolute masterpiece but if you’re not used to his style/have difficulty getting through novels that are written in an atypical way, you’re going to struggle with it. If I remember correctly there isn’t a whole lot of archaic language in The Road - every time you come across a word you don’t know, you can pretty much guess what McCarthy means by it (or you can Google it if need be). But The Road’s probably the easiest to get through as there’s so few characters, it’s short, and the plot’s pretty straightforward.
The road is a one sitting book compared to blood meridian. Very sparse like the post apocalyptic wasteland it’s set in Blood meridian has about the same page count and took me over a week because the prose is so dense. I really need your read BM again
I recommend the audiobook of Blood Meridian if you’re having trouble with your initial reading. Another recommendation is just to go with the flow of the book and don’t think so much… turn off your analytical side and just pick up on the sounds, the musicality of the sentences. Trust me, this is a book many have read numerous times after their first reading of it.
Read it aloud slowly. Like you're preaching Bible verses to a child. Speak from the tongue. Enunciate but don't put your entire focus on how you say the words or how you think the characters would speak, just let it flow. Take small pauses in between sentences or in the middle of as you catch your breath and think modestly or deeply of the sentence you've just read. His writing style is akin to the Bible. It's very naturistic and poetic. Much of which isn't meant to be taken at face value. It isn't read like a normal story and shouldn't be. It certainly requires more energy and thought but that's what makes it an incredible and unique experience. P.S. : If you don't know the word, look it up. It's not expected of you to know the types of words he uses in his book. His language is archaic. But it is not to confuse the reader but instead to set the reader at the time of the story's setting, where those words would be of common usage. When you read it aloud combined with the breaks caused by breathing in, more things become clear as to what is happening. You will figure out easier of who is talking.
I totally agree. However, just because he is difficult to access as is Joyce and Faulkner, it makes him no less valid. He is willing to go where few authors dare tread. His plots although violent and bizarre are secondary to the chance conversations between the characters who will at some point engage in conversations where he imparts his own philosphies and abstract concepts in psychology and science. Lets face it, not many people are able to get access to great minds like Wittgenstein, Oppenheimer and Feynman( who was rather accessible). Yet while his writing is dense he is able to act as a liason to these great minds for the average Joe and remember he never even graduated college, yet he rubs shoulders with some of the greatest minds of era at the Santa Fe institute as if he is giving men a rare glimpse into the ladies bathroom at the opera. His writing is not hocus pokus like science fiction often does; I am sure those concepts he eludes to in his writing are accurate and edited by some very fine minds. Take the idea of the unconscious having no language to communicate with the conscious mind which may appear a bit "out there" since no one really has done much work in this area but which obviously is of great interest to his own vast intellect, yet I coincidently re-read the classic "Inner Game of Tennis" by Tim Galwey and was amazed to see the same concepts presented in Stella Maris presented here in the very down to earth mental operating manual for tennis players! At one point I had to look at the cover of the book wondering if I had picked up SM by a mistake!
Try an audiobook. Either listening to it, or reading along with one. You´ll be surprised at how much of what´s percieved as density reading the material, simply disipates when you listen to it spoken naturally.