"violence"

2005 · Cormac McCarthy · 309 pages · Thriller

Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel about a drug deal gone wrong in the Texas borderlands is deceptively simple on the surface: a hunter finds money, a killer pursues him, a sheriff tries to make sense of the carnage. But McCarthy uses this framework to explore the nature of violence, fate, and the inadequacy of old moral frameworks in a changing world. The unconventional ending alienates readers who want resolution, and McCarthy's sparse prose style demands patience. What remains is a novel that refuses to offer comfort and is more powerful for that refusal.

1985 · Cormac McCarthy · 368 pages · Literary Fiction

Cormac McCarthy's 1985 novel is frequently called one of the greatest American novels of the twentieth century, and for readers who can stomach it, there's a strong case. The prose is astonishing, the scope is vast, and Judge Holden is one of the most unsettling characters in all of fiction. But the violence is extreme enough to send many readers running, and the dense, archaic language demands real patience. Blood Meridian isn't a book you enjoy. It's a book you survive, and then spend a long time thinking about.