should i keep going?

[Anonymous No.18358442]

i got memed into reading this because i kept seeing it mentioned on pol and v threads. seems to be mostly descriptions of terrains and mountains at various times of the day, followed by yet another shootout and scalping excercise

then the judge looked up and smiled

does it get any better, or should i move on to something more interesting?

[Anonymous No.18358483]

>>18358442
If you’re not enticed or enjoying it by this point, it’s easy to assume you won’t appreciate reading more of it. The first chapter was enough to engage me. Comes down to preference. You’re not enjoying the prose?

[Anonymous No.18358554]

>>18358442
Which chapter? The abundance of violence and landscape descriptions are not going to change though. You should try concentrating on the prose, might appreciate it more.

[Anonymous No.18358560]

>>18358483
some of it i enjoy, most of it i find over-wrought

[Anonymous No.18358571]

>>18358554
chapter XVI, does the story develop any further than mere shootings and scalpings though?

[Anonymous No.18358593]

>>18358560
In that case it’s probably not going to improve for you, most of the book is like that. I seem to remember that after chapter 10 or so it flounders, but there are still moments (optical democracy section) in the slower section that appealed to me. People may shill the book annoyingly but no novel is required reading, best to give it up if you have other things to read

[Anonymous No.18358602]

>>18358571
you’re pretty close to the end though? isnt it like 24 chapters?

[Anonymous No.18358618]

>>18358571
The last stretch of 70-100 pages have more narrative bite but the book doesn't rely on plot at all. A few of my friends had similar opinions but that last section radically changed them. It's one of their favourites now after rereading it, so stick with it to the end I say.
You can also try the audiobook which is on youtube unabridged if you are not motivated to read it.

[Anonymous No.18358719]

>>18358593
>>18358618
thanks, ill take your opinions into consideration

[Anonymous No.18359038]

>>18358442
you have to realize the book is trying to inflict on the reader the same drudgery and insensitivity to violence that is being inflicted on its characters. The reader is intended to be bored by endless descriptions of desert scenery because the characters themselves were being subjected to the unremarkable boredom of the terrain for days and weeks. The reader is intended to become desensitized to the endless violence just as the characters. The prose is merely a means to keep you going, like the comfort of a game trail among the rough. The reader himself is a companion of the company, albeit a silent ghostly one.

[Anonymous No.18359108]

As an ESL, this book is exceptionally hard to read. I use a kindle, and more than 2/3rds of the words I look up don't even have a dictionary or wiki definition according to it. Is he just making words up to be pretentious?
Also he writes in a very archaic and convoluted way.

[Anonymous No.18359112]

>>18358442
>mentioned on pol and v threads
The absolute state of this board

[Anonymous No.18359117]

>>18359108
if you're looking for a fun and easy time, go to the movies or the ballpark, if you're looking for an uncomfortable and difficult challenge with a beautiful reward, try to hike a 12,000ft peak in the Sierras.

[Anonymous No.18359215]

Absolutely filtered by the greatest novel ever written. May I recommend Harry Potter?

[Anonymous No.18359273]

>>18358442
You're clearly too much of a pleb for this book so yes it's time to quit. Maybe J.K. Rowling will write a new Harry Potter book for you if you tweet at her enough.

[Anonymous No.18359730]

>>18358560
>some of it i enjoy, most of it i find over-wrought
Decent chance you will enjoy Suttree.

[Anonymous No.18361080]

>>18358442
you shouldn't keep going because you've already been filtered. Your IQ is 95 at most and you will get nothing out of this book

[Anonymous No.18361123]

>>18358442
It's a classic

[Anonymous No.18361141]

i tried reading it when i was 23, dropped it because i decided i needed more life experience, and then picked it up again at 25. sometimes that is ok

[Anonymous No.18361174]

>>18359038
This reminds me exactly of Moby Dick. The differneve being that, at least on my opinion, Melville was trying to recreate the sort of sense of wandering tedium a man at sea for 3 years inevitably felt on the long stretches of routine days of nothing.

[Anonymous No.18361253]

>>18359112
>>18359215
>>18359273
>>18361080
thanks for your enlightened opinion

[Anonymous No.18361303]

>>18358571
You're close to the end, I think you should keep going

[Anonymous No.18361423]

>>18358442

It's a character study without a main character (i.e. "the kid" is close to an empty vessel throughout the novel). There isn't a central narrative holding the book together or a plot driving it forward (it's a picturesque novel but, as I mentioned above, the central character isn't well-defined; he's mostly just bearing witness to what goes on around him). There's no final goal, just temptations that lead them to take part in acts of extreme violence. The nihilism is ironic.

The judge is the only person who voices a motivation (the subjugation of all things for the sake of personal dominance). He uses corruption to further his own ends, bending both man and nature to his will. A standout scene for me was when the initial meeting between the group and the judge is recounted. He leads them into a hellscape, up a volcano, and uses their excreta to create a weapon with which to subdue their pursuers (he literally turns waste, corruption from the body and matter spewing from hell, into destructive power).

If you're a plot person, Blood Meridian isn't for you. A lot of what you get out of it depends on what you take in with you beforehand.

I thought it was a great book. I read somewhere that it frequently ends up as a DNF for most readers but a lot of people end up returning to it and loving it the second time around. You can always put it down and pick it back up a year from now...you know what to expect and you'll probably enjoy it a lot more because of it.