Blood Meridian

Or the Evening Redness in the West

By: Cormac McCarthy

Narrated by: Richard Poe

Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Author of the National Book Award-winning All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy is one of the most provocative American stylists to emerge in the last century. The striking novel Blood Meridian offers an unflinching narrative of the brutality that accompanied the push west on the 1850s Texas frontier.

©1985 Cormac McCarthy (P)2007 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

“The authentic American apocalyptic novel…I venture that no other living American novelist, not even Pynchon, has given us a book as strong and memorable as Blood Meridian.” (Harold Bloom)

"McCarthy is a writer to be read, to be admired, and quite honestly envied." (Ralph Ellison)

"McCarthy is a born narrator, and his writing has, line by line, the stab of actuality. He is here to stay." (Robert Penn Warren)

Easily one of the greatest American novels!

Blood Meridian is one of the greatest novels written by one of the greatest American authours ever. The tale not only paints vivid images and fantastic landscapes but also puts the reader through a multitude of quandaries moral and emotional. A must read for any American.

possibly the best book on audible!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

epic! the violence was gritty enough, the characters ,the landscape, and the dialogue were all exceptional.

What about Richard Poe’s performance did you like?

the way he read it you would think he talked like McCarthy writes all the time.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I wouldn't make a film of this book, it would ruin it. It would make a great hbo series though.

Narration is talented, tremendous.

Would you listen to Blood Meridian again? Why?

I've listened to Blood Meridian multiple times. Richard Poe's narration is expert. There are 5+ characters in many scenes, and he creates different voices, tones and speed of delivery for each one. Mr. Poe must have read and studied characters of the book, because he matches the character's personality with their voice.
This is one of three books i feel have the best narration:
* Blood Meridian - Richard Poe
* Beyond Good and Evil - Alex Jennings
* Great Gatsby - Tim Robbins

All these books take a lot of effort to narrate effectively.
Highly recommended.

tenouttaten

An almost religious experience. A masterwork, both the story and the performance. Don't buy unless you know what you are getting into.

Incredible. Instant classic. Sublime.

This is a sublime accomplishment. An instant American classic. The book's imagery is without equal, the writing is beyond reproach, even superior to McCarthy's other spectacular books. I can't rate it high enough.

Amazing poetic writing with a superb performance.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and intend to listen again or read the book, as I feel it is chock full of metaphors and perhaps a deeper meaning that I couldn't get the first time through. The action of events and McCarthy's prose make the story captivating even if I don't fully get it.

Shortly after starting this audiobook I got some other books by Richard Poe. He is amazing. He gives flesh and blood to the words and gives you the ability to visualize the characters.

unbelievable

The narrator makes me want to say "The Judge" a million times. This book was awesome.

A masterpiece, but...

I enjoyed reading this as a book many years ago more than listening to it as an audiobook recently. For some reason, the dense descriptions of the landscape and the minimal plotting made it difficult to concentrate as a listener.

Wow that's a lot of death, but stick with it!

First let me say this book was AMAZING!! I listened to this entire book in one sitting as I drove from Minnesota to Pennsylvania.

I was into it! There is however, a lot of death. Dead men, dead dogs, dead bear, a tree full of dead babies... YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT, DEAD BABIES! The eloquent prose paint a bleak picture of life in the west, and help to make the amount of death more tolerable.

If you are turned off by the death, as you read on it adds a weight to the story, and you end up carrying that weight of the protagonist's past, present, and future with you until the very end. Stick with it!

This book made me feel cold, alone, and small

Darkness has never graced the pages of a book with such immensity. I will never forget the ride this book took me on. I have read some of the most upseting and dark books to have ever been written. Cormac McCarthy tells a unrelenting tale that assaults you at every turn until you relize that something far more horrible is waiting for you.