KnockBack, Episode 264 | Blood Meridian
Added 2023-07-09 16:00:09 +0000 UTCThe great American author Cormac McCarthy recently passed away at the age of 89. In his decades as a writer, he penned a dozen novels, and we've actually covered a couple of them on this show in the past: The Road (Episode #78) and No Country For Old Men (Episode #233). In ode of such an inspirational and talented creator, we thought we'd thumb through what many consider his finest work, Blood Meridian. Written in 1985 -- before McCarthy was a truly known literary quantity, but nonetheless well into his career -- Blood Meridian tells the story of The Kid, a runaway-turned-criminal inescapably caught-up in the events of the American southwest in the years leading into the Civil War. Brutal, violent, vivid, and honest, Blood Meridian is a tough read on multiple levels, and there's an incredible density of threads to pull when talking about it. Thus, we did the best we could to show thanks to Cormac McCarthy the KnockBack way, following whichever trails the conversation brings us down.
Comments
Haha Colin I did the same thing with the chapter synopsis. I was always reading them like “ah yeah I did understand what happened”! Was using this to get out of my reading slump which worked but oh man was it difficult. Felt like I was learning to read and it took me so long to finish- but definitely worth it.
Cai
2023-08-28 08:52:09 +0000 UTCI think this would be best adapted in movie form through animation. Not 3d animation like Pixar, but think more like Pink Floyd's The Wall.
ajwhite
2023-07-25 18:06:42 +0000 UTCThis was a tasty one fellas.
Liam Rogers
2023-07-11 13:01:48 +0000 UTCGreat book. Great podcast.
Zackery Parkerson
2023-07-11 06:44:51 +0000 UTCIt's quite a coincidence that I recently finished reading the book and now you've posted this new episode. I always enjoy it when you both discuss books, and "Bram Stoker's Dracula" was definitely one of my favorite episodes. I wanted to bring up something I noticed about the similarities between the Judge in "Blood Meridian" and the volcano story in "Paradise Lost." Both narratives seem to share a common thread. Is this something you noticed? I'm eagerly looking forward to future book episodes.
Levelupbrady
2023-07-10 17:41:21 +0000 UTCI read the first chapter and the writing is haunting. What Dagan said really resonates on how there’s a rhythm to the writing and it feels as if he was unconscious while writing it. It really reminds of what I think is the best book I’ve read. A Farewell to Arms by Earnest Hemingway. Very similar in writing flow and difficulty to read.
king_ryan_james
2023-07-10 15:42:08 +0000 UTCI had just started this book about a month back and was absolutely struck by the descriptive writing. And then a week later, Cormac McCarthy had passed away. So I ordered The Road and No Country For Old Men, since I’ve only seen the movies. His writing style can be hard to get used to but once you’re in, it’s undeniable how much he can draw you in with his use of language. But also, I totally get what Colin’s saying, I had to re-read multiple paragraphs to understand what was actually happening. A lot of the narrative almost feels like a dark fairy tale, where I don’t even know if I’m supposed to interpret most of what happens literally.
Ethan Barbee
2023-07-10 15:00:04 +0000 UTCAyeee thanks for the Delaware shout out!
Mike
2023-07-10 14:24:14 +0000 UTCI think Cameron Britton would be great for Judge. In the show, Mindhunters, he plays serial killer Ed Kemper who was a towering 6'9". I like Michael Shannon too but he's so much smaller.
de Bungo
2023-07-10 13:17:30 +0000 UTCJust finished this book while on a small vacation in the smokies. Reading that last scene while surrounded by pretty much nothing around me for a few miles was harrowing. I put the book down and kinda just stared at the ceiling for awhile. Great book, excited for the listen and I do wonder if we'll ever see the movie come to fruition.
Kristian
2023-07-10 12:44:41 +0000 UTCThe book topics are always some of my favorites on this channel as seldom as they come. Hearing Colin and Dagan cover other Authors like Faulkner or even a Russian author like Dostoyevsky would be a treat to listen to. As far as the evening redness in the west, it’s hard for me to say I “enjoyed” this book or that I would ever read it through again but I have always admired it on a purely thematic level. Cormac McCarthys prose in this novel is almost biblical in approach and there are passages that will reside in my mind forever. Thank you for the wonderful episode gents!
Xavier Gomez
2023-07-09 23:41:06 +0000 UTCA standout verse of the book that has stuck with me about a decade or so after reading it: “A lobeshaped moon rose over the black shapes of the mountains dimming out the eastern stars and along the nearby ridge the white blooms of flowering yuccas moved in the wind and in the night bats came from some nether part of the world to stand on leather wings like dark satanic hummingbirds and feed at the mouths of those flowers. Farther along the ridge and slightly elevated on a ledge of sandstone squatted the judge, pale and naked. He raised his hand and the bats flared in confusion and then he lowered it and sat as before and soon they were feeding again.”. It left such an impression that I’ve set a goal for myself to render the image and possibly have it tattooed on me.
Nikitas Gagas
2023-07-09 21:42:36 +0000 UTCMexico and a lot of South American countries are really not at a better state now then they were when indigenous had the land. Mexico is rot with crime, drugs and poverty, it’s not about living in huts it’s about what was robbed away from an older culture/ people. The Spanish had so much of an advantage to wipe out entire groups of people, of course a world built under the Spanish vision would be more ideal for a modern society. But indigenous had a great understanding of science/technology and creativity that if left alone they could have advanced further in development and would probably be way better off without the Spanish ever interfering but we would never know that.
Ren Quin
2023-07-09 20:38:21 +0000 UTCI’m about half way through the book after hearing you guys were doing an episode on it. Loving it so far it’s just so heavy it’s taking me a little longer to get through than a 300 plus page book normally would. Super excited to hear ya’lls thoughts!
Payton Garrett
2023-07-09 20:22:04 +0000 UTCWow what a great surprise! Funny enough… I’m reading this now and have been hearing Dagan’s voice in my head during some of the descriptive passages
Henry Morgan
2023-07-09 18:54:22 +0000 UTCIsn't this episode of Knockback 264? The Mighty Ducks episode was Knockback 263.
Yiorgos
2023-07-09 18:46:09 +0000 UTCI've always been fully aware of the author, but never read any of his work. This is the one that interests me the most, I may have to grab it. Since his passing, it's been a top seller on Amazon.
TL
2023-07-09 18:41:58 +0000 UTCYou gentlemen covering a book has me excited. I plan to go pick up a copy from the library today so I can listen on in. Would love love to see more books covered in the future if that interests either of you
PapaFlow
2023-07-09 18:09:53 +0000 UTCColin: “I don’t know much about the southwestern American history” Gives a 20 minute impromptu lecture on southwestern American history* 🤣
Robert Graham
2023-07-09 17:43:29 +0000 UTCThank you Colin for making me feel not alone when it comes to this one. Agreed on most all counts.
Dante B
2023-07-09 17:39:23 +0000 UTCNo wayyyyy I’ve been waiting forever for this. My favorite book! So excited to listen
Robert Graham
2023-07-09 16:41:31 +0000 UTCNice! Been a long time coming. Looking forward to listening to your interpretations about the who or what the Judge is and the ending.
Nikitas Gagas
2023-07-09 16:26:29 +0000 UTCBeen eagerly awaiting this one. Can't wait to jump in.
Glory Hole Slime
2023-07-09 16:15:03 +0000 UTC
