Reviews

Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

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itsmarkyall's review against another edition

5.0

Despite the fact that most of Stella Maris is over my head the book’s last sentence is devastating as hell. Cormac can twist the knife when he really wants.

jackson_tarheel's review against another edition

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2.0

This reads like a play - each chapter is a scene between the protagonist and her therapist, within the confines of the titular Stella Maris psychiatric hospital. The entirety of the text is dialogue back and forth, but with no character names nor colons, which at times had me slowing down / rereading just to understand which of the characters was speaking a particular line. There is much discussion of the Manhattan Project, of a slew of great mathematicians I’ve never heard of. There is vivid description of suicide. It’s pretty writing, but also V heady.

I think it might be more interesting to see staged than on the page. This was very much on my To-Read list (as a fan of the Road, also of No Country for Old Men)! But it’s not my favorite McCarthy.

blackeyed's review against another edition

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dark reflective fast-paced

Loveable characters? No

4.0

metamole's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

An intriguing follow up to The Passenger. By turns interesting, compelling and confusing. The lack of clear ending slightly weakened the book, but reading Cormack's prose remains a joy.