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A review by hannahhenk
The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I’d never read any of McCarthy’s books before and perhaps this wasn’t the one to start with. The author has a very distinct writing style and by the time I had gotten semi-used to the lack of quotation marks and apostrophes I was already 100 pages in. I found myself having to reread parts as I couldn’t figure out who was saying what and even which characters were in certain scenes; having finished the book I’m still not sure what happened in the majority of it.
I am very much a fan of stories which don’t over explain every aspect of the plot and allow the reader to come to their own conclusions and this book allows for that.
There were parts of the book that gripped me and at these points I thought that I may finally have read enough to understand. This sense never lasted more than a few pages though.
McCarthy is a major figure in American literature and I do understand the love for his stories, his writing style may just not be for me.
I am very much a fan of stories which don’t over explain every aspect of the plot and allow the reader to come to their own conclusions and this book allows for that.
There were parts of the book that gripped me and at these points I thought that I may finally have read enough to understand. This sense never lasted more than a few pages though.
McCarthy is a major figure in American literature and I do understand the love for his stories, his writing style may just not be for me.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide