I finished Blood Meridian a few days ago. That is a dense book. There are layers to peel back that I only sometimes understood. While I was reading (and rereading some parts), I thought about a quote from Christopher Nolan on Tenet, where he implores the audience not to try to understand but to just feel it. Choosing not to think too hard and instead feel the rhythm of Cormac McCarthy’s writing made the reading experience more enjoyable.

The book gave me the same feeling as listening to Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Godspeed’s music paints a landscape and lets you imagine the suffering inside of it. Blood Meridian does not give you the chance to imagine violence, it shoves it in your face at every opportunity.