The Passenger
By Cormac McCarthy
- Release Date: 2022-10-25
- Genre: Fiction & Literature
Description
The best-selling, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Road returns with the first of a two-volume masterpiece: The Passenger is the story of a salvage diver, haunted by loss, afraid of the watery deep, pursued for a conspiracy beyond his understanding, and longing for a death he cannot reconcile with God.
Look for Stella Maris, the second volume in The Passenger series, on sale December 6th, 2022
1980, PASS CHRISTIAN, MISSISSIPPI: It is three in the morning when Bobby Western zips the jacket of his wet suit and plunges from the Coast Guard tender into darkness. His dive light illuminates the sunken jet, nine bodies still buckled in their seats, hair floating, eyes devoid of speculation. Missing from the crash site are the pilot’s flight bag, the plane’s black box, and the tenth passenger. But how? A collateral witness to machinations that can only bring him harm, Western is shadowed in body and spirit—by men with badges; by the ghost of his father, inventor of the bomb that melted glass and flesh in Hiroshima; and by his sister, the love and ruin of his soul.
Traversing the American South, from the garrulous barrooms of New Orleans to an abandoned oil rig off the Florida coast, The Passenger is a breathtaking novel of morality and science, the legacy of sin, and the madness that is human consciousness.
Reviews
Tough to follow
1By jtp987321One of my favorite writers in the world, but this book was a hard one to read. In the end I guess it’s more of a character study than an actual story- but even the character of the protagonist was hard to decipher beyond his inability to accept the death of a loved one.Strangely Unsatisfying
4By TheGreatManginiBeautiful prose, like a poem. Interesting facts and plots that never materialize. Missing pieces throughout. Left me tired.I’m going to miss Cormac
5By Grandfather50An incredible book by a great American authorDepressing
2By Grandma SelLong and tiresome. So not my favorite.The weight of things
5By Scott's take on thingsThis is a story about love and death.The Passenger
5By CraigDashBoth books are fantastic!Excruciatingly bad
1By Heat500This book was, by far, the worst gargantuan word salad ever printed. While I get what the author was probably trying to say, the “story” read like he was copying a vast ocean of rarely used words, mixing them up in a giant verbal blender, and puking them onto a page. Even I could do that. The word processor had to have been hacked by extraterrestrials. I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s “The Road”. What happened? I wish I could get a refund for this dog’s breakfast.Amazing
5By Chris ShinnJust finished both books. — Amazing.Not just dark but confusing
2By redhead2115I can’t say I really understood this book. The main character who, still in love with his dead sister, Wanders aimlessly among his many and varied acquaintances while seemingly being hunted by some unknown government entity. Perhaps it was just over my head, but I found it tedious and uninspiring. And I am usually a huge fan of Cormac McCarthy.disappointedDisappointing
2By FreethinkerXI've read all of McCarthy's novels (the hardcover n this case). With The Passenger, he is just showing off to no worthwhile or consistent purpose. Somewhere in here is a 200-ish page novel that would work. Occasional brief passages highlight his abilities. However, McCarthy's editor needed to reign in his meandering story to achieve greater impact.