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.Well,Well
5By Lou VestI won’t pretend I understood it at an intellectual level, but I like the way his books rearrange the connections between old neurons. His prose, images and rhythms pick the reader up like a great wave that rolls on with you.Too complex and hard to read
1By DFK1967Sorry to have bought this book. Was unable to get through it as it was hard to read and understand the plot. Maybe it gets better later but could not sustain my interest.It’s complicated….
3By Deni6'4"I’m a big Cormac McCarthy fan but this one almost broke me. It’s not an easy read by any means. The vocabulary is dense, the physics and mathematics references are challenging for those not well-versed in these subjects, and I personally found the chapters written from the viewpoint of the main character’s sister somewhat tedious. All that being said, I’m still glad I read this and plan to read the follow-up that is soon to be released. (I have read that it clarifies many details and questions from this novel.) McCarthy is one of our most talented living writers IMO, and I’d pretty much read anything he writes, but don’t expect Blood Meridian, The Road, or The Border Trilogy; this is much different.Goated
5By MikeWhalen108“In the spring of the year birds began to arrive on the beach from across the gulf. Weary passerines. Vireos. Kingbirds and grosbeaks. Too exhausted to move. You could pick them up out of the sand and hold them trembling in your palm. Their small hearts beating and their eyes shuttering. He walked the beach with his flashlight the whole of the night to fend away predators and toward the dawn he slept with them in the sand. That none disturb these passengers.”A tough read
4By SEOhioThis novel is grim, tough, almost unbearably hopeless. If prone to depression don't read this - it's heady, if you're not smart it makes you look things up.Very strange book
4By Emotionally DisturbedCouldn’t stop reading this book because it was hard to follow. The author has a wonderful vocabulary. The twist and turns of the plot made the reader think, “Where is this going?” NoBe mine?!!
5By de ..... Jesus.... Rodriguez.I couldn’t say no! To you. Hermosa Vida. Hermosa… mia… mi vida vida…. beautiful life. Mine you’ll be…. Call me later….. 5829…. Baeee…The Passenger
5By Buffalo BayouA real tour de force. Highlighted by exotic vocabulary, insights into disturbed minds and relationships, mathematics, quantum physics, salvage diving, New Orleans food and beverage hot spots, travel through Western States and living in the West, sexual orientation, the power of the IRS, and much more. A truly entertaining read with a haunting and time release power of subsequent review.Astonishing
5By enjoy my opinionThis was my first McCarthy experience. I picked it up on a whim. It was exceedingly difficult and equally rewarding. I had to pause every few pages to reflect, sometimes multiple times a page, which is atypical for for the usual kinds of books I read, mostly page-turners. It’s been a couple days since I’ve finished it but it’s still haunting, still in the back of my mind telling me to slow down and look around. I loved it but it’s certainly not for everybody.
