This Duology has definitely been something I’ve thought about often. It feels like there is something vast underneath that I’m not grasping, especially in regards to the strange incestuous aspects of the relationship between the two.
On Cormac McCarthy’s The Passenger (and Stella Maris) absolutely brilliant!! I started reading Stella Maris first because it was on the shelf in the library and half way through I decided to go back and read The Passenger- which just blew me away!! How does he know? Of course, now I will never get to ask him. Mccarthy goes on my list now- the one that answers the question “if you can have dinner with one person living or dead…?” ( right after Dr. Oliver Sacks) so many questions- this is my genius list…
Oliver Sacks and Cormac would not only be fascinating company - I can see them getting along with one another quite amicably.
That's fascinating to me that you actually read "Stella Maris" first, Francine, as I did wonder if that might actually make "The Passenger" all the more mind-blowing, as you say. We have the dream first and then the facts in the sequential order. You starting out with the facts would have given you a significant advantage in terms of accessing Alicia's hallucinations (the italicized sections) . . . Do you think it helped you grapple with both the "real" and "unreal" (or "subconscious") in "The Passenger"?
Thank you so much for showing your support! More to come! :)
I read maybe a quarter of Stella Maris, before deciding to stop and read The Passenger first, and yes I do think it probably brought a little clarity to The Passenger that I otherwise might not have had. I have yet to finish Stella Maris. I must admit, I stopped reading it because I felt it was getting a little dragging and repetitive, but now, with the first book read I’d like to see. I might add, because you asked, it wasn’t so much accessing A’s hallucinations entirely, as that I had an intense desire to understand the relationship between her and her brother- which you pretty much get in The Passenger.
A fascinating intro to these two works, Brock, and has certainly relit my curiosity to explore them.
What's in store from these two as a combo? I'm very eager to find out and to hopefully have something interesting to say about them to add to the conversation you've started. Off we go then...
I'm so happy you are going to read them as a consequence of this review. I can guarantee they'll take you longer than you think, if you're reading as I believe is intended. Yes: carve out some time for it. I consider this a major reading project for 2024 for me. I will elaborate more on themes in an upcoming personal essay. Thanks for showing your support!
This Duology has definitely been something I’ve thought about often. It feels like there is something vast underneath that I’m not grasping, especially in regards to the strange incestuous aspects of the relationship between the two.
I think it adds to their "unspoken sin" - birthed from such a father, united as siblings . . . but with a dark, dark DNA.
On Cormac McCarthy’s The Passenger (and Stella Maris) absolutely brilliant!! I started reading Stella Maris first because it was on the shelf in the library and half way through I decided to go back and read The Passenger- which just blew me away!! How does he know? Of course, now I will never get to ask him. Mccarthy goes on my list now- the one that answers the question “if you can have dinner with one person living or dead…?” ( right after Dr. Oliver Sacks) so many questions- this is my genius list…
Oliver Sacks and Cormac would not only be fascinating company - I can see them getting along with one another quite amicably.
That's fascinating to me that you actually read "Stella Maris" first, Francine, as I did wonder if that might actually make "The Passenger" all the more mind-blowing, as you say. We have the dream first and then the facts in the sequential order. You starting out with the facts would have given you a significant advantage in terms of accessing Alicia's hallucinations (the italicized sections) . . . Do you think it helped you grapple with both the "real" and "unreal" (or "subconscious") in "The Passenger"?
Thank you so much for showing your support! More to come! :)
I read maybe a quarter of Stella Maris, before deciding to stop and read The Passenger first, and yes I do think it probably brought a little clarity to The Passenger that I otherwise might not have had. I have yet to finish Stella Maris. I must admit, I stopped reading it because I felt it was getting a little dragging and repetitive, but now, with the first book read I’d like to see. I might add, because you asked, it wasn’t so much accessing A’s hallucinations entirely, as that I had an intense desire to understand the relationship between her and her brother- which you pretty much get in The Passenger.
A fascinating intro to these two works, Brock, and has certainly relit my curiosity to explore them.
What's in store from these two as a combo? I'm very eager to find out and to hopefully have something interesting to say about them to add to the conversation you've started. Off we go then...
I'm so happy you are going to read them as a consequence of this review. I can guarantee they'll take you longer than you think, if you're reading as I believe is intended. Yes: carve out some time for it. I consider this a major reading project for 2024 for me. I will elaborate more on themes in an upcoming personal essay. Thanks for showing your support!