Stella Maris is the second of Cormac McCarthy's two-part book series released late in 2022. It follows where "The Passenger" left off, although it is different. In fact, this one is much shorter, and written almost entirely in dialogue.
As for a McCarthy work, this one is atypical, at least as I see it. It is nowhere near as violent as almost all of the other works by McCarthy which I have read. In fact, about the only two things that it has in common with most of his earlier works is the fact that it is both thought-provoking, as well as incredibly depressing.
Alright, so that is the first little bit that I will write of this review. Now comes the time where I warn everyone that there will be spoilers ahead. So if you have not yet read this book and intend to, and do not want to hear or read any spoilers, this is the time to stop reading.
Last warning: spoilers ahead!
Okay, so if you are still reading this, then I will have to assume that you either already read the book, or for whatever reason, you do not mind spoilers. In any case, by this point, you have been warned. So let's discuss this book.
Alicia Western - sister of Bobby - is at a mental hospital in Stella Maris, Wisconsin, of all places. The entire book is dialogue, between Alicia and one of the doctors. It is highly intellectual dialogue, and addresses many academic fields, but particularly math and philosophy. The discussion from the previous book about babies is continued, with the end result being that they seem to come to the conclusion that the reason babies scream and cry about seemingly minor things is that they feel rage at the injustice of the world.
Interesting idea.
Some ideas in this book I had heard before, more or less, such as the apple that Eve picked in the Garden of Eden being knowledge, or wisdom, something that Daniel Quinn discusses at length in "Ishmael." Close to the end of the book, and not entirely unrelated, a rather fascinating idea is discussed. Particularly, the idea that language is itself not only what separates humans from other creatures, but is in fact the cause of it's misery and suffering, including much of the depression that Alicia and others suffer from. In fact, it felt like some very good points were made. It is a discussion filled with ideas which I intend to revisit in the future.
In fact, there is quite extensive discussion about the human condition, about happiness and - more importantly and much more common - depression. They discuss suicide, and how there would be a sizable percentage of people who would likely opt to cease to exist if given a chance to have never existed at all. Yet, people remain attached to their lives, which prevents the suicide rates from being greater than they are. Still, there is actually quite detailed descriptions of certain possible suicide attempts, particularly the slow drowning at Lake Tahoe, which Alicia seriously contemplated, but decided against after realizing just how horrific it would prove to be.
Of course, the doctor asks about the people in Alicia's mind, particularly "The Kid." Yet, far from being self-conscious of these mysterious entities that seem to exist only in her head, Alicia speaks frankly and without any seeming discomfort or self-consciousness about it. She does this enough that, in fact, it seems to kind of make sense, and you begin to believe that, indeed, these characters perhaps really do exist in a more substantive way than the doctor likely believes, or that others who would systematically dismiss such notions could conceive to be the case.
Not surprisingly, this book deals with an incest that is strongly hinted at in both of these books, but confirmed towards the end of this one. It is, of course, not a very comfortable subject of discussion. Yet, this is done in a fairly convincing and detailed - even ofttimes quite graphic - manner. At least the thought, or desire, of it, in this case, but not the actual acts.
Overall, a solid read. I guess it does not have to be the second part, because this book - while obviously related to "The Passengers" - is nevertheless independent, and not necessarily sequential. In other words, you can read it first, although there are some spoilers for "The Passenger," if you want to do it that way. One way or another, though, I feel that you have to read both, and not merely one, to fully grasp it. They feel like two parts of the same story, even though they are officially two separate books. But again, highly recommended!
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