Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West

The novel “Blood Meridian” is considered one of the greatest literary works of the twentieth century, written by the American writer Cormac McCarthy, and carefully translated into Arabic. Its events take place in the mid-nineteenth century between the United States and Mexico, where a mysterious boy joins a group of mercenaries led by the ruthless leader John Glanton. Their journey turns into a bloody epic in a harsh desert, revealing the savage face of man and his relationship with violence as part of his nature.

The novel does not tell a traditional story with a clear beginning and end, but sails into deep reflections on evil and violence as a natural law. The mysterious figure of Judge Holden appears as a symbol of evil justified by philosophy and nihilism, where he challenges moral values and redefines the meaning of existence. McCarthy’s harsh poetic language embodies the chaos of the world, with an intense description of the desert nature and unrelenting violence.

The novel raises existential questions about the nature of man: Is violence an instinct or a choice? And is salvation possible in a world governed by blood? Through 543 pages, McCarthy builds a world where there is no place for innocence, where the arid deserts turn into a stage for endless conflicts, and human souls become mere fleeting shadows.