Notes on Blood Meridian (Southwestern Writers Collection Series) [Tapa dura]

Out of print for many years, copies of the first edition of this book sold on Ebay for hundreds of dollars. There was an outcry for a new edition, but John Sepich seemed to be as reclusive as Cormac McCarthy during the 1990s, and so we waited.

Finally, at long last, here it is. Scholars everywhere will delight in this new edition.

McCarthy's masterpiece, BLOOD MERIDIAN, is based upon historical sources, not just Chamberlain's MY CONFESSSION, but a whole library of western memoirs and documents. John Sepich documents and annotates the work here. The real histories of many of McCarthy's characters are examined. This edition features an easy-to-map of the locations named in the novel.

In addition, the literary, mythic, and cosmological allusions are itemized, discussed, explained, and indexed. John Sepich, in association with other scholars, now maintains his own website and presents a concordance of the work which, last time I checked, was available for free.

I only wish the original cover artwork had been retained for the dustjacket, as the romantic picture here, so recently used on Per Petterson's Pulitzer-nominated OUT STEALING HORSES just has the wrong feel. It may grow on me in time. But the text of the book is magnificently presented.

Those who already treasure BLOOD MERIDIAN will want to purchase the expanded hardcover edition of this work, which features two new essays by Sepich, "Knitting The Winds," and "Why Believe The Judge?" They are a definite treat.

All in all, the amazing work of scholarship worthy of the masterpiece it illuminates.

John Sepich, Notes on Blood Meridian (Bellarmine College Press, 1983)

Isn't it always the way? The first truly indispensable book of 2001 and it's impossible to find. Even bookfinder.com doesn't list a copy.

Cormac McCarthy's 1985 novel Blood Meridian is one of the finest novels in the English language, and the realization that much of the book is based on true events of 1849-1850 makes McCarthy's achievement even more harrowing. John Sepich gives us an overview of Mcarthy's cources as well as a look into some of the other conceits that tie the book together. Whether you take all of Sepich's assertions at face value or not (and he certainly does stretch things a little with his Tarot interpretations), the end result of reading Notes on Blood Meridian is an even deeper appreciation for the genius of Cormac McCarthy. Sepich hunted down obscure references by the score, source material that's been out of print for a century and a half, authors of critical works, unpublished dissertations, you name it. It's all here. You'd have to spend years doing the research yourself. Why not let Sepich hand it to you on a silver platter? This is great stuff, and as a companion to Blood Meridian itself, it's indispensable.

I just purchased this book and have read the first half. I think several points are worth making.

1. The author (Sepich) makes hundreds of references to specific page numbers in Blood Meridian. However, the 2010 Modern Library Edition of Blood Meridian now being sold (on Amazon and elsewhere) has different pagination from the edition Sepich used. So unless you buy an older edition, expect lots of trouble when searching for the pages Sepich is citing!

2. I have so far found two errors, one of commission and one of omission. In the Addenda on Map Citations, Sepich says that in the novel's closing section the "kid" character crosses the Arkansas and Concho Rivers. In fact, in the novel it's an old buffalo hunter who mentions those two rivers, not the "kid". (And at that point, the Arkansas River is far north of the kid's location.) The kid, who has already crossed the northernmost fork of the Brazos River, then continues south and crosses the Clear Fork (middle fork) of the Brazos River, though this map citation is not mentioned in Sepich's book. These errors of detail are notable mostly because Sepich's book is so devoted to detail. And they cause me to wonder what other inaccuracies may exist in the book.

3. The detail in this book is fairly exhaustive and indicates a large amount (perhaps even an obsessive amount) of research. In that regard, I toast the author (Sepich). In truth, I do not need so much detail, and at times it makes the reading a bit of a slog, but it is there if I want it.

4. Some of the observations are highly speculative. That is, there is no proof or even evidence that McCarthy used some of the resources the book suggests. Where evidence does exist, Sepich sometimes tends to overwork the apparent metaphorical or symbolic connection to Blood Meridian; that is, I suspect McCarthy did not intend much of the overly complex and highly esoteric symbology Sepich suggests. In some instances, I suspect most of the symbology is pure fantasy on the part of Sepich. But as in the case of too much detail, I can choose to ignore what seems outlandish and find useful what seems substantially accurate.

5. It is interesting to learn about the books that McCarthy likely used as resources for Blood Meridian. And because I have so thoroughly enjoyed his novel, I may now read some of those resource books.

6. But you certainly do not need this book by Sepich in order to enjoy Blood Meridian. In fact, I'm hoping it doesn't cause me to read Blood Meridian in a self-conscious way in the future. The novel, after all, is akin to narrative poetry, and one can ruin great poetry by analyzing it too closely.