Wow. This was fantastic. The story of "the kid" and his coming of age and traveling across the old west. He teams up with the fantastic and horrific Judge Holden and the Glanton Gang. The novel is violent and savage and brutal and describes the Westward expansion and the hunting of Indians and Mexicans. The Judge is an enormous (he weighs 24 stones), completely hairless man who speaks at least 5 languages, knows how to make gunpowder, and catalogs everything. He feels that (I'm paraphrasing here but) anything that he is unfamiliar with or is unaware of exists without his permission. The story also focuses on the kid who is sort of the representation of morality / reason. The book started off a little slow, but once the kid found himself riding with the Glanton Gang it really moved. I think that McCarthy is my favorite writer today, and I'm sure that there are many levels that I'm missing in the book.

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