McCarthy's evil is real evil. It doesn't come to a bad end; it doesn't regret being evil (invalidating the Socratic hypothesis); it succeeds in ruining innocent lives with no retribution. In comparison, other evil - say, Cathy in East of Eden - no longer seems true.

This is a dark, dark book - but it is not ugly. It is beautiful. To find beauty in suffering: this is the only redemption McCarthy lets us hope for. ( )

This novel was amazing. This is McCarthy's finest work as far as his Appalachia novels are concerned. The struggles that Cullah and Rinthy go through as incredibly human, and the sadness that permeates all of their experiences broke my heart several times.

That said, it's not a perfect novel, and it was a bit of struggle for me in the middle of the book for about 50 pages or so. The latter portion, though, easily pulls through. ( )

Draw a line from William Faulkner through the midnight dark of the human soul and at the end of it you will find Cormac McCarthy, picking over the bones of murderer and murdered, like some oracle seeking the truth of the ways of man and god. McCarthy’s god is, at best, indifferent. At worst, malevolent and sadistic.

Set in the mythical southern Appalachia of Faulkner, this novel is sparse and stark. It follows an incestuous brother and sister. She bears his child; he abandons it to the elements. The baby is taken by a passing tinker. She sets out to find the baby. The brother sets out to find her. Along the way they encounter good and evil in many forms. Look for no happy ending here. ( )

Though short in length, Outer Dark is a deep and lengthy exposition on the antiquated and rural American experience. McCarthy skillfully frays and interweaves a set of storylines occurring around the turn of the 20th century, though since it takes place in an isolated and unnamed countryside, it may as well be placed in the 19th century.

The story is based around the familial dissolution between Culla Holme and his sister Rinthy. Living together in rural isolation and upon the birth of her child, her brother promptly discards her child in the wilderness and sets out on an aimless sojourn for sustenance and perhaps a new set of boots; while awakened with the loss of her family, Rinthy resolves to set out and reclaim her child. Interspersed between each character's quest is the inclusion of a band of marauding malevolence influencing the travels of each.

Progressing through the Cormac McCarthy oeuvre, I've come to notice certain undeniable recurrences: aimless and intentionally underdeveloped characters, no quotation marks, sparse yet colorful dialogue, dusty and nearly-deserted roads serving as the vehicle of the story, and a healthy dose of depravity. None remains lacking here.

I contend that McCarthy is just as much a writer of horror as he is of high literature in the Faulknerian tradition asserted by so many others. Outer Dark is not just a story about incest or poverty, but rather like Blood Meridian or No Country for Old Men, it's about the pervasive lack of morality or injustice and the whimsical brutality so inherent to humankind. It's about cannibalism, both metaphorical and literal; it's about the people who are "takers", those who are able to possess or consume others; and in McCarthy's world, the consequences are never assumed for anyone's actions.

Outer Dark is much starker than McCarthy's The Road, as it establishes a post-apocalyptic environment without the fireworks or even hint of a catastrophic event. Quite simply, it isn't needed. In that respect, it's much more powerful and disturbing; its conclusion is the antithesis to that in The Road. ( )

If you want to read a book that makes you think but isn't a lot of work, this is a great one. A woman searches for her child, a man claims that he is searching for his sister (although I don't really believe him), and (what I have interpreted) is the devil is following the man and wreaking destruction as he goes.
It is well worth reading. However, I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending. I guess it sort of ends like it begins. You have to make up the rest of the story in your own mind. I like how McCarthy lets the reader think on their own, and not spoon-feed every detail. ( )