I always wonder, in books like these, whether the author is being deliberately ironic, or just enjoys writing violence and depravity. Another question I have about McCarthy is whether he has a deeper appreciation of events in the West beyond the standard cowboys and indians motif he uses here. The Indians are drunken savages with mystical war paint, the Mexicans disorganized and corrupt, the Americans individualistic and amoral. These are all stereotypes, and the question is whether McCarthy does this deliberately, or just because it is the standard way of writing this genre.

Were the Apaches brutal? Sure. Why? Do we get an answer? Is there reference to the culture of the Indian? Just a mocking dismissal.

I would imagine feminist critics of this book would have a field day too.