FGBC: Tree of Babies

Here we'll take a look at Blood Meridian chapters 5 and 6. Yes, we are going to two chapters a week because: a) I am reading about 2 chapters a week b) I make the rules and c) I am already getting sick of doing these and this way it will be over quicker.

Anyway, these two chapters start with the aftermath of the Commanche attack. The filibusters are all pretty much dead. Horrific scenes including the aforementioned bush o' babies. Awesome. The kid falls in with some guy named Sproule who intends to "suit himself" by wandering across the desert, seeing some mirages, and then dying.

A good portion of the journey across the desert is spent seeking water. Here we get some more of that McCarthy religious imagery when they go to a seep for a drink: The water that reached the canyon floor was no more than a trickle and they leaned by turns with pursed lips and to the stone like devouts at a shrine.

Eventually, the kid and Sproule come across some Mexican soldiers who take them to Chihuahua. Sproule dies and the kid is imprisoned after seeing Captain White's head in a jar. It should be obvious at this point that death is a major theme of this book. The body count is already higher than First Blood: Part 2 and we haven't even met the Glanton gang.

Speaking of the Glanton Gang, the kid meets up with his old acquaintance Toadvine in prison, and after mulling how much cash they could get for the teeth of their captor, they join up with said gang and the increasingly other-worldly Judge Holden.

Also, while jailed give the kid once again proves his badassery by throwing a rock at a small boy and knocking him off the roof. They ain't about to come in here and eat no whips. Indeed.

Final note, apparently Blood Meridian is going to be made into a movie, directed by Ridley Scott. It will be interesting to see how some of this stuff translates to the big screen, but I'm afraid the answer may be "none too well."

Unanswered Questions
I can't think of any.