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Stefan Baciu's avatar

Last year I read both Outer Dark and ATP, and I loved both Rinthy and Alejandra’s great aunt. Is Rinthy a bit unidimensional? Yes, but in the same way the Father is in The Road and that’s because people tend to appear unidimensional when they are consumed by a quest. The Great Aunt in ATP is a complex character, despite being a foil to John Grady. She empathizes with the protagonist and we empathize with her. Also, if I remember correctly, she has the longest monologue in the book, one that reveals her as both wise and caring, a mater familias through and through. And now that I think about it, she has one of the longest monologues of any McCarthy character I’ve read except for the Judge.

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