i'm reading blood meridian now after letting the kites go and i was thinking on the ride this morning how though it was written 25 years ago it's a lot like the road and would seem post-apocalyptic were it not ancient in american terms history, gnome sane. i mean it's about the history of america which stretches into the future in the road and is the ongoing saga of violence and destruction. the language changes in that period of time, 25 years in book time, 100 some in 'real' time, and the landscape gets bleaker and the weapons more deadly, but the feeling is the same. america's future is it's past, just add technology and futility and toxic erosion. 
it's a damn good read, i might add. 

also i meant to say that o the walk this morning i thought that's not the whole story of course and there is kindness and respect and love even within the brutal framework of america. there are some kindnesses in blood meridian that are all the more disconcerting given the quick and casual violence that is the norm. i think that's true even today in what appears to be the final trump of violent america. and maybe the love somehow oddly feeds off the violence and becomes more crucially vital to survival.