Received a mixed and often bewildered reception on publication - Kirkus called it impressive but suggested its "stentorian, pretentious prose will quickly dissuade most readers." It found a small audience initially but grew steadily in critical standing over the following decades. Harold Bloom called it "the greatest single American novel since Faulkner's As I Lay Dying" and placed it alongside Moby-Dick in the American literary tradition. It is now widely regarded as McCarthy's masterpiece and one of the most significant American novels of the twentieth century, though it remains deeply divisive - its unrelenting violence and biblical density make it one of the most demanding books in the canon.