The Sunset Limited
by: Cormac McCarthy
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Product Description:
A startling encounter on a New York subway platform leads two strangers to a run-down tenement where a life or death decision must be made.
In that small apartment, “Black” and “White,” as the two men are known, begin a conversation that leads each back through his own history, mining the origins of two fundamentally opposing world views. White is a professor whose seemingly enviable existence of relative ease has left him nonetheless in despair. Black, an ex-con and ex-addict, is the more hopeful of the men–though he is just as desperate to convince White of the power of faith as White is desperate to deny it.
Their aim is no less than this: to discover the meaning of life.
Deft, spare, and full of artful tension, The Sunset Limited is a beautifully crafted, consistently thought-provoking, and deceptively intimate work by one of the most insightful writers of our time.
A startling encounter on a New York subway platform leads two strangers to a run-down tenement where a life or death decision must be made.
In that small apartment, “Black” and “White,” as the two men are known, begin a conversation that leads each back through his own history, mining the origins of two fundamentally opposing world views. White is a professor whose seemingly enviable existence of relative ease has left him nonetheless in despair. Black, an ex-con and ex-addict, is the more hopeful of the men–though he is just as desperate to convince White of the power of faith as White is desperate to deny it.
Their aim is no less than this: to discover the meaning of life.
Deft, spare, and full of artful tension, The Sunset Limited is a beautifully crafted, consistently thought-provoking, and deceptively intimate work by one of the most insightful writers of our time.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Thought provoking
This was a simple two-man dialog in play form. Or was it simple? Black and white go into many important questions, but do not provide pat answers. something to think about for a long time.
Rating: - McCarthy's View Of Life & Death, Hanging By A Thread
Cormac McCarthy never disappoints.
I was able to sit down and read this in two hours, completely drawn in. Written like a good conversation, it's hard not to overhear. Perfect for any McCarthy fan.
Rating: 
- The skeleton of a good story
I am a fan of McCarthy's other work, but I found this play to be pointless.
While Black is fleshed out well, the White character does not have any realistic motivations for his actions or statements. Despite being a professor he seems quite stupid and clueless. He is filled with unrealistic contradictions. Throughout the play I just could not help but feel that this would never happen.
Perhaps if the characters were more developed and White had a stronger backstory then ... Read More
Rating: - A Powerful Conversation
Don't be fooled, there is no action in this book. It is simply a conversation between two men, after a climatic event occured to bring them together. They speak of life, death, and the meaning behind it all. "The Sunset Limited" is pure McCarthy, and would probably be breathtaking performed by the proper players. It is a short read, but a powerful one. When you close the back cover you will be flushed with thoughts about your own mortality and convictions. I would not suggest this as an introductionn ... Read More
Rating: - A surprising book
I did not expect that a book, or a dramatic work, could dig so deep into the fundamental questione of human existence: who are you? and where are you going?Another milestone in McCarthy's career.
- Thought provokingThis was a simple two-man dialog in play form. Or was it simple? Black and white go into many important questions, but do not provide pat answers. something to think about for a long time.
- McCarthy's View Of Life & Death, Hanging By A ThreadCormac McCarthy never disappoints.
I was able to sit down and read this in two hours, completely drawn in. Written like a good conversation, it's hard not to overhear. Perfect for any McCarthy fan.
- The skeleton of a good storyI am a fan of McCarthy's other work, but I found this play to be pointless.
While Black is fleshed out well, the White character does not have any realistic motivations for his actions or statements. Despite being a professor he seems quite stupid and clueless. He is filled with unrealistic contradictions. Throughout the play I just could not help but feel that this would never happen.
Perhaps if the characters were more developed and White had a stronger backstory then ... Read More
- A Powerful ConversationDon't be fooled, there is no action in this book. It is simply a conversation between two men, after a climatic event occured to bring them together. They speak of life, death, and the meaning behind it all. "The Sunset Limited" is pure McCarthy, and would probably be breathtaking performed by the proper players. It is a short read, but a powerful one. When you close the back cover you will be flushed with thoughts about your own mortality and convictions. I would not suggest this as an introductionn ... Read More
- A surprising bookI did not expect that a book, or a dramatic work, could dig so deep into the fundamental questione of human existence: who are you? and where are you going?Another milestone in McCarthy's career.
