Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
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.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
A Powerful Conversation
Customer Rating:
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 to Cormac McCarthy (The Road or Blood Merdian are the proper beginnings), but for the reader interested in diving into this authors rich catelogue, I highly suggest it!
A surprising book
Customer Rating:
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.
Uneven, but worthwhile for fans
Customer Rating:
Based on other reviews, this was more or less what I expected. There were some great stretches, but there also some jarring clichés which were a bit surprising from McCarthy. In particular the black character seemed ripped straight out of the Wikipedia definition for 'magic negro.' However, it is certainly possible McCarthy was consciously playing with that and using it as a device. Without getting too much into spoiler territory there is a development that sends an otherwise-typical magic negro plot into a brick wall. Perhaps someone with a deeper understanding of both McCarthy and literary history could deconstruct it and explain why it is the definition of brilliance, but to me it came off a tad unartful.
It is imperfect and seems rushed or unpolished. All that said, people that love writing - especially Cormac McCarthy's writing - will and should buy this, and I look forward to reading more of his for-film and for-stage writing. I think in the same way that people interested in Stanley Kubrick's films can find interest in Eyes Wide Shut (or even more esoterically, the Speilberg-directed A.I.), people like me who enjoy McCarthy's work will find plenty in The Sunset Limited to chew on.
The Sunset Limited
Customer Rating:
I have become a devoted McCarthy fan. I believe he is one of the most gifted, talented, honest and bravest authors on the scene today. This would be a great text for any high school, or college literature course because it would stimulate great dialog and teach students to become more reflective thinkers. He challenges the reader to think about some of life's biggest issues. Cormac has often been accused of revealing the darker side of the human condition. With this book I found myself laughing so hard I nearly fell off my chair, and then quickly found myself in a more solemn "Wow" moment, which is more the norm when reading Cormac. He has the gift of producing profound and wonderous moments for the reader. This is one of my favorites so far in my Cormac McCarthy journey.
A bit of a Rorschach
Customer Rating:
This year I have been working my way through all of his novels (only have one to go: The Orchard Keeper). It's been an experience. A friend of mine introduced me to Cormac McCarthy and says she believes that in 100 years, he'll be the only novelist writing today who will still be read. She may be right. There is much that is bleak about this body of work (so much so that "No Country For Old Men" is sort of a light comedy among Mr. McCarthy's other works.) The question I think his readers will be asking for a long time is: What hope, if any, does McCarthy hold out? If there is hope, where does it reside?
Although not close to being his best book, this one probably boils down that fundamental theme in McCarthy's work to the most basic. It's Black and White in this book in more ways than one. I finished the book a couple of hours ago and my initial reaction is that McCarthy's answer here is No. There is no hope. No meaning. But, as is so often the case with this writer, when you take time to think about his work, you realize that the answers don't offer themselves up that easily.
I enjoyed the book and appreciated the experiment with the dramatic form.
For those, like me, who have been bitten by the Cormac Bug, but are just getting started: You're in for quite a ride. And, be sure to read Suttree.
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