The Sunset Limited

Written by Cormac McCarthy

Narrated by Austin Pendleton and Ezra Knight

A beautifully crafted, consistently thought-provoking, and deeply 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. Their aim is no less than this: to discover the meaning of life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: W. F. Howes Audio
• Release date: Jan 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781407470924

Cormac McCarthy

Cormac McCarthy was the author of many acclaimed novels, including Blood Meridian, Child of God and The Passenger. Among his honours are the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His works adapted to film include All the Pretty Horses, The Road and No Country for Old Men – the latter film receiving four Academy Awards, including the award for Best Picture. McCarthy died in 2023 in Santa Fe, NM at the age of 89.

Reviews for The Sunset Limited

[clstaff · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Sunset Limited is written almost entirely as a dialogue between a black man and a white man on their opposing beliefs about religion and the way they see the world. It is an amazing read and while it is quite short and can be read pretty quickly, it is easily the most thought provoking book I have read in ages. If you like arguing the pros and/or cons of religion over beers, then this is a must read.

[fothpaul · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Strange old book this one. Takes the form of a conversation between the two characters. the subject of the conversation is religion and the meaning of life. Some points in the conversation were thought provoking but I felt a little short changed by the length and the ending.

[lilibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A professor attempts to kill himself, only to be saved by an ex-con with strong religious faith. The two discuss their beliefs and views on life and faith.

[jpporter · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you want to know how good a short (143 pp.) book with larger typeface can be, here you are. McCarthy's The Sunset Limited is a "novel in dramatic form" - a dialogue between two men. One of the men (White) tried to commit suicide by jumping in front of a subway train. The other man (Black) pulled White away from the train and has taken him to Black's apartment, which is where the novel takes place.What ensues is a discussion of the meaning of life and where it is to be found - if, indeed, it is to be found at all. White, a professor, has come to feel that everything he believed in has proved worthless, while Black, a former junky and ex-con, has been "born again" and finds all value through the Bible.The discussion swirls around the debate between materialism and idealism: can we base our lives on only that which has substance, can be proved, can be a source of value, or is true value to be found in an abstraction, the idea of what should be of value, a mystery?No decisive answer has ever been given to this debate, and if anything, McCarthy points out where the lack of an answer leaves us.This is an incredible book that deserves multiple readings.

[polaris4_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An arresting and thought provoking two-hander that was (I think) originally written for the stage. It is described as "a novel in dramatic form". "White" is an atheist and suicidal professor rescued from his final act down at the Subway platform by "Black", an ex-convict who has found some salvation in life through his faith in God. (Not a spoiler as the failed suicide is made clear on page one.) Entirely set within the latter's sparse apartment in a rough part of town, there follows an intense and gripping dialogue as the two men discuss pretty much life, the universe, and everything. The closing pages reveal with devastating finality a resolution that one party will struggle immensely with.It is a thoroughly entrancing situation - where two men believe so absolutely in seemingly incompatible opposites. The existential discussion is well-handled and genuinely moving. It is a brief novel, and probably best experienced as a fully immersive experience where one can give full attention to the brilliantly written script. Despite the subject matter, there are some very funny lines and I really enjoyed this 'listen'. The audiobook narration by Austin Pendleton and Ezra Knight was pitch perfect on both counts.Part of McCarthy's undeniable brilliance lies with his ability to create with a bare minimum of pages a pair of characters so well-formed and complete with their own intriguing back-stories that the reader not only feels that he or she "knows" them quite well, but also wants to get into the room with them and sit down at the beat-up old kitchen table and join the conversation. I found myself torn agonisingly between both "White"'s and "Black"'s positions and was genuinely pained with the ending. This small book packs a powerful punch.

[cygnus555 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very powerful read - I loved the juxtaposition of these two very real characters.

[payam6tommy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A well-written play (or a novel in dramatic form) about different attitudes of an atheist and a religious man.
The good thing is there is no straight conclusion at the end and you can draw your own conclusion from the script.

“I yearn for the darkness. I pray for death. Real death. If I thought that in death I would meet the people I've known in life I don't know what I'd do. That would be the ultimate horror. The ultimate despair. If I had to meet my mother again and start all of that all over, only this time without the prospect of death to look forward to? Well. That would be the final nightmare. Kafka on wheels.”

[michael8xolotl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Fairly pedestrian. White's dialogue is overwrought and overwritten toward the end. 2.5 stars.

[4everfanatical · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Another book written by Cormac McCarthy that makes me feel just 'meh'.

There are two characters, Black and White who are in Black's apartment having a conversation about the meaning of life and the subject of faith. Black is a reformed sinner who found God and White is an educated atheist who wants to kill himself and has a very nihilistic view of the world and humanity.

Black tries his absolute best to convince White that life has meaning through various anecdotes and personal stories. I found Black to be pretty boring, and I hated his roundabout ways of trying to illustrate his point. He just talks and talks forever and White's dialogue is merely a couple of words in response. Didn't feel like much of a conversation or debate to me. Near the end White finds his voice and puts forward his interesting view of the world but I wanted that from the first page. In short this novel disappointed me as I wanted a more interesting exchange of opposing points of view.

[djupstrom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I didn't know what to expect from such an intense author. Sunset Limited is a novel, written as a play, about suicide, death, God, Jesus, racism, and other light-hearted topics.

[fuzzy_patters · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second published play by Cormac McCarthy, one of my favorite authors. The play centers around two men, named simply the white and the black, who discuss whether the white man should kill himself. They met earlier that morning when the black man prevented the white man's first attempt at suicide, but he would like to have a chance to try again. Their conversation soon turns to a theological and philosophical look at the meaning of God and the meaning of life. The white man, a college professor, looks at the world from the cynical perspective of an educated man who believes that he understands the futility of existence at a far deeper level than his fellow man. Meanwhile, the black man, believes that the meaning of life lies in love for your fellow man and putting faith in God. McCarthy does an outstanding job or portraying these two versions of mankind in an honest and non-judgmental manner that leaves the reader questioning just where he falls on this philosophical spectrum.

[athurman-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is minor McCarthy, which is to say still better than most other fiction writers. I enjoyed the hardcore philosophical debate between the suicidal atheist intellectual and the deludedly faithful good samaritan, but wish Cormac had worked in there somewhere the less stereotypical but more realistic figure of the ethical and non-suicidal atheist. After all, he reportedly enjoys hanging out with many such clear thinkers in his resident egghead gig at the Santa Fe Institute.