Cormac McCarthy, who won the Pulitzer Prize for The Road and the Oscar’s Best Picture for his adaptation of No Country for Old Men, died at his home in Santa Fe at the age of 89. His publisher Knopf announced his passing.
He was born Charles McCarthy Jr. on July 20, 1933, in Providence, Rhode Island. However, he later changed his name to Cormac, the name of an Irish king, as he felt it suited him better.
McCarthy led a tumultuous childhood, marked by his parents’ troubled marriage and subsequent divorce. He spent most of his early years in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he developed a deep appreciation for the natural beauty of the Appalachian region. These formative experiences would later find expression in his writing.
After completing high school, McCarthy attended the University of Tennessee, where he studied liberal arts. He initially pursued a scientific career and even considered becoming an engineer. However, he ultimately gravitated toward literature and writing. In 1953, he left college without obtaining a degree and moved to Chicago to work as an auto mechanic.
McCarthy’s literary career began in the early 1960s with his first novel, The Orchard Keeper, published in 1965. Although it did not receive significant commercial success, it garnered critical acclaim and established McCarthy’s distinctive style characterized by sparse prose, philosophical themes, and a penchant for exploring the darker aspects of human nature.
Over the next two decades, McCarthy published several novels, including Outer Dark (1968), Child of God (1973), and Suttree (1979). However, it was his novel Blood Meridian (1985) that brought him widespread recognition. Set in the American Southwest during the mid-19th century, the book is a brutal and vivid depiction of violence and human depravity. Blood Meridian is often regarded as McCarthy’s magnum opus and a masterpiece of American literature.
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In 1992, McCarthy published All the Pretty Horses, the first book in his acclaimed Border Trilogy, which also includes The Crossing (1994) and Cities of the Plain (1998). This trilogy further solidified McCarthy’s reputation and won him the National Book Award for Fiction.
However, it was McCarthy’s novel No Country for Old Men (2005) that catapulted him into mainstream recognition. The book was adapted into an acclaimed film by the Coen Brothers, winning multiple Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film follows three main characters: Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), a Vietnam War veteran and welder who stumbles upon a large sum of money in the desert; Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), a hitman who is sent to recover the money and Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), a sheriff investigating the crime.
The film also stars Kelly Macdonald as Moss’s wife Carla Jean, and Woody Harrelson as a bounty hunter seeking Moss and the return of the $2 million. McCarthy’s distinct storytelling style and exploration of morality and fate resonated with audiences around the world.
Throughout his career, McCarthy was famously reclusive, rarely giving interviews or engaging with the media. He chose to live a secluded life, spending most of his time writing. Despite this, his work continued to captivate readers and critics alike, and his novels have garnered numerous awards and accolades.
McCarthy’s contributions to literature have earned him a place among the literary giants of his time. His unparalleled ability to blend vivid storytelling, poetic prose, and philosophical depth has cemented his legacy as one of the most influential and important American writers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
He is survived by his two sons, Cullen and John Francis.
