The Sunset Limited

A Novel in Dramatic Form

By: Cormac McCarthy

Narrated by: Austin Pendleton, Ezra Knight, Tom Stechschulte

Length: 1 hr and 42 mins

Publisher's 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.

©2007 Cormac McCarthy (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

“A brilliantly articulated piece, penned by a wildly acclaimed fiction writer. Nothing short of dazzling. So astonishingly effecting, so powerful, so stimulating!” ( Chicago Tribune)

My Favorite Audio Book!

I never get tired of listening to this. A job well done. My Favorite indeed!

Very well delivered

This is a beautiful conversation between two views of reality that can be neither proved or disproved. Each failing to persuade the other there is an impasse that rings true of many of our relationships. The ending is unsatisfying but true of many such encounters.

a classic

I have lost track of how many times I have listened to this production and recommended it to others. It is just so well done in the true, albeit dark, nature of Cormac McCarthy, may he rest in peace.

Phenomenal Masterpiece

What an incredibly insightful discussion on the deepest meanings of our life set in a debate one on one style

Thought Provoking

This story/drama is thought provoking and well- acted. McCarthy is certainly not afraid of the big questions. This is definitely not light entertainment, but it holds your interest and makes you think. It's dark sure,(we are talking about Cormac McCarthy here) but well worth the listen.

A Masterpiece. Like a bullet.

This is such a powerful piece of writing made even more impactful with outstanding performances of the narrators. Not unusual for McCarthy of course, but unusual for me to actually write a review. Sunset Limited is perhaps the best less-than two hours I’ve spent with art in a very long time. I’m having a hard time finding the words with which to praise this writing and performance so I will simply say, listen to it immediately, completely and without distraction. Then share it with someone else. So much better than a movie.

A great work

This is beautiful in its simplicity, It revels in its conceit, in its concept and in the rich (if somewhat hackneyed) characters that it illuminates.

To me, it feels like many real conversations I’ve had over drinks with folks from different walks of life… but the framework lends the conversation more depth and adds a pivotal supernatural undertone. A great exploration of the meaning and purpose of life well explored by excellent voice actors.

god damn that was depressing

hell of a performance from both people and tom always kills that shit. that was depressing as hell though oh my lord.

Listened to it twice!

Where does The Sunset Limited rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is the first dramatic piece I've listened to, but it was excellent. You feel like you're in the room watching and listening to these two diverse men.

Who was your favorite character and why?

There are only two, but I feel more warmly towards the one they call Black, but I don't see how you couldn't. His role is to convince/save/outlast the other, and he has quite a few stories to tell. White/Professor, until close to the end, doesn't want to share or is unable to share his stories.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to others by any of these men, but it is not really narrated. More of a play.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Despite the fact that Black moves the story along, White/Professor is finally pushed to the wall at the end and out of frustration or need or urgency, something--he doesn't so much as explain but spews out his feelings of absolute disdain for his life. The listener, at least this one, understands him. Sad for him, but understands him. In that moment he doesn't seem sad --he seems as though there is no other way to live or not live his life. It's not "Nobody loves me"--more "I don't see how anyone cares about anything in this world."

Any additional comments?

This is such a rich story, I listened to it twice so that I could catch as much as possible of the intent. There is a sort of dark humor to it at times and Black is so certain of his faith, that God is right there with them, that it is clearly painful to him that he can't save this other man. A personal moment, a real living faith in God, in opposition to a personal moment, a real faith in desolation. I can't decide what will happen after White leaves. That isn't the point--it's a discussion of absolutes with no winner.

WOW!

best 90 minute discussion of why and why not to be ... and why and why not ....not to be.... I've ever heard