Author Cormac McCarthy passed away June 13, 2023 at the age of 89. Recognized for his genre-spanning writing in spare style, McCarthy was a favorite author of both library patrons and staff. If you’re interested in getting to know him, here’s the books we have available at AJPL:
McCarthy’s classic No Country For Old Men, a gritty Western set in 1980s Texas, is available at the library in a Book Club Kit, perfect for your next group read – or, watch the silver screen version with Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin and other greats on DVD or Blu-Ray. If you just want one copy of the novel, try the audiobook or request it from another Pinal County library to be sent here.
The Road was the vehicle used to introduce many to McCarthy. Its post-apocalyptic setting was rendered accessible in the father-son bond of the characters we follow through the heart-wrenching novel. It is also available in audiobook, or you can watch the movie, starring Viggo Mortensen.
All the Pretty Horses was the first of a trilogy, followed by The Crossing and then Cities of the Plain (available through CloudLibrary). They’re coming-of-age Westerns, set in land familiar to Apache Junction residents, in the desert along the border of the Southwestern United States and Mexico.
The Passenger, available in print and audiobook, was recommended by Trish in April. She said, “Bobby has bounced between jobs since leaving home, and currently works as an underwater welder. When assigned to a dive investigating an underwater plane crash, Bobby discovers nine bodies and, more interestingly, a missing passenger and black box. With its endless twists and turns, this novel explores grief, loss and survival peppered with espionage in true McCarthy style. The Passenger is a thrilling companion novel of McCarthy’s other recent work Stella Maris.”
Stella Maris is not to be missed, either, writes Trish. “If you have read any of Cormac McCarthy’s novels, this one does not disappoint. Alicia checks herself into Stella Maris, a psychiatric facility with a bag of money. Alicia is avoiding the grief and longing she has for her brother, her understanding of the world and how she does not fit in it. This book is a conversation between Alicia and her therapist. It is classic McCarthy style and prose.”
McCarthy also wrote screenplays, such as The Counselor, starring notables such as Cameron Diaz and Brad Pitt. The screenplay is available to read at AJPL in print and Playaway format.
Join us in saying goodbye to an accomplished, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, husband, and father. Thank you, Cormac.