We can expect two new novels by celebrated author Cormac McCarthy this autumn. This is a rarity indeed. Any new book by McCarthy is always a treat for his fans.
McCarthy is a highly regarded author. Many people believe that he may be one of the truly great American authors of his time, and arguably the greatest living American author today. He has written some very well known and highly regarded works, including "Suttree" and "Blood Meridian," as well as other famous works that have been made into popular movies, including "No Country For Old Men" and "The Road," which won the Pulitzer Prize. His works tend to be very dark and very violent. However, they are also well received for the beautiful and often haunting imagery of the American West, which most of his works tend to take place in. He writes simple sentences that tend to be direct, yet there are certainly some things within his stories that you can read in between the lines.
During a rare public appearance back in 2015, Cormac McCarthy gave an audience a preview of an upcoming novel that he was working on called the “The Passenger.” It is described as "a novel that explored esoteric ideas about math, physics and the nature of consciousness. "
This generated considerable excitement from his passionate fans, as he had not released a novel in nearly a decade by that point. However, nothing more was heard from, until the recent announcement that this novel, "The Passenger," as well as a related novel, "Stella Maris," will finally see the light of day later this year, in the fall. Alfred A. Knopf, the author's longtime publisher, will release the two books one month apart from one another.
McCarthy has not published a novel in more than a decade and a half. So the excitement surrounding the news of not one, but two novels, is understandable.
However, McCarthy is going in a different direction with these two books. For one, they will not be taking place in the American West, but in another region. Also, the subject matter is different. Here, according to Alexandra Alter of the New York Times:
The intertwined novels — which represent a major stylistic and thematic departure for McCarthy — tell the doomed love story of a brother and sister. The siblings, Bobby and Alicia Western, are tormented by the legacy of their father, a physicist who helped develop the atom bomb, and by their love for and obsession with one another.
Much of McCarthy’s earlier work is set in the American South and Southwest, and hinges on his fascination with good and evil and humanity’s bottomless capacity for violence and vengeance. In “The Passenger” and “Stella Maris,” he tackles more cerebral subjects: the history of math and physics, the nature of reality and consciousness, whether religion and science can coexist, and the relationship between genius and madness.
So this is pretty exciting stuff for fans of McCarthy.
The first book, "The Passenger," will be released on October 25th. It is supposed to be approximately 400 pages. The second book, "Stella Maris," is about a female protagonist, which is also another bit of a departure for McCarthy. It will be published on November 22nd.
There is more information regarding both books, as well as about McCarthy himself, in the New York Times article by Alexandra Alter, from which two of the quotes used above are from. If you are a fan of McCarthy, or perhaps thinking of exploring his writings, then I recommend taking a look by clicking on the link to the article below.
Enjoy!
Sixteen Years After ‘The Road,’ Cormac McCarthy Is Publishing Two New Novels by Alexandra Alter March 8, 2022:
This fall, Knopf will publish two interlinked books that are a thematic and stylistic departure for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/08/books/cormac-mccarthy-new-novels.html
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