Cormac McCarthy, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'The Road,' dies at 89

McCarthy died of natural causes at his residence in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Tuesday

Cormac McCarthy, the celebrated American author of 'The Road' and 'No Country For Old Men', has died at the age of 89.

McCarthy's death was announced by his publisher Penguin Random House after confirmation from his son John McCarthy.

In a statement on Twitter, the publisher said McCarthy died of "natural causes" at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Tuesday.

“Keep a little fire burning; however small, however hidden.”
—Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cormac McCarthy died today of natural causes at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was eighty-nine years old. pic.twitter.com/5Xl9MH5Nx2

— Alfred A. Knopf (@AAKnopf) June 13, 2023

 

McCarthy’s literary journey

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author is best known for his dark and suspenseful novels like 'The Road' and 'No Country For Old Men', both of which were adapted into films.

His oeuvre includes 12 novels, two plays, five screenplays, and three short stories, many of which are violent tales of the American frontier and post-apocalyptic worlds.

Stephen King, another American author, remembered McCarthy as "maybe the greatest American novelist of my time."

"He was full of years and created a fine body of work, but I still mourn his passing," King said on Twitter.

Cormac McCarthy, maybe the greatest American novelist of my time, has passed away at 89. He was full of years and created a fine body of work, but I still mourn his passing.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) June 13, 2023

Cormac McCarthy’s early life

One of six siblings, McCarthy was born in Rhode Island in 1933 to an Irish Catholic family. He spent the majority of his childhood in Knoxville, Tennessee, where his father worked as a lawyer.

McCarthy was said to be a very private man who avoided media interviews and red-carpet appearances.

McCarthy told US talk show host Oprah Winfrey in 2007 that "I don't think [interviews] are good for your head."

"If you're spending a lot of time thinking about how to write a book, you probably shouldn't be thinking about it; you should probably be doing it," he said.

McCarthy's career

McCarthy's first novel, 'The Orchard Keeper', was published in 1965, but it wasn't until 1992 that he made a commercial breakthrough with 'All The Pretty Horses', which won the National Book Award.

He also received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for 'The Road', which depicts a father and son's arduous journey as they struggle to survive in the United States after the apocalypse.

His other works have received critical acclaim, including 'Blood Meridian', which has been dubbed "The Great American Novel" by some.

McCarthy, who was married three times, is survived by his two children, Cullen and John.