American Author Cormac McCarthy, Writer of 'No Country for Old Men,' Passes Away

Passed away at 89... Considered one of the four great writers of modern American literature
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for the novel 'The Road'

Cormac McCarthy, a giant of contemporary American literature and the author of the novel "No Country for Old Men," which was adapted into a film and became a hot topic, passed away on the 13th (local time), according to AP News and others. He was 89 years old.

According to reports, publisher Penguin Random House announced that McCarthy quietly passed away at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, on the same day. Nihar Malaviya, CEO of Penguin Random House, praised him, saying, "He explored the infinite possibilities and power of the written word for 60 years and showed unwavering dedication to his craft."

Cormac McCarthy (Photo by Penguin Random House)

McCarthy mainly wrote novels dealing with the American frontier and apocalyptic worlds at the turn of the century. He often tackled bleak, brutal, and violent themes. His representative works include the novels "No Country for Old Men" and "The Road." He also wrote the long novels known as the "Border Trilogy": "All the Pretty Horses," "The Crossing," and "Cities of the Plain."

In particular, the film adaptation of "No Country for Old Men," directed by brothers Ethan and Joel Coen in 2008, won four Academy Awards including Best Picture, which greatly elevated the global reputation of McCarthy as the original author. In South Korea, the character of the killer Anton Chigurh, played by Javier Bardem, also received significant attention.

"The Road," which depicts a story of a father and son traveling together in a post-apocalyptic world, earned McCarthy the Pulitzer Prize in 2006.

Famous literary critic Harold Bloom named him, along with Philip Roth, Thomas Pynchon, and Don DeLillo, as one of the "Four Great American Contemporary Writers." He was often compared to great American writers such as Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner.

Born in 1933, he spent a wealthy childhood under his father, who was a lawyer. While majoring in physics and engineering at the University of Tennessee, he enlisted in the Air Force in 1953 and served for four years. Afterward, he began writing novels for the first time. He dropped out of college and moved to Chicago, where he worked in an auto parts warehouse while taking his first steps as a writer.

Even after gaining great fame with works such as "The Road" and "No Country for Old Men," McCarthy was known to live a reclusive life and rarely indulged in material pleasures. Foreign media reported that he seldom appeared in media interviews or on red carpets.

McCarthy was married three times and divorced each time. He is survived by two sons and two grandchildren.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.