Outer Dark (Picador Collection #137)

A dark, nihilistic tale, Cormac McCarthy's second novel Outer Dark sees brother and sister wander separately through a countryside scourged by three terrifying and elusive strangers.

In an unspecified place in Appalachia, sometime around the beginning of the twentieth century, a woman named Rinthy bears her brother's child.

The brother, Culla, abandons the baby in the woods, and tells Rinthy that he has died by natural causes. When she sees his grave empty, she sets forth alone to find her son.

Wracked by sin, Culla too leaves for the countryside. He will be haunted by The Trio, punishers and murderers, as the novel moves towards its eerie, apocalyptic resolution.

Part of the Picador Collection, a series celebrating fifty years of Picador books and showcasing the best of modern literature.

About the Author

Cormac McCarthy (1933–2023) was the author of many acclaimed novels, including Blood Meridian, Child of God and The Passenger. Among his honours are the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His works adapted to film include All the Pretty Horses, The Road and No Country for Old Men – the latter film receiving four Academy Awards, including the award for Best Picture. 

Praise for Cormac McCarthy

"McCarthy worked close to some religious impulse, his books were terrifying and absolute" —Anne Enright

"His prose takes on an almost biblical quality, hallucinatory in its effect and evangelical in its power" —Stephen King

"[I]n presenting the darker human impulses in his rich prose, [McCarthy] showed readers the necessity of facing up to existence" —Annie Proulx

"McCarthy is a master stylist, perhaps without equal in American letters... In his hands, everything is done with consummate skill." ―Village Voice

Dimensions: 13.1 x 1.7 x 19.8 cm