The action begins in a claustrophobic apartment. Two actors, playing characters known only as Black and White , sit across from each other and debate the age-old philosophic questions. Through time, we find out that Black rescued White when White tried to throw himself in front of a subway train (the train being the Sunset Limited of the title).Cormac McCarthy, the author of All the Pretty Horses, No Country for Old Men (the novel that became the Coen Brother’s latest Oscar-winner), and Blood Meridian (which critic Harold Bloom has called one of the greatest books of the 20^th century) and has created a new drama, crafted in the style of Waiting for Godot. In fact, it would be safe to consider this to be McCarthy s own take on Godot.

If there is one thing that is perfect in this play, it is the dialogue. The dialogue is wonderful, well-written stuff and cannot be improved upon. The dialogue captures the long drawl of some words and the short, choppy, nature of others; habitual slang and local dialects. McCarthy has an ear for dialogue. He gets all the pauses, the beats and the long monologues delivered in a wonderful series of twists and turns that do not seem scripted.

If there is one striking problem with the play, it is that it owes too much to Godot and reminds one too much of Godot. McCarthy has made a small mistake in trying to write the new Godot and has failed, as many authors who try to improve on Beckett have. The mystic nature of Godot and its multiple interpretations make it hard to write a good updated version of the play.

A problem some may have with this play is that it is very claustrophobic. It has only two characters (compared to Godot s five), debating many of the same issues that were in Godot. The two main characters go on for an almost excruciatingly long time debating, breaking only to stand up and (in the case of White ) threaten to leave the apartment. The problem with the lack of other characters is that there is no third character to cast reflection on the situation or to add to the exchange of dialogue.

* * *

Cormac McCarthy is a brilliant author, yet very little is known about him. Because he is a man who enjoys his privacy (having given only four interviews in a 40-year writing career), he could be described as eccentric . (Although, not in the same line as J. D. Salinger or Emily Dickinson.)

His new play (his second after The Stonemason) is interesting, albeit flawed. I am not going to say that McCarthy has disappointed the reader, far from it. McCarthy has created a play that is good, but slightly confused. I have to admit, this is not the best work for a newcomer to McCarthy to read, but it is still a good play. Whether or not it would work as a play on the stage, I do not know. Even with the mixed-bag that is McCarthy s work, I look forward to reading his next creation, be it for the stage or fiction readers.