The Passenger and Stella Maris. By Cormac McCarthy. First Trade Editions, First Printings. Knopf. New York, 2022.

Cormac McCarthy was a consistently great novelist over the course of his career. He is known for his rich vocabulary–a master of diction and phonetics in prose. He is also known for his dystopian portrayals of the American West. McCarthy imbues his settings with a certain harshness and brutality, not the usual expansive possibility and pure adventure that so much of Western fiction chooses to portray. He published several American classics over his career, including the Border Trilogy, Blood Meridian, The Road, and No Country for Old Men. His last works were The Passenger and Stella Maris. They are two novels closely aligned by their protagonists: two siblings who are reckoning with the death and legacy of their father. Both works were longstanding projects, but McCarthy didn’t finish them until near his death. They contain some of his more experimental storytelling, but also his signature prose and literary plots. Critics praised the works as yet more proof of McCarthy’s genius. They remain an important part of his legacy.

This first edition, first printing set is in fine condition. Both volumes in the original casings, fine. Text blocks fine. In the original dust jackets, fine. In the original slipcase, fine.

A fine first trade edition set of The Passenger and Stella Maris.