Cormac McCarthy’s book, The Sunset Limited, stands as a novel in dramatic form with only two characters. A “Black” man and a “White” man serve as the two roles. This “play” takes place in a junkie-infested ghetto in New York City.

“Black” rescued “White” from throwing himself in front of a train (The Sunset Limited) and brings him back to his apartment to discuss matters of faith in God. These two men explore an age-old question of belief. They give riddles to one another in this stripped-down dialogue, which outlines eternal questions that operate as an axis the world’s history turns upon.

This 143-page narrative preserves a mystical tightrope that has balanced questions between light and dark for the last two thousand years. As usual, McCarthy’s ending leaves a stark result which mirrors a mean old world. The Sunset Limited now exists on DVD starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson.