Cormac McCarthy, author of The Road and No Country for Old Men, dies aged 89

Cormac McCarthy, who wrote novels such as The Road and No Country for Old Men, has died aged 89.

The American author died at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Tuesday (13 June), his publisher, Knopf, confirmed.

His son, John McCarthy, has also confirmed his death.

McCarthy won a Pulitzer Prize for his 2006 novel, The Road, a post-apocalyptic tale that sees a father and son go on a gruelling journey of survival.

His 2005 novel, No Country for Old Men, was adapted into a film by the Coen brothers. It ultimately won four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Joel and Ethan Coen), Best Adapted Screenplay (Joel and Ethan Coen), and Best Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh).

Famed horror author Stephen King paid tribute to his fellow writer, writing on Twitter: “Cormac McCarthy, maybe the greatest American novelist of my time, has passed away at 89. He was full of years and created a fine body of work, but I still mourn his passing.”

McCarthy was known for incorporating dark themes in his work, such as arson, rape, incest, necrophilia and cannibalism.

“There’s no such thing as life without bloodshed,” he told The New York Times Magazine in 1992 in a rare interview. “I think the notion that the species can be improved in some way, that everyone could live in harmony, is a really dangerous idea.”

The author was also notoriously reclusive, making rare public appearances and only granting a handful of interviews throughout his career.

McCarthy was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on July 20, 1933, one of six children in an Irish Catholic family.

He grew up mostly in Tennessee, enrolling in the state university in 1951 before dropping out to join the US Air Force.

McCarthy published his first novel, The Orchard Keeper, in 1965. He was later granted a MacArthur Fellowship, colloquially known as the “Genius Grant”, which he used to travel to the American Southwest.

There, he researched and wrote his fifth novel, Blood Meridian (1985), which some consider his magnum opus.

It wasn’t until 1992 that McCarthy received widespread success with All the Pretty Horses, a story about a 16-year-old cowboy faced with difficult choices for his future. Compared to his previous work, the prose had more of a romantic quality that surprised some of his earlier fans.

The book was adapted into a 2000 film starring Matt Damon and Penélope Cruz and directed by Billy Bob Thornton.

McCarthy is survived by his two sons, Cullen McCarthy, born in 1962 to his first wife Lee Holleman, and John Francis McCarthy, born in 1999 to his third wife, Jennifer Winkley. He divorced his second wife, Annie DeLisle, in 1981.

Other members of his family include a brother, two sisters and two grandchildren.